Dave Pietramala
{{Short description|American lacrosse player and coach}}
{{Use mdy dates|date=June 2025}}
{{Infobox college coach
| name = Dave Pietramala
| current_title =
| current_team =
| current_conference =
| birth_date = {{birth year and age|1967}}
| birth_place = Hicksville, New York
| player_years1 = 1986–1989
| player_team1 = Johns Hopkins
| player_positions = Defenseman
| coach_team1 = Gilman (Md.) (assistant)
| coach_years1 = 1990
| coach_team2 = Johns Hopkins (assistant)
| coach_years2 = 1991
| coach_team3 = Penn (assistant)
| coach_years3 = 1992–1993
| coach_team4 = Loyola (assistant)
| coach_years4 = 1994
| coach_team5 = Johns Hopkins (DC)
| coach_years5 = 1995–1997
| coach_team6 = Cornell
| coach_years6 = 1998–2000
| coach_team7 = Johns Hopkins
| coach_years7 = 2001–2020
| coach_team8 = Syracuse (DC)
| coach_years8 = 2022–2023
| coach_team9 = North Carolina (DC)
| coach_years9 = 2024–
| uslaxhof_year = 2004
}}
Dave Pietramala (born 1967) is the defensive coordinator for the University of North Carolina men's lacrosse team and the former head coach for the Johns Hopkins University Men's Lacrosse team. He also served as the DC for the Syracuse University Men's Lacrosse team. He is widely regarded as one of the greatest defensemen in lacrosse history, and is a member of the U.S. Lacrosse Hall of Fame. He is the only person to win a men's lacrosse NCAA national championship as both a player and coach, and the only person to be named both player and coach of the year.
Playing career
Born in Hicksville, New York, he went to St. Mary's High School. Pietramala chose to attend Johns Hopkins University at the advice of his father, George, who wanted him to play for the lacrosse powerhouse. Dave Pietramala stated that he originally intended to go to the University of Maryland: "I loved Coach
At Hopkins, Pietramala was a member of the 1987 National Championship team. He won the Schmeisser Award as the nation's top defenseman in 1988 and 1989 and the 1989 Enners Award as the nation's top player. He was also named a first-team All American three times while at Hopkins.
Pietramala also played at the club level for the storied Mount Washington Lacrosse Club in the 1990s,[https://www.baltimoresun.com/1993/06/13/md-falls-just-short-of-mt-wash-in-south-final-11-10/ Md. falls just short of Mt. Wash. in South final, 11-10], Baltimore Sun, June 13, 1993, retrieved May 26, 2010. the professional level for the Pittsburgh Bulls in the Major Indoor Lacrosse League, and nationally for the United States Men's National Lacrosse team. He won two world championships in the International Lacrosse Federation World Championship, was named All-World in both 1990 and 1994,{{Cite web |url=http://www.lacrosse.org/teamusa06/pdfs/mediaguide06.pdf |title=Archived copy |access-date=2007-03-03 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070316052411/http://www.lacrosse.org/teamusa06/pdfs/mediaguide06.pdf |archive-date=2007-03-16 |url-status=dead }} and Best and Fairest Player (MVP) in 1990.
In addition to these awards, Pietramala was named to the NCAA Silver Anniversary Team in 1995, the All-Time Johns Hopkins Team, and Lacrosse Magazine's All-Century Team.{{Cite web |url=https://hopkinssports.com/sports/mens-lacrosse/roster/coaches/dave-pietramala/744 |title=Dave Pietramala |date=2017-12-08 |publisher=Hopkins Sports}} He was inducted into the National Lacrosse Hall of Fame in 2004.{{Cite web |url=http://www.uslacrosse.org/museum/hofbios/pietramala_dave.phtml |title=Dave Pietramala HOF Biography |access-date=2007-03-03 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070927020636/http://www.uslacrosse.org/museum/hofbios/pietramala_dave.phtml |archive-date=2007-09-27 |url-status=dead }}
Coaching career
After 1991, Pietramala took jobs as an assistant coach at Gilman School, Johns Hopkins University, the University of Pennsylvania, and Loyola College before returning to Johns Hopkins as its defensive coordinator in 1995. In 1998 he took over the head coaching job at Cornell University, where he was named the national Coach of the Year in 2000.
In 2001, he took the head coaching position at his alma mater, where he revitalized the Hopkins program. In his 20 years at the helm, the Blue Jays had a 207-93 record, 18 NCAA Tournament appearances, six NCAA Final Four appearances, National Championship game appearances in 2003 and 2008, and the 2005 and 2007 National Championships.{{cite news |last1=Vasudevan |first1=Anish |title=Dave Pietramala's journey to becoming 'synonymous' with Johns Hopkins lacrosse |url=https://dailyorange.com/2022/03/syracuse-mens-lacrosse-dave-pietramala-johns-hopkins-legacy/ |access-date=2 September 2023 |work=The Daily Orange |date=10 March 2022}}
In April 2020, after the 2020 season was cut short by the COVID-19 pandemic, Johns Hopkins announced that they had mutually agreed to part with Pietramala, ending his tenure as the head coach.{{cite news |title=Johns Hopkins, Dave Pietramala Mutually Agree to Part Ways |url=https://www.usalaxmagazine.com/college/men/johns-hopkins-dave-pietramala-mutually-agree-to-part-ways |access-date=14 July 2021 |work=USA Lax-Magazine |date=14 April 2020 |language=en}}
Pietramala joined the coaching staff of Boys' Latin School of Maryland in the spring of 2021, assisting on the defensive side of the ball and coaching his two sons, Dominic and Nicholas. An up and down regular season gave way to a hot playoff streak that saw the sixth-seeded Lakers win the MIAA A Conference championship, defeating Archbishop Spalding in the finals.{{cite web |last1=Graham |first1=Glenn |title=Boys' Latin seniors key 9-8 win over Spalding for MIAA A lacrosse crown |url=https://www.baltimoresun.com/sports/high-school/bs-sp-va-miaa-a-lax-final-0522-20210522-g57qmybnjngapmw3xdzb2cvvk4-story.html |work=The Baltimore Sun |date=21 May 2021 |access-date=15 June 2021}}
On Monday, June 14, 2021, it was announced that Pietramala would be joining the Syracuse University coaching staff, led by Gary Gait, as their defensive coordinator for the spring 2022 season. The unification of this tandem gave the Syracuse coaching staff, arguably, the best offensive and defensive players in the history of the sport.{{cite news |last1=Lee |first1=Edward |title=Ex-Johns Hopkins coach, player Dave Pietramala joins Syracuse men's lacrosse coach Gary Gait's staff as defensive coordinator |url=https://www.baltimoresun.com/sports/college/lacrosse/bs-sp-mlax-dave-pietramala-syracuse-defensive-coordinator-20210614-bih25m6i2vgxziuairfga4iv44-story.html |access-date=16 June 2021 |work=Baltimore Sun |date=14 June 2021}}{{cite news |title=Gait Taps Pietramala as Assistant Coach |url=https://cuse.com/news/2021/6/15/mens-lacrosse-gait-taps-pietramala-as-assistant-coach.aspx |access-date=16 June 2021 |work=Syracuse University Athletics |date=15 June 2021 |language=en}} He inherited a defense that was one of worst at Syracuse and struggled to dramatically improve the squad. During his short tenure, the Orange defense could stop opponent's best option but allowed secondary scorers to thrive.{{cite news |last1=Vasudevan |first1=Anish |title=Syracuse assistant Dave Pietramala departs to UNC |url=https://dailyorange.com/2023/07/syracuse-assistant-dave-pietramala-leaves-for-acc-rivals-north-carolina/ |access-date=2 September 2023 |work=The Daily Orange |date=9 July 2023}}
Just after one season at Syracuse, Pietramala left for UNC to join Joe Breschi's staff.{{cite press release |title=Pietramala Joins Men's Lacrosse Staff |url=https://goheels.com/news/2023/7/20/mens-lacrosse-pietramala-joins-mens-lacrosse-staff.aspx |access-date=2 September 2023 |work=University of North Carolina Athletics |date=28 August 2023 |language=en}}{{cite news |last1=DeJohn |first1=Kenny |title=Dave Pietramala to Join Joe Breschi's Staff at North Carolina |url=https://www.usalaxmagazine.com/college/men/dave-pietramala-to-join-joe-breschis-staff-at-north-carolina |access-date=2 September 2023 |work=USA Lacrosse Magazine |date=July 10, 2023 |language=en}}
Head coaching record
{{CBB yearly record start | type=coach | conference= | postseason= | poll=no }}
{{CBB yearly record subhead|
| name = Cornell Big Red
| startyear = 1998
| conference = Ivy League
| endyear = 2000
}}
{{CBB yearly record entry
| season = 1998
| name = Cornell
| overall = 6–7
| conference = 4–2
| confstanding = 3rd
| postseason =
}}
{{CBB yearly record entry
| season = 1999
| name = Cornell
| overall = 7–6
| conference = 4–2
| confstanding = T–2nd
| postseason =
}}
{{CBB yearly record entry
| season = 2000
| name = Cornell
| overall = 10–4
| conference = 5–1
| confstanding = 2nd
| postseason = NCAA Division I first round
}}
{{CBB yearly record subtotal
| name = Cornell
| overall = 23–17 ({{winpct|23|17}})
| confrecord = 13–5 ({{winpct|13|5}})
}}
{{CBB yearly record subhead|
| name = Johns Hopkins Blue Jays
| startyear = 2001
| conference = NCAA independent
| endyear = 2014
}}
{{CBB yearly record entry
| season = 2001
| name = Johns Hopkins
| overall = 8–4
| conference =
| confstanding =
| postseason = NCAA Division I quarterfinals
}}
{{CBB yearly record entry
| season = 2002
| name = Johns Hopkins
| overall = 12–2
| conference =
| confstanding =
| postseason = NCAA Division I semifinals
}}
{{CBB yearly record entry
| season = 2003
| name = Johns Hopkins
| overall = 14–2
| conference =
| confstanding =
| postseason = NCAA Division I runner-up
}}
{{CBB yearly record entry
| season = 2004
| name = Johns Hopkins
| overall = 13–2
| conference =
| confstanding =
| postseason = NCAA Division I semifinals
}}
{{CBB yearly record entry
| championship = national
| season = 2005
| name = Johns Hopkins
| overall = 16–0
| conference =
| confstanding =
| postseason = NCAA Division I champion
}}
{{CBB yearly record entry
| season = 2006
| name = Johns Hopkins
| overall = 9–5
| conference =
| confstanding =
| postseason = NCAA Division I quarterfinals
}}
{{CBB yearly record entry
| championship = national
| season = 2007
| name = Johns Hopkins
| overall = 13–4
| conference =
| confstanding =
| postseason = NCAA Division I champion
}}
{{CBB yearly record entry
| season = 2008
| name = Johns Hopkins
| overall = 11–6
| conference =
| confstanding =
| postseason = NCAA Division I runner-up
}}
{{CBB yearly record entry
| season = 2009
| name = Johns Hopkins
| overall = 10–5
| conference =
| confstanding =
| postseason = NCAA Division I quarterfinals
}}
{{CBB yearly record entry
| season = 2010
| name = Johns Hopkins
| overall = 7–8
| conference =
| confstanding =
| postseason = NCAA Division I first round
}}
{{CBB yearly record entry
| season = 2011
| name = Johns Hopkins
| overall = 13–3
| conference =
| confstanding =
| postseason = NCAA Division I quarterfinals
}}
{{CBB yearly record entry
| season = 2012
| name = Johns Hopkins
| overall = 12–4
| conference =
| confstanding =
| postseason = NCAA Division I quarterfinals
}}
{{CBB yearly record entry
| season = 2013
| name = Johns Hopkins
| overall = 9–5
| conference =
| confstanding =
| postseason =
}}
{{CBB yearly record entry
| season = 2014
| name = Johns Hopkins
| overall = 11–5
| conference =
| confstanding =
| postseason = NCAA Division I quarterfinals
}}
{{CBB yearly record subhead|
| name = Johns Hopkins Blue Jays
| startyear = 2015
| conference = Big Ten Conference
| endyear = 2020
}}
{{CBB yearly record entry
| championship = confboth
| season = 2015
| name = Johns Hopkins
| overall = 11–7
| conference = 4–1
| confstanding = T–1st
| postseason = NCAA Division I semifinals
}}
{{CBB yearly record entry
| season = 2016
| name = Johns Hopkins
| overall = 8–7
| conference = 3–2
| confstanding = T–2nd
| postseason = NCAA Division I first round
}}
{{CBB yearly record entry
| season = 2017
| name = Johns Hopkins
| overall = 8–7
| conference = 3–2
| confstanding = T–2nd
| postseason = NCAA Division I first round
}}
{{CBB yearly record entry
| championship = conference tournament
| season = 2018
| name = Johns Hopkins
| overall = 12–5
| conference = 3–2
| confstanding = T–2nd
| postseason = NCAA Division I quarterfinals
}}
{{CBB yearly record entry
| season = 2019
| name = Johns Hopkins
| overall = 8–8
| conference = 3–2
| confstanding = T–2nd
| postseason = NCAA Division I first round
}}
{{CBB yearly record entry
| season = 2020
| name = Johns Hopkins
| overall = 2–4
| conference = 0–0
| confstanding =
| postseason = Season canceled due to COVID-19
}}
{{CBB yearly record subtotal
| name = Johns Hopkins
| overall = 207–93 ({{winpct|207|93}})
| confrecord = 16–9 ({{winpct|16|9}})
}}
{{CBB yearly record end
| overall = 230–110 ({{winpct|230|110}})
}}
References
{{reflist}}
{{Cornell Big Red men's lacrosse coach navbox}}
{{Johns Hopkins Blue Jays men's lacrosse coach navbox}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Pietramala, Dave}}
Category:Johns Hopkins Blue Jays men's lacrosse players
Category:Johns Hopkins Blue Jays men's lacrosse coaches
Category:Syracuse Orange men's lacrosse coaches
Category:Cornell Big Red men's lacrosse coaches
Category:Mount Washington Lacrosse Club players
Category:Sportspeople from Hicksville, New York
Category:Lacrosse players from Nassau County, New York
Category:High school lacrosse coaches in the United States
Category:Penn Quakers men's lacrosse coaches