Players Mentioned
Sara Doell Named LPGA National Coach of the Year
10/12/2015 12:00:00 AM | Women's Golf
DAYTONA BEACH, FLA. – Seton Hall women's golf head coach Sara Doell was named Ladies Professional Golf Association (LPGA) Teaching and Club Professional (T&CP) National Coach of the Year on Monday.
The national award winners were selected by the LPGA T&CP membership's Executive Committee from the pool of sectional award winners voted on by members of the six regional sections: Central, Midwest, Northeast, Southeast, Western, and International. Other winners include: Alison Curdt, Wood Ranch Golf Club, Simi Valley, Calif., Teacher of the Year; Debby King, Laurelwood Golf Course, Eugene, Ore., Professional of the Year; and Sheryl Maize, Crystal Lake Golf Course, Lakeville, Minn., and Palm Aire Country Club, Sarasota, Fla., Junior Golf Leadership Award.
The LPGA T&CP Coach of the Year Award was established in 1980 and is awarded annually to an LPGA Teaching and Club Professional member who is actively engaged in teaching and/or coaching golf at the collegiate or high school level.
The two-time defending BIG EAST Coach of the Year, Doell started the Seton Hall women's golf program in 2010, and in four short years led the Pirates from a last place finish, 172 strokes over par at the BIG EAST Championship in 2011, to the pinnacle of the conference just three years later.
"I am humbled to have been named LPGA T&CP National Coach of the Year," Doell said. "I sincerely value the LPGA, an organization that provides so many opportunities for girls and women in the sport of golf."
Last spring, Doell's Pirates were able to succeed in a new role… the favorite. The Pirates entered the 2015 BIG EAST Champion as the #1 seed and were able to hold on to win the event by just one stroke over Georgetown to become the first Seton Hall program to win back-to-back BIG EAST titles since softball in 2004-05.
"Creating the Seton Hall women's golf program has been an extraordinary experience," Doell continued. "The talented and committed athletes I have worked with have made me the coach I am today and inspire me to be a better coach tomorrow."
During the 2014-15 academic year, Seton Hall won four tournaments, doubling the amount the program had won in its four-year history prior. It placed among the top six teams in nine of 10 tournaments it participated in and registered a new team-low with a 305.18 stroke average for the year. Doell successfully added two newcomers to a veteran core, who paid immediate dividends and helped lessen the blow of losing All-BIG EAST performer Hannah Basalone. One of the newcomers, Cassie Pantelas, ranked third on the team in stroke average and became the fourth golfer in history to win an individual title.
In all, Doell has guided Seton Hall to eight team tournament titles in five years, and mentored four different individual champions.
Doell also serves as a member for the Alliance of Women's Coaches, an organization that encourages advancement of women in coaching careers and spearheaded an effort to host a "WeCoachU" seminar at Seton Hall with over fifty regional coaches and fifteen speakers in attendance.
"Doing what I do is a privilege," Doell concluded, "and to be honored by this organization at this level is nothing short of extraordinary, and I am grateful."
