Staff

Kerstin Kimel
Head Coach

The only head coach in Duke women’s lacrosse history, Kerstin Kimel has led the program from its inception in 1996, molding the Blue Devils into one of the nation’s elite teams.

In Kimel’s 26 seasons at the helm of Duke women’s lacrosse, she has guided the Blue Devils to seven national semifinals, four ACC regular season titles, an ACC Tournament Championship and 20 NCAA Tournament appearances.

A five-time ACC Coach of the Year, Kimel has overseen 35 All-America selections making up for 103 honors, 89 all-region honorees and 80 All-ACC picks. Seven of her former players have represented their countries on the world's stage, competing at the 2009, 2013 and 2017 World Cups. The Blue Devils have achieved equal success in the classroom during Kimel’s tenure, collecting 74 Intercollegiate Women's Lacrosse Coaches Association Academic Honor Roll accolades since 1997.

Kimel recorded her 300th career victory Feb. 7, 2020 in a win over Gardner-Webb. She is one of just eight active Division I head coaches with 300 or more wins.

Nick Williams
Assistant Coach

Nick Williams joined the Duke women's lacrosse program in August 2019 as an assistant coach. He enters his third season working with the Blue Devils.

Williams second season with the Blue Devils saw Duke excel on the defensive front. Duke finished the
season 16th nationally with 9.95 caused turnovers per game and earned the top spot in the ACC in that category. Williams helped mentor eight Blue Devils to reach 10+ caused turnovers, led by graduate student Callie Humphrey with 33, followed by sophomore Cubby Biscardi (23) and sophomore Olivia Carner (22). Humphrey also led the squad in ground balls with 32 while senior Katie Cosgrove reeled in 25. Humphrey was named to the Tewaaraton Watch List and garnered IWLCA All-South Region first team honors.

Although his first season at Duke was cut short due to the COVID-19 pandemic, Williams helped the Blue Devil defense solidify its place among national leaders in defensive statistics. Under Williams, Duke averaged 12.44 caused turnovers per game, leading the ACC and ranking sixth nationally. In addition, Duke totaled 11 student-athletes with five or more caused turnovers. Senior Callie Humphrey led the team in caused turnovers (16) and ground balls (18) on her way to being named Third Team Inside Lacrosse Media All-America.

Williams arrived in Durham following six seasons at Georgetown. He served as a volunteer assistant coach for one campaign and an assistant coach for four seasons before being elevated to the role of associate head coach prior to the 2019 campaign.

During his six years with the Hoyas, Williams helped guide the program to a 57-55 ledger, including an impressive 34-10 mark in BIG EAST play. His time on the Hilltop was capped by the Hoyas’ run to the 2019 BIG EAST Championship, as the squad defeated Denver, 9-8, in double overtime to claim the program’s first conference tournament title since 2010. Georgetown went on to advance to the second round of the 2019 NCAA Tournament.

A native of Baltimore, Williams was a four-year member of the men’s lacrosse program, helping the Tigers to a pair of CAA titles. He played in 61 career contests, recording 29 goals and 22 assists. Williams also excelled for Towson’s football program, rounding out his career on the gridiron as the fifth-leading rusher in school history with 1,985 yards.

Brooke Griffin
Assistant Coach

Brooke Griffin joined the Duke women's lacrosse program in July 2018 as an assistant coach. She enters her fourth season with the Blue Devils.

Griffin’s third season with the Blue Devils saw the squad reach the quarterfinals of the NCAA Tournament. Duke averaged 16.58 draw controls per game to rank ninth in the nation and 13.79 goals per game. The Blue Devils also were ranked third in the country with a 0.625 draw control percentage and Duke was third in the ACC in shooting percentage (.479). Griffin led a Duke offense that registered 15+ goals nine times during the season and helped mentor 10 Blue Devils with 10 or more goals.

Additionally, graduate student Gabby Rosenzweig and junior Maddie Jenner were named IWLCA All-Americans to the second and third teams, respectively, as Jenner was named a Tewaaraton nominee.

In her second season at Duke, Griffin saw the season unfortunately cut short due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Although the Blue Devils just played nine games, they were amongst national leaders in numerous offensive categories under Griffin. Duke averaged 17.67 goals per game and 18.78 draw controls per game which ranked fifth and third in the nation, respectively. Griffin led Duke's high-scoring offense to score 20+ goals in each of the first three games of the 2020 season, the first time in program history that Duke has scored 20+ in three consecutive games. As a team, Duke boasted eight student-athletes with 10 or more goals throughout the season, making it the only ACC school to accomplish the feat.

Griffin's first season with the Blue Devils saw the squad reach the semifinals of the ACC Championship with a thrilling 14-13 quarterfinal victory over Notre Dame. Under her tutelage, Duke's offensive unit averaged over 15 goals per contest. The Blue Devils also placed themselves among the nation's leaders at the draw behind the efforts of sisters Olivia and Maddie Jenner. Olivia totaled 150 draw controls to break her own single season record and went on to earn second team All-America recognition.

Griffin completed an outstanding collegiate career at Maryland in 2015 and has been a member of the U.S. national team since then. She helped Team USA capture its third consecutive World Cup title in 2017. She has also taken the field as a member of the Brave of the Women's Professional Lacrosse League, helping the squad win the WPLL title during the summer of 2019.

Sarah Cooper
Assistant Coach

Sarah Cooper joined the Duke women's lacrosse staff in August of 2023 as an assistant coach.

Cooper comes to Durham following a successful undergraduate career at Syracuse. As one of the Orange's top defenders in recent years, she brings a wealth of knowledge and experience to the Blue Devils.

"I'm thrilled to welcome Sarah to our staff," Kimel said. "She was a fantastic player and leader during her time at Syracuse. It is already clear that she possesses a maturity and professionalism that is beyond her years and I am confident that she is going to make a significant impact on the development of our student-athletes!"

She ended her career at Syracuse ranked second on the career caused turnover list with 98 and was tabbed an IWLCA third team All-America selection after leading a Syracuse defense that held opponents to less than 10 goals seven times.

She was named a 2022 Tewaaraton Award nominee as one of five defenders named to the list of 25 players. After a standout freshman campaign, Cooper was honored as the 2019 ACC Freshman of the Year.