Susan Robinson Fruchtl
Head Coach - First Season
Penn State University - '92
Saint Francis University Director of Athletics Bob Krimmel has announced that Susan Robinson Fruchtl has been named the sixth head women’s basketball coach in program history and will lead the Red Flash into its fifth decade of intercollegiate competition.
Robinson Fruchtl (pronounced fruck-tuhl) inherits an NCAA Division I program that has won nine Northeast Conference titles and made nine NCAA tournament appearances over the past twelve seasons. The Red Flash women’s basketball program will be marking its 40th year of competition during the 2007-08 season.
“I am thrilled to announce that Susan Robinson Fruchtl is joining our Saint Francis family to become our new head women’s basketball coach,” said Krimmel. “I’ve followed Susan’s career as a student athlete and a coach and I feel confident she brings the skills, integrity and leadership our program needs at this time. I know the Saint Francis community will join me in welcoming Susan and her husband Tony to the Red Flash family.”
Robinson Fruchtl arrives in Loretto after recently completing her third consecutive season on Rene Portland’s staff at Penn State University, and her eighth season with the Lady Lions overall. The 1992 Penn State graduate helped guide her alma mater to a composite 161-83 record (.660) including four 20-win seasons.
“First of all, I’m very excited to become a part of the Red Flash family and I’m thrilled to get my first head coaching opportunity at Saint Francis,” said Robinson Fruchtl. “I understand the tradition and success that the program has had and I want to get back to that, uphold it, and build on it. I’m also excited about the opportunity to work with Bob Krimmel and the staff at Saint Francis. I look forward to being a part of a university with such a genuine, caring, and tight-knit community.”
A former All-American and PSU’s only recipient of the Wade Trophy, which is presented annually to the best women's college basketball player in NCAA Division I, Robinson Fruchtl rejoined the Penn State staff in May of 2004 after serving as an assistant from 1993 to 1998. During her time in Happy Valley she worked primarily with post players as well as assisting in recruiting. It was under her guidance that former Lady Lion Amanda Brown developed into a third-round selection in the 2007 WNBA draft by the Los Angeles Sparks.
“I am very, very pleased for Susan,” said Portland. “This opportunity will be great for her. I consider her to be the epitome of what it takes to be successful in this role because of all of her awards as a player and her experience as a coach. I know she will do a great job at Saint Francis.”
After leaving the Lady Lions in 1998, Robinson Fruchtl enrolled at Slippery Rock University to pursue her Master's Degree in Secondary Guidance. During that time she served as a volunteer assistant from 1998-2000 for the North Allegheny girl's basketball team. Robinson Fruchtl also has a Master's in Higher Education, which she earned from PSU in 1998.
In June of 2000 she took over as the head girl's basketball coach at Beaver Area High School, where she also worked as one of the school's guidance counselors. She helped revive the basketball program, and led the Lady Cats to the PIAA Class AAA Playoffs in each of her final two seasons.
Then known as Susan Robinson, she graduated from Penn State with a B.S. in exercise and sports science in 1992 and was married to Tony Fruchtl in 1997. Robinson Fruchtl is one of only two players in Lady Lion history to accumulate 2,000 points and 1,000 rebounds and was the program’s all-time leading scorer with 2,253 points until she was passed by Kelly Mazzante in 2004.
In 1992, the same season she won the Wade Trophy, she was named a consensus All-American and earned GTE/CoSIDA Academic All-American honors. As a rookie in 1989, she won Atlantic 10 Freshman-of-the-Year honors. Twice she was named to the All-Atlantic 10 Conference team, and in 1991, she was chosen as the conference Player of the Year. The Center Point, W.Va. native served as captain of the 1990-91 PSU squad that compiled a 29-2 record and a No. 1 National ranking in the final AP poll of the regular season.
In 1990 Robinson Fruchtl was a member of the Junior National Team, and also played for the U.S. Select team that toured Europe. Following her collegiate career she played professionally for one season in Japan.