No stranger to NCAA Championship competition, San José State women’s golf coach Dana Dormann is in her fifth season at the helm of the Spartan program. The former Spartan All-American and San José State Sports Hall of Fame honoree was named to lead the program in June of 2018.
The 2022 Mountain West Coach of the Year led the San José State women’s golf program back to national prominence with the Spartans finishing the 2021-22 season ranked third nationally. The Spartans finished either first or second in eight of the 11 tournaments played and advanced to match
play at the NCAA Championships for the first time in school history. San José State won its first Mountain West Women’s Golf Championship in April of 2022, winning by a record 30 shots over their nearest competitor. The team won five tournaments in the spring of 2021 including twice over top-ranked Stanford at the Lamkin Invitational and the Juli Inkster at Meadow Club Invitation- al and the NCAA Ann Arbor Regional. The Spartans broke the school record for most under par & par rounds recorded in a season at 77.
Dormann was a finalist for the Division I Jackie Steinmann WGCA National Coach of the Year, presented by Golf Pride, and earned her second Mountain West Coach of the Year distinction (2018-19, 2021-22) after the Spartans dominated the field at the confer- ence tournament. SJSU was the only school outside of the Power 5 to qualify for the national championships and finished seventh through stroke play to advance to match play. For all their successes in 2021-22, the Spartans swept the conference awards as Natasha Andrea Oon was the MW Player of the Year, Lucia Lopez Ortega the MW Freshman of the Year and those two, along with Kajsa Arwefjäll and Antonia Malate were selected to the All-MW first team.
Dormann navigated the program through an early shut down of the season in 2020 due to COVID-19, to a spring-only season in 2021. She coached Arwefjäll to an appearance at the NCAA National Championship where she finished tied for 36th in the individ- ual standings.
In her first season (2018-19), Dormann and the Spartans won two tournaments - Minnesota Invitational, and The Gold Rush. The Spartans advanced to the 2019 NCAA Championships at the Blessings Golf Course where the team finished 19th. She coached the top-two golfers in the Mountain West - Abegail Arevalo, the 2018-19 MW Women’s Golfer of the Year, and Oon, the 2018-19 MW Women’s Golf Freshman of the Year. Dormann was honored as the 2018-19 MW Women’s Golf Coach of the Year.
Dormann was the associate head coach and assistant coach for the Spartan program for 13-plus seasons. She mentored many players during those years including All-American and conference Player of the Year winners Erica Moston and My Leander. Dor- mann helped coach the Spartans to berths at the NCAA Division I Women’s Golf Championships - 2013 in Athens, Ga., and 2010 in Wilmington, N.C. In 2011, Dormann was named the Coach of the Year for the Western Section, as selected by the LPGA Teaching and Club Professional membership. She was one of five collegiate coaches selected for the award.
Dormann has been successful in golf from a young age, winning the 1985 U.S. Junior and Junior World championships to becom- ing a three-time All-American for the Spartans. She played on 1985 through 1988 teams, was a member of the 1987 NCAA Cham- pionship team, won four tournaments and was the 1987 Pacific Coast Athletic Association Player of the Year. Dormann was also an assistant coach for the 1989 NCAA Championship team.
Professionally, she played 10 years on the LPGA Tour, winning the 1992 Las Vegas LPGA International and the 1993 McCall’s LPGA Classic. Dormann is a member of the Golf Coaches Association of America Hall of Fame.
Still playing competitively, Dormann earned medalist honors by shooting a three-under 68 to qualify for the inaugural 2018 U.S. Senior Women’s Open in Chicago. Dormann was the only player under par at the qualifier on the par-71 Ocean Course at San Fran- cisco’s Olympic Club. She qualified for the 2019 U.S. Senior Women’s Open after winning the Stanford qualifier with an even-par 71. Dormann is no stranger to USGA events as she played in 14 U.S. Women’s Open Championships.
Dana and her husband, John, are the proud parents of sons William and Jason.