Entering her ninth year at the helm, head coach Jill Malko looks for the Golden Bears to build on their first regular-season MPSF Championship.
In the sport's first eight years of varsity status, Malko compiled a solid 85-58 overall record. The Bears ended 2006 with a share of the conference title, while the 2005 Bears made a fifth-straight trip to their conference final game. In 2007, Malko and the Bears will take another step toward becoming one of the nation's elite programs.
Malko joined the Golden Bears in 1995, taking over the helm of Cal's women's lacrosse club and enjoying immediate success. Between 1996 and 1997, Malko compiled a 30-4 overall record while making repeat visits to the WWLL Championships in each of those years, paving the way for lacrosse to become the 14th women's sport incorporated by California in April of 1998.
Before arriving in Berkeley, Malko helped found Saint Mary's College's first-ever women's lacrosse club in 1989. During her five-year tenure in Moraga, Malko earned her master's degree in athletic administration before deciding Cal, and its opportunity to achieve Division I status, was the place for her.
Prior to moving west, Malko served as an assistant coach at her alma mater, Boston University, from which she graduated with a communications degree in 1985. A starter all four years at BU, Malko captained her squad in her senior year, earning an opportunity to represent the region in the U.S. National Tournament for the next five years. She has since represented the California First Team on eight straight occasions.
As a nationally sought after lacrosse camp coach, Malko has served as the director of Nike Lacrosse Camp for Girls since 1998. Her responsibilities include recruiting participants and staff, developing the curriculum and implementing training programs on two sites at Menlo College and the University of San Diego. In addition, she is responsible for directing the first Golden Bear's summer lacrosse camp here in Berkeley, a tradition that she has continued every year since.
Most recently, Malko served as a selector for the U.S. National Lacrosse Team in July 2002 - her second such stint in this capacity (summer 2000). She also functioned as co-director for the California Lacrosse Convention in 1999, 2001, 2002 and 2005. Malko currently operates on the Intercollegiate Women's Lacrosse Development Committee and represents college coaches in the NorCal U.S. Lacrosse Chapter. She also coached the 1999 Northern California Team at the U.S. Lacrosse Nationals in Columbus, Ohio, and at the Elite 300 and Saints Elite Lacrosse Camps in Alexandria, Va.
