Bio

If the decision on whether or not to induct Jeannette DeVos Ireland into the Athletics Hall of Fame was based solely on what she accomplished playing field hockey, lacrosse and basketball while she attended Goucher in the mid-1970s, even if it were only for two years, she’d be a shoo-in.

One could argue she’d also be a worthy candidate for induction if all that was considered was what she has undertaken and achieved in the coaching profession since her graduation in 1977.

DeVos Ireland headed first for Towson after graduating from high school, but after two years there, she transferred to Goucher. Despite her decision to “get serious about my major,” intercollegiate athletics played a big role in the time she spent here.

Her field hockey coach, Sherry Rice-Maid, called DeVos Ireland and Janet Mann “the two outstanding players for Goucher in a truly rebuilding year” at the conclusion of the 1975 season, which included wins over Johns Hopkins, 2-0, and Loyola (Md.), 4-0.

The rebuilding continued in 1976 when DeVos Ireland was one of the limited number of seniors on a 22-player roster made up mostly of freshmen and sophomores. Still, the team, playing at home, won all of its games to finish in first place in the Baltimore College Tournament.

DeVos Ireland was a welcome addition to the lacrosse team in 1976 as she contributed five goals to a 19-1 triumph over Johns Hopkins and three goals to a 14-5 win over what was then Western Maryland (McDaniel). In addition, the school newspaper mentioned “strong performances by Janet Mann and Jen DeVos” as the keys to an impressive one-goal victory in a scrimmage against Brown.

Even before she transferred, DeVos Ireland competed in games that were conducted on the Goucher campus. Based on her outstanding performance for Towson at the first annual Maryland Women’s Lacrosse Tournament in May 1974, she was selected to play attack wing for the Baltimore I All-Star Team at the South Region Tournament, which took place at Goucher later that same month. In her time at Goucher, she was a two-time Baltimore Association first-team selection for both field hockey and lacrosse and a South Region All-Star in lacrosse. 

It was during a lacrosse game against Johns Hopkins during DeVos Ireland’s  final year at Goucher that the seeds that eventually led to her entering the coaching profession were planted. She started as an assistant on the field hockey and lacrosse coaching staffs at Hopkins. In 1990, she was offered the head field hockey coach position at Mt. Hebron High School in Ellicott City, Md., and during her 26 seasons there, her teams have been declared Howard County champions seven times. Five of her teams have made it to the state finals.

This is not the first Hall of Fame that has opened its doors to DeVos Ireland. In 2009, she was inducted into the Greater Baltimore chapter of the U.S. Lacrosse Hall of Fame and, two years later, into the Howard County (Md.) Women’s Athletics Hall of Fame.