June 1, 2018
San Jose, Calif.-Longtime San José State University women's golf coach John Dormann announced his retirement, effective August 1.
A Spartan alum, Dormann has coached at San José State for the past 20 years. He joined the Spartan golf programs in 1998 as the Assistant Director of Golf. He was the assistant for both the men's and women's teams from October 1998 through 2005 when he took over as head coach for both teams. Dormann assumed head coaching responsibilities for the women's program in April 2005.
As head coach of the women's golf program, Dormann guided two Spartan teams to berths at the NCAA Division I Women's Golf Championships - 2013 in Athens, Ga., and 2010 in Wilmington, N.C. The 2013 team shot the best single-round score in school history with a 284 in the first round. The four-under par score found the team tied for first place with eventual champion Southern California after the first round. San José State finished 19th at the 2013 championship.
"There are so many people to thank over my 20 years at San José State," said Dormann. "First I want to thank my amazing wife and associate head coach Dana for her support over the past 20 years. We were partners in this program for the past 13 years, and she has been there with me through the good times and the not so easy times.
"Next, I want to thank the Athletic Directors I have worked with during that time, from Chuck Bell to Tom Bowen to Gene Bleymaier to Marie Tuite. Each one was very supportive of the golf programs, and I appreciate everything they did for myself and the student-athletes. I am also very appreciative of all the support staff that I have worked with over the 20 years here, especially director of sports medicine Scott Shaw and associate media relations director Amy Villa.
"I want to thank all the loyal supporters of the women's golf program. Their loyalty, friendship and generosity will never be forgotten. I want to give a special mention to the Thawley family for their incredible generosity and vision in building a top-notch facility for the golf programs.
"Finally, I want to thank every player, current and former, that brought their Spartan Spirit to the classroom and golf course every day. Their dedication and determination to be the best while wearing the Spartan colors will by cherished by me forever."
Under his tutelage, Spartan teams played at 11 NCAA Regional Championships, won four Western Athletic Conference Championships (2006, 2009, 2010, 2011, 2012), captured 13 in-season tournament titles and been ranked in the top-30 of the GolfStat rankings. The 2008-09 team won four regular season titles along with the WAC Championship.
The four-time conference Coach of the Year (WAC - 2006, 2009, 201; MW - 2017) coached two All-Americans - Erica Moston (2009) and My Leander (2017), one Mountain West Player of the Year (Leander, 2017) and one WAC Player of the Year (Moston, 2008 & 2009); two WAC champions (Jenelle Gomez, 2006; and Moston, 2007, 2009), and three WAC Freshmen of the Year (Sirapa Kasemsamran, 2006; Cristina Corpus, 2007; and Regan De Guzman, 2013). San José State players received 19 first team and 16 second-team all-conference honors with Dormann as head coach. Six of the top-10 scoring averages in school history were set in the past 10 years including Leander who had a school-record 71.27 stroke average for the 2016-17 season.
Dormann developed players to continue their golf game after graduation. De Guzman was the latest in a long line of former Spartans to receive her card to play in the LPGA (2017). Others are playing or have played on the Symetra Tour including Megan Osland and De Guzman, while Leander is playing on the Swedish Golf Tour and recently won her first professional event. Several others have gone on to have professional careers throughout the world.
As the assistant coach for the men's and women's programs, the Spartans women's teams finished in the top-20 at the 1999 through 2001 NCAA Championships including a 15th place finish in 2000. San José State men's and women's golfers received All-WAC first or second-team recognition 24 times while he was the assistant coach. Ashley Gomes, a 2004 honorable mention All-American, was the 2004 WAC Champion and Player of the Year.
In the classroom, Spartan golfers received 25 Academic All-WAC awards, 13 Academic All-MW recognitions, six MW Scholar Athlete awards and 10 national awards for academic excellence from the Golf Coaches Association of America (GCAA) and the National Golf Coaches Association (NGCA).
"I want to thank Coach Dormann for his 20 years of service and dedication to San José State and the golf programs," said Spartan Director of Athletics Marie Tuite. "Graduating our student-athletes and competing in postseason is the bar we set for all our programs, and women's golf program exemplifies these goals. We are indebted to Coach Dormann for continuing the high standards Coach Mark Gale set 20 years ago. Coach Dormann's dedication, vision and passion to compete at the highest level are benchmarks we set as we prepare for find our next head coach."
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