Mary Claire Byrne - Lacrosse Coach - East Carolina University Athletics

Mary Claire Byrne

Title:
Assistant Coach
Email:
byrnem19@ecu.edu
Phone:
(252) 737-5326

Mary Claire Byrne is in her second season as an assistant coach for the ECU women's lacrosse team after joining the Pirates in July 2019.

“I’m extremely pleased to welcome Mary Claire to the Pirate Lacrosse Family,” said head coach Amanda Moore. “She brings with her a ton of competitive experience against some of the best players in our sport and will add valuable insight to our defensive unit. I am excited to have our athletes learn from her leadership experiences, serving as a three-time captain at Virginia Tech, and what it took to really transform and influence the competitive culture of that program in her time competing for Coach (John) Sung. Her extensive club and camp coaching experiences, coupled with her ties to the northern Virginia recruiting hot bed, will be tremendous assets for us moving forward as a program in year three of competition.”

The 2020 campaign was Byrne’s first in Greenville and showed signs of promise before the Covid-19 Pandemic cut the season short after just eight games. The Pirates were 5-3 in the shortened season, tying the 2019 team for the most wins in the program history. Byrne saw Megan Tryniski set a new single-game ECU record when she had eight points on four goals and four assists in a comeback win over VCU. The Pirates also saw Megan Pallozzi and Ashley Vernon earn AAC Attack Player of the Week and AAC Defensive Player of the Week, respectively, after beating Campbell. Pallozzi and Vernon are now the fifth and sixth players to earn AAC Weekly Awards since the conference started sponsoring women’s lacrosse in 2019.

Byrne finished her Hokie career with 82 points in 60 career games. The McLean, Va., native left Virginia Tech ranked third all-time in caused turnovers in program history (96) and sixth in ground balls (128). She was a 2019 IWLCA Senior All-Star after having her best offensive season in Blacksburg, racking up 23 goals, 12 assists, 42 ground balls and 27 caused turnovers.

Byrne was a three-time ACC All-Academic Team selection and made the ACC Honor Roll during all five of her seasons in Blacksburg. During the 2018 campaign, she helped the Hokies reach the NCAA Tournament, marking the first such postseason berth in program history.

Byrne graduated from Virginia Tech with a pair of degrees, earning her Bachelor of Arts in Communication with a minor in Sports Marketing and earning a Master’s Degree in Agriculture and Life Sciences.