The College of New Jersey Athletics

When Gina LaMandre joined the softball program at Trenton State College/The College of New Jersey, she came to the Ewing campus as a highly-touted shortstop.  By the time her career was over in the spring of 1985, she was one of the most dominant pitchers at the time and still has her name engraved in the program record book.

She began the transition to the mound in her freshman season and was a key contributor as the Lions were the national runner-up in 1982.

The next year was not only a breakout year for LaMandre, but for the program as well. During the course of the season, LaMandre was nearly untouchable on the mound as she boasted a record of 22-4 with an earned-run-average of 0.35 as the Lions secured the program’s first NCAA Division III title. She was rewarded for her effort by being named to the All-Tournament Team. The Lions finished with year with 41 victories, which included a 19-game winning streak.

As a junior, LaMandre boasted a clean sweep in honors being named All-Jersey Athletic Conference, All-South Region, Division III All-American, and to the NCAA All-Tournament Team. She finished that season with a 19-2 record with a school record five no-hitters. That season, she lowered her ERA to a mere .24, which at the time set an NCAA record.

Her individual success that season also translated into the team’s success as they were once again the national runner-up and collected a school record 48 victories.

In LaMandre’s final season on the mound, she posted enjoyed her best campaign finishing with a record of 27-3 and a .35 ERA. Among those 27 victories was a school record 15 shutouts. For the second straight season she garnered a host of post-season awards matching the four honors from her previous season.

She was also the College’s 1985 Female Athlete of the Year.

Her career numbers are staggering as she compiled 79 wins with a .48 ERA to go along with 45 shutouts and nine no-hitters, all of which are still school records.

Even when her playing days had concluded, LaMandre still garnered recognition as in 2006 she was named to the NCAA Division III 25th Anniversary Team for outstanding achievements while participating in NCAA championships.
With her playing days behind her, LaMandre remained active in the game joining Dr. June Walker’s staff in 1986.

After earning her degree in biology in 1986, LaMandre continued her coaching career at the University of Massachusetts as an assistant, where she also achieved her master’s degree. She then was selected as the University of Maryland head coach as the Terrapins began their program in 1995.

She quickly turned the program into a contender in the Atlantic Coast Conference and in her fifth season was honored as the 1999 ACC Coach of the Year as the team posted a school record 51 victories.

LaMandre has since returned to her New Jersey roots where she is a physician’s assistant at University of Medicine and Dentistry, New Jersey. Even though she has entered the medical field, LaMandre is still taking an active role in the sport and the College serving as an assistant coach in each of the last three seasons and being a driving force behind the fund-raising effort in the naming of the field at Lions’ Park.