Toomey, Chemotti Earn USILA Coaching Awards

When Loyola finished off its 18-1 season, capped with its first national championship ever, the accolades were bound to come rolling in. First there was Eric Lusby, who took home Most Outstanding Player honors during the 2012 NCAA Tournament. Then Mike Sawyer, who will return this season for the Greyhounds, was named a Tewaaraton Trophy finalist. Now, head coach Charley Toomey and former assistant Dan Chemotti are honored for their efforts in taking Loyola to heights it had never reached before.

At the IMLCA Convention today, Toomey took home the USILA's Coach of the Year honors for Division I and Chemotti earned the Outstanding Assistant award for the same cohort. This is exceedingly exciting stuff:

USILA Coach of the Year honors went to Loyola coach Charley Toomey (DI), Dowling coach Tim Boyle (DII) and Salisbury coach (Jim Berkman). SUNY Delhi's Bob Leary (NJCAA) and Garden City's Steve Finnell (NILCA) received their awards at the banquet.

“Its the thrill of a lifetime to be a coach and to see the look on your players' faces when you win that last game,” Finnell said.

“It's truly about the staff, truly about the locker room,” Toomey said.

Toomey's assistant at Loyola, Dan Chemotti, now the head coach at Richmond, won the DI Outstanding Assistant award. Other winners were Matt Madalon (DIII Stevenson) and Karl Hedstrom (DII NYIT).

The efforts of Toomey and Chemotti are well deserved. To wit:

• From the 2011 season through 2012, Toomey oversaw a program that improved its overall winning percentage by over a third. Moreover, in the same period, Loyola increased its overall efficiency from a ranking of 28th in 2011 to second -- second! -- in 2012. It was almost a complete reformation for the Greyhounds over a two-year period, and Toomey's work to get Loyola to the top of the ECAC -- and the country -- is not a small feat.
• Similar to his former boss, Chemotti helped reshape the face of the Greyhounds' offense from 2011 to 2012. Two seasons ago Loyola had what could be best described as a pedestrian attack, finishing the 2011 season ranked only 42nd in the country in adjusted offensive efficiency. A year later the newly-minted Richmond coach had turned the Greyhounds into one of the most potent offensive units in the country, ranking 10th in adjusted offensive efficiency while nurturing offensive weapons like Mike Sawyer, Eric Lusby, Davis Butts, and Justin Ward into becoming some of the most dangerous players in the country.

Honors well earned all around.