Ginny Martino Receives the 2025 Diane Geppi-Aikens Memorial Award
The Intercollegiate Women’s Lacrosse Coaches Association (IWLCA) is proud to announce that West Chester University Head Coach Ginny Martino has been selected as the 2025 recipient of the Diane Geppi-Aikens Memorial Award. Martino will be honored during the IWLCA Honors Dinner and Hall of Fame Induction Ceremony on November 20, 2025, at the Tradewinds Resort in St. Petersburg, Florida.
The Diane Geppi-Aikens Memorial Award honors the legendary Loyola University coach whose courageous battle with cancer inspired the nation. Presented annually, the award recognizes lifetime achievement and outstanding contributions to the women’s college game.
“I am truly honored to be named this year’s recipient of the Diane Geppi-Aikens Award,” said Martino. “To be mentioned in the same breath as Diane—a coach whose courage, leadership, and inspirational spirit left a lasting impact on our sport—is an extraordinary honor. To be recognized in connection with her legacy is incredibly humbling. To me, there is no greater honor than receiving this award.” – Ginny Martino
West Chester Assistant Coach Suzanne Burmester, who nominated Martino, shared, “Ginny has dedicated her career to the game of lacrosse and the betterment of young female athletes—not just on the field, but off the field as well. She has created a legacy for WCU women’s lacrosse. The standard is elite, and each year she encourages her athletes to strive for that standard.”
Seton Hill Head Coach Dina Cifelli, who also nominated Martino, added, “I believe Ginny is well deserving of this award for many reasons. She has been more than just a coach of the time but a mentor about life to all her athletes. She is always putting them first and caring about them as people too, which goes to show with her starting the non-profit LAX-4-LIFE suicide awareness foundation. Wanting her athletes and the community to know that they are not alone and that there are people out there to help, she strives to bring awareness and help students get the support they need, knowing how much stress is on student-athletes every day.”
Now entering her 28th season at the helm, Martino has built West Chester into a perennial Division II national power. The all-time winningest coach in NCAA Division II women’s lacrosse history, she is also one of only eight women’s lacrosse coaches at any level to surpass 400 career wins.
Inducted into the IWLCA Hall of Fame in 2024 and the Eastern Pennsylvania Chapter of the USA Lacrosse Hall of Fame in 2023, Martino is the longest-tenured head coach in both the PSAC and at West Chester University. Her teams have advanced to the NCAA Division II national championship game 11 times in the 24 years since the division began sponsoring the championship.
Over 27 seasons, Martino has compiled a 424–84 (.835) overall record and a 264–21 (.926) mark in PSAC play. She became Division II’s all-time wins leader in 2012, and joined the elite 400-win club in 2024—highlighting decades of sustained excellence and leadership.