Marc Palombo, who has served for the past four seasons as an assistant women’s lacrosse coach at Massachusetts Maritime, has been promoted to the position of Head Women’s Lacrosse Coach at the Academy.  Palombo’s appointment, which is effective immediately, was announced today by Buccaneer Director of Athletics Garin Veris.

A resident of Sandwich, Mass., Palombo becomes the third mentor in program history and takes over for Leslie Bushy, who resigned as Massachusetts Maritime’s head coach after four years.  Bushy, a former standout at Division II Bentley, guided the Buccaneers to a berth in the Massachusetts State Collegiate Athletic Conference quarterfinals during her first campaign in 2013 and increased the team’s win total during each of her four seasons at the helm.

“Marc has symbolized excellence in lacrosse both as a student-athlete and as a coach, and I’m very pleased that he will be leading our women’s program in the years to come,” Veris said of Palombo.  “He is greatly respected in both the lacrosse and Academy communities, and I look forward to watching him take this team to a higher level of success.

“At the same time, I want to thank Coach Bushy for all of her hard work on behalf of our student-athletes and the institution during the past four years,” Veris continued.  “Leslie has built this program from its infant stages to one that has earned great respect from her peers around the region, and the impact that she has made will be a lasting one.”

Palombo is no stranger to the Massachusetts Maritime lacrosse community, as he ranks as one of the top players in the history of the Academy’s men’s program en route to induction into the Buccaneer Athletic Hall of Fame in 2001.  A three-sport athlete at Massachusetts Maritime, the Nahant, Mass. native graduated from in 1978 after leading the Colonial League in scoring on three occasions and earning all-conference accolades in each of his four seasons of play.  Selected to play in the East-West Senior All-Star Game as a senior, Marc graduated as the school record-holder for goals in a season (33) and career (150) while also serving as team captain in both 1977 and 1978.  His lacrosse jersey #28 was officially retired by the Academy in 1988.

Palombo excelled on the gridiron as well for fellow Hall of Famer Don Ruggeri, as he served as a captain on the Buccaneers’ first New England Football Conference championship squad as a senior and collected all-league honors along the way.  Marc was also a two-year ice hockey captain and copped a pair of all-conference accolades during the winters of 1976-77 and 1977-78, and he was tabbed as Massachusetts Maritime’s Athlete of the Year following his senior year.

“The Academy has played such a large role in my life, and I’m deeply humbled and grateful to Garin Veris and the entire Massachusetts Maritime administration for the opportunity to coach this program,” Palombo said of his appointment.  “I can’t thank Leslie enough for mentoring me over the past four years, and I look forward to taking the next step in this program’s very bright future.”

The Buccaneers are set to begin the 2017 season on Saturday, March 4^th when Massachusetts Maritime entertains UMass Dartmouth in a non-league match at Clean Harbors Stadium beginning at Noon EST.