Greece Lacrosse Announcement

CHARLOTTE, N.C. – Queens University of Charlotte Assistant Men's Lacrosse Coach Chris Panos has been named an assistant coach for the Greece Men's Senior National Team, the Greece Lacrosse Association announced on Thursday.

"I'm very excited to join the coaching staff for the Greece Lacrosse National Team for the World Games in 2018," said Panos. "This is another great opportunity for me to give back as an ambassador of this great game and to help the continued growth of this sport globally. I'd like to thank the entire Greece Lacrosse Association and Head Coach Andrew Athens for this tremendous opportunity. It will be an honor to work with all the coaches, players and staff and I am excited to get the hard work started!"

In his first season in Charlotte, Panos helped head coach Chris Kivlen guide Queens to an appearance in the South Atlantic Conference Championship Game. The Royals compiled three wins against opponents ranked in the top-15 nationally (Wingate University, The University of Mount Olive and Lenoir-Rhyne University) and finished the year ranked No. 18 in the country.

"Coach Panos will bring tremendous experience and perspective to Team Greece this summer," said Royals head coach Chris Kivlen. "Adding him to the staff is a great way for an inaugural team to lay a solid foundation on which to build future success."

"Coach Panos brings enthusiasm, competitiveness, and experience to the Greek program. He will undoubtedly play a major role in building a strong program on the international lacrosse stage."
                                                            
Prior to joining Queens, Panos spent three years as an assistant coach at the University of Tampa in which the Spartans won three straight Sunshine State Conference titles and made three straight NCAA Tournament appearances. A former collegiate player himself at Hofstra University, Panos helped the Pride to two NCAA postseason appearances in 1995 and 1996 and was twice named a first-team all-conference selection in the America East.

Panos was drafted No. 4 overall in the 1997 National Lacrosse League amateur draft and played 12 professional seasons, racking up 200 career goals to rank seventh all-time in goals scored by a U.S. born player. This fall, he was rated as the No. 19 all-time American born player in the NLL by U.S. Box Lacrosse.

Panos will serve under Andrew Athens, who was named the first head coach in the Association's history in October. Athens, currently the associate head coach at Furman University, spent a year as an assistant at Queens in 2012, helping lead the Royals to a No. 13 national ranking.

"I am extremely excited to add Chris to the coaching staff as offensive coordinator," said Athens. "He has a wealth of knowledge and experience as a former elite professional player, and well established NCAA coach. I love his passion, motivation, and energy and look forward to working with him."

The Greece National Team will compete in its first tournament, the Federation of International Lacrosse Men's World Championship, July 12-21, 2018, in Netanya, Israel.