A former collegiate standout, Ana White enters her fifth season as an assistant coach with Rutgers women's lacrosse in 2023-24. In her first four seasons "On the Banks", Heavens has helped the program to two NCAA Tournament appearances after RU qualified for just one in its previous 43 years. With Heavens' help, 13 Scarlet Knights have earned All-Big Ten recognition, 11 have secure All-Region status and nine have landed on All-America lists.
As the program's offensive coordinator, White has worked with several all-conference and all-region selections on the offensive front, which include Marin Harthsorn, Stephanie Kelly, Tarlayn Naslonski and Cassidy Spilis. Spilis has blossomed into one of the top midfielders in the country, earning All-America and All-Big Ten laurels for the third consecutive season in 2023. The 2022 Big Ten Midfielder of the Year surpassed Naslonski for the most goals in program history with 192 during her collegiate career.
Playing one of the toughest schedules in the country this past spring, Rutgers finished with eight victories and its third consecutive Big Ten Tournament Semifinal appearance during the 2023 campaign. The Scarlet Knights picked up wins against three ranked opponents – No. 6 Stony Brook, No. 16 Johns Hopkins, and No. 19 Jacksonville – and closed the season receiving votes in the final IWLCA Coaches Poll - its third consecutive season appearing in the final IWLCA rankings.
Rutgers enjoyed its best season in program history in 2022 with White on staff, as the Scarlet Knights finished with a program-record 16 victories and a final No. 10 ranking in the IWLCA Coaches poll - their highest final ranking ever. RU knocked off six ranked opponents for the second consecutive season and defeated No. 4 Northwestern to advance to its first Big Ten Tournament final. Rutgers tallied its most goals in a season with 285 in 21 games and finished third in the Big Ten in scoring offense (13.57).
Rutgers closed out the 2021 season with a final No. 14 ranking in the IWLCA Coaches Poll – its highest ranking since 2010. The Scarlet Knights picked up their first ever wins over Big Ten Conference foes Johns Hopkins, Maryland and Penn State and advanced to the Big Ten Tournament semifinals for just the second time since it began league play in 2015. RU advanced to the NCAA Tournament for just the second time since 1999 and earned a win in the first round over No. 10 Drexel for the program's first win in school history.
Prior to her arrival "On the Banks", White spent five seasons on staff at Lafayette from 2015-19, as six Leopards combined for 10 All-Patriot League honors during her tenure. In 2017, Lafayette muscled 10 victories and an appearance in the Patriot League quarterfinals.
A native of Swarthmore, Pennsylvania, White was a four-time All-Patriot League and a three-time all-region selection in the midfield during her playing career on College Hill. She was also the Patriot League Midfielder of the Year her junior season and Patriot League Rookie of the Year in 2011.
White still holds the Patriot League record for career caused turnovers (125) and is second all-time in conference history with 398 draw controls. White also received the Charles L. Albert 1908 Award as the best female student-athlete at the University in 2014.
