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LANCASTER, PA -- Franklin & Marshall Athletic Director Dr. Robert Bunnell announced today that assistant athletic director and head men's lacrosse coach Dave Webster has resigned to take over the men's lacrosse program at Dickinson College beginning July 1. During his three-year tenure at F&M, Webster compiled a 19-26 record as he rebuilt the men's lacrosse team from a 6-9 finish in 1999 to a 9-7 mark in 2001. This year, Webster would lead F&M to its first winning season since 1996 as the team finished 3-3 in the Centennial Conference to advance to the "Final Four". In the CC playoffs, the Diplomats would hand #1 nationally ranked Gettysburg a tough match as the Bullets edged F&M 9-7. Gettysburg would go on to win the conference tournament, but fell to Middlebury 15-10 in the national championship game. Due to their achievements during the regular season, the Diplomats were selected to the Eastern College Athletic Conference (ECAC) South Region Championship game marking the first time the team advanced to the post-season since a 15-9 loss in the 1995 NCAA Quarterfinals to Gettysburg College. Further, the team's selection marked the first time in the 45-year history of the sport at Franklin & Marshall College, that the men's lacrosse program earned a bid to the ECAC playoffs as the men fell 13-10 to Centennial Conference rival Western Maryland to conclude the season ranked 18th nationally. Webster takes over a program at Dickinson that finished the year 4-8, 1-5 in the Centennial Conference. On April 4, the Red Devils dropped a 13-8 decision to F&M to mark the 34th consecutive year that the Diplomats have defeated the Devils in men's lacrosse. The 34-year stretch marks the longest active streak by Franklin & Marshall men's lacrosse against any opponent and ties the athletic department mark for most consecutive defeats of one opponent. A national search will begin immediately to find a replacement for Webster, according to F&M Athletic Director Robert Bunnell. "We will now initiate our search for the best person to lead Franklin & Marshall men's lacrosse and build upon the reputation and success which Coach Webster has created over his three years at the college." "As with all head coaching searches, the student-athletes will have significant input into the individual whom we hire. They will have the opportunity to sit-down with the candidates in private to have their questions and queries addressed in a personal manner." Named head coach on August 4, 1998, Webster came to Franklin & Marshall College after serving as the men's lacrosse head coach and assistant director of athletics at Marymount University in Arlington, Va., for seven years. At Marymount, Webster built the varsity lacrosse team from scratch and made it into a NCAA Division III Top 20 program. For his achievement, Webster was named the Capital Athletic Conference (CAC) "Coach of the Year" in both 1994 and 1997. During the 1990 season, Webster was an assistant football coach at Dickinson. From there, he moved to assistant lacrosse coach at Hampden-Sydney College (Va.) in the spring of 1991. Prior to the 1991-92 academic year, he joined the Marymount staff, where he served as facility manager, intramural director and instructor in addition to his coaching responsibilities. A four-year letter-winner and three-year captain for the Dickinson men's lacrosse team, Webster earned his Bachelor of Arts degree in history with an English minor in 1988.
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