Allegheny College Athletics

The 2013 campaign marks the second at Allegheny for Beth Curtiss, who has enjoyed a distinguished playing and coaching career in the region.

Curtiss quickly made her mark at Allegheny, as the 2012 Gators captured the ninth North Coast Athletic Conference (NCAC) championship in program history, going on to advance to the NCAA Division III Regional championship game.  The Gators, who finished 24-20 overall and 10-6 in the NCAC regular season, had a number of players garner accolades after the historic season.  

Second baseman Sadie Stuart, pitcher Caitlin Nealer, first baseman Halea Hayden, and shortstop Stephanie Fort were all named All-NCAC, while Stuart and Nealer went on to be named NFCA All-Region after record-breaking seasons.  Stuart set single-season school records with 11 home runs and 19 hit-by-pitches, while Nealer, who has established herself as one of the most dominant pitchers in the nation, won 21 games, including six complete-game shutouts, while setting an NCAC record with 276 strikeouts.  

Prior to her arrival in Meadville, Curtiss spent nine years at Gannon University, including nine as head coach of the Golden Knights. Under Curtiss’ guidance, Gannon qualified for the NCAA Division II Championship Tournament for three consecutive seasons starting in 2005. In 2007, she led Gannon to the Great Lakes Intercollegiate Athletics Conference (GLIAC) regular-season and tournament championship.

With a career record of 266-139, Curtiss totaled the second-most wins in program history, while her winning percentage of .656 is the best in the history of Gannon softball. During her tenure with the Golden Knights, she also helped guide Joanna Fergus and Jaclyn Corroto to National Fast Pitch Coaches Association (NFCA) All-America accolades and saw the breaking of 30 individual season and career records.

In her first season with Gannon, she guided the then-Lady Knights to a 40-14 record, which was the second-best single-season mark in program history. Gannon won at least 20 games every year under Curtiss’ tutelage, while the 2002 and 2003 squads advanced to the GLIAC Tournament Championship. The Golden Knights made national noise during the 2005 campaign, earning the program’s first NCAA Tournament victory en route to another stellar season. The following season, Curtiss’ club excelled even further, finishing one win away from the NCAA Division II Great Lakes Regional Championship while boasting a 41-18 overall record. 

After taking a pause in her coaching career following the 2008 campaign, Curtiss served for three years as an admissions representative at the Fortis Institute in Erie, Pa. In 2011, she was an assistant for Division II Mercyhurst College with an emphasis on training the defensive infielders.

Curtiss graduated Summa Cum Laude from Gannon University with a Bachelor of Science in Elementary/Early Childhood Education in 1999.  As a player, she was a four-year letterwinner for the Knights, twice earning All-GLIAC honors while also being named to the NFCA All-Academic team. 

Before becoming head coach at Gannon, Curtiss served for four years as the head coach of the Pittsburgh Metro Express (16-under) managing and coaching high school athletes in the Junior Olympic Development program.

Curtiss resides in Erie with husband Shaun, daughter Grace (6), and son Luke (4).