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Gail Murphy
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Gail Murphy returns for her 13th season as the head coach of the highly successful women's soccer program at Denison University in 2009. In 12 seasons at DU Murphy has guided the Big Red to an impressive 177-52-16 record during her tenure along with 10 bids to the NCAA National Tournament and five North Coast Athletic Conference Championships. A two-time NSCAA Regional Coach of the Year honoree, Murphy has compiled a collegiate head coaching record of 210-85-17.
In 2008, Denison posted a 15-5-1 mark and reached the second-round of the NCAA Tournament for the fourth straight season. Murphy was named NCAC Coach of the Year for the second time after leading her squad to a seventh regular season conference championship.
In 2007 the Big Red posted a 14-6 record and advanced to the second-round of the NCAA Tournament. The two previous seasons saw her Denison squads pile up 31 victories and advance to the NCAA's round of 16 in 2006 and the NCAA Quarterfinals (round of eight) in 2005.
Since her arrival in 1997 Murphy has coached seven All-Americans and 85 All-NCAC honorees. She is the program’s all-time leader in victories and also boasts the highest career winning percentage in the 29-year history of women’s soccer at Denison. Her .686 winning percentage ranked her 28th on the list of Division III’s winningest coaches entering the 2007 season.This fall, Murphy begins her 27th year of coaching (24th as a head coach). From 1983 to 1991 she coached Los Alamos (N.M.) High School, where her teams played in the finals of the state tournament five times, winning three championships. She began her college coaching career in 1991 as a graduate assistant in Massachusetts. Murphy then spent four years at Southwestern University in Texas, where she took a first-year program to a top-10 regional ranking in just two seasons. While at Southwestern, Murphy was selected as Coach of the Year by the Southern Collegiate Athletic Conference. Murphy then made the cross-country switch to Denison, leading the Big Red back to regional and national prominence. The Ohio Collegiate Soccer Association has twice named Murphy its Coach of the Year (1997, 1999).
Murphy earned her Bachelor of Science degree in Physical Education from the University of New Mexico in 1983 and her Masters of Science in Exercise and Sport Science from Smith College (Mass.) in 1993. Along with her soccer coaching duties, Murphy is an assistant professor on the faculty of Denison's Department of Athletics, Physical Education and Recreation.
Murphy resides in nearby Newark.