FARMVILLE, Va. – The storied history of the Longwood women's golf program is headed into a new era, and former All-Big South golfer
Brittany Dabule will take over the helm.
Longwood athletics director
Michelle Meadows announced Tuesday that Dabule, a former standout at Winthrop, will take over the Lancer program following a three-year stint at USC Beaufort where she built the Sandsharks into a national contender at the NAIA level.
"We're thrilled to welcome coach Dabule to Longwood as our new women's golf head coach," Meadows said. "Her credentials as a coach and former Big South student-athlete speak for themselves, but what makes her so special are her passion as a coach and her desire to teach and empower young people through the game of golf. She inherits a Longwood women's golf program that is rife with history and success, and one that is primed to take a significant step forward under her leadership."
Dabule comes to Longwood after building USC Beaufort into a national powerhouse, leading the Sandsharks to three consecutive NAIA National Championship appearances and back-to-back top-five national finishes in 2017 and 2018. Those NAIA postseason berths followed a run of three consecutive top-four performances in the stout Sun Conference, a league that along with USC Beaufort includes the 2018 and 2019 NAIA National Champions.
She will take over a Longwood program that has one of the most decorated resumes in Longwood athletics history with three NCGA Division II National Championships, five national runner-up finishes and six Virginia State Championships – all under Longwood Hall of Fame coach and program founder Dr. Barbara Smith from 1966-92.
"I would like to thank
Michelle Meadows and Joe Kaminski for this great opportunity to lead the Longwood women's golf program," Dabule said. "I was impressed throughout the interview process with everything the university has to offer its student-athletes, both academically and athletically.
"As a former Winthrop golfer, I am thrilled to get back to the Big South Conference and compete against a great field of teams. I am excited to be a part of the Lancer community and am looking forward to the future of the women's golf program."
Dabule's expertise in player development produced six All-Americans in her three years at USC Beaufort, including three-time All-American Blanca Porta and two-time honoree Franzi Knoetsch. Both Knoetsch and Porta emerged as two of NAIA's best with both recording multiple top-20 finishes at the national championship tournaments.
Along with the individual accolades earned by USCB's top performers, Dabule also led the Sandsharks to team-wide success in both the Sun Conference and at the national level. USCB finished in the top 10 in the final NAIA Coaches Poll all three years under her leadership, earned three straight top-four finishes in the Sun Conference Championship and reached the NAIA National Championship tournament all three years.
In her first season in 2017, Dabule propelled the Sandsharks to a program-record third-place finish at the NAIA National Championship, doing so after placing third in the Sun Conference Championship. USCB continued to assert itself atop the national standings the following year when Dabule led the program to a runner-up finish at the Sun Conference tournament and followed with a top-four result at the national championship. In 2019 that success continued with a fourth-place finish in conference and a 16th-place result at the national championships with a roster that included just one senior.
A native of Hilton Head, S.C., Dabule's success as a coach followed a standout playing career at Winthrop and time as a professional on The Cactus Tour in Arizona. With the Eagles, she earned All-Big South honors in 2006, was an individual medalist at the Winthrop Intercollegiate and was a finalist for the NCAA's "Freshman Impact" award in 2006. She helped Winthrop capture four consecutive third-place finishes in the Big South Championship tournament.
After graduating from Winthrop with her degree in sports management, she broke into the coaching ranks as the volunteer varsity girls' golf coach at Hilton Head High School. During that time, she also co-founded and grew the Sea Pines Montessori School's "Hooked On Golf" program, and served an assistant golf professional at Harbour Town Golf Links.
Dabule later pursued her passion for the game to the Midwest, serving as an assistant golf professional in the winters at Mirabel Golf Club in Scottsdale, Ariz., and in the summers at Glenwild Golf Club & Spa in Park City, Utah, from 2012-15. In 2015, she got her break as a professional when she qualified for The Cactus Tour in Arizona.
After her year-long professional stint, Dabule broke into the collegiate coaching ranks at USCB in January of 2017 and will now take her next step at Longwood. She will inherit a Longwood team that returns six players from its 2018-19 squad, including its top six scorers.
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