Allegheny College Men's Golf

Groff, who has served as head coach of the womens program since its inception in 2006, has guided the Gators to unprecedented heights. The Gators qualified for the NCAA Division III Championships in their first seven years as a varsity program, producing six top-10 finishes. In 2006, Groff became just the fifth coach in NCAA history to lead both the mens and womens teams to the NCAA Championships in the same year, while both teams also bagged a top-10 finish that season. Groff's 2014-15 Gator men's squad finished fifth or better in eight of their 10 events, including a first-place finish at the competitive IUP Spadafora Invitational against a field of Division II competitors, and a close third-place finish at the 2015 NCAC Championship Series. Junior Jimmy Lasher finished fourth at the conference championship to earn All-NCAC accolades, while going on to earn GCAA/PING All-Region honors.  The Allegheny women saw a pair of players earn All-NCAC honors in Alex Grimaldis and Lauren Wind, while the team turned in three top-three finishes. In 2013-14, senior Oliver White was named the NCAC Player of the Year, before going on to earn GCAA/PING All-America for the third consecutive season, and Srixon All-American Scholar recognition for the second straight year.  The Gator men won a pair of tourney titles in '13-14, including Carnegie Mellon's Edward Jones Shootout, and the Kenyon BSN Fall Invitational.  The 2013-14 Allegheny women's team also earned two tournament titles, including the Ohio Wesleyan Fall Invitational and the Mercyhurst Spring Invite, while senior Miranda Santucci became the first player in team history to earn All-NCAC honors in four consecutive seasons. In 2013, both teams fared well, garnering a score of individual honors.  In addition to capturing the team title at the Rosencrans-Maurer Invitational, hosted by Wittenberg, the Gator men turned in four second-place team finishes.  Individually, senior Patrick Fritz and junior Oliver White each earned First Team All-North Coast Athletic Conference laurels, after finishing fourth and fifth, respectively, at the conference championships.  White went on to earn his second career PING All-America honor, while he was also named a GCAA/Cleveland Golf-Sirixon Scholar All-American, after posting a stroke average of 74.2, fourth best in program history.  The Gator women captured a trio of team invitational titles, as they took first as the Allegheny Invitational, the Capital Invitational, and the Gannon Invitational.  The team finished third at the rugged NCAC Championships, with three golfers earning All-NCAC laurels.  Junior Miranda Santucci earned First Team All-NCAC honors for a second consecutive year, finishing fourth at the conference championship with a four-round total of 320, while she was also named to the WGCA All-Scholar Team.  Senior Liz Blyth earned her third All-NCAC honor, and second First Team nod, after taking fifth, while junior Sarah Vorder Bruegge finished 11th to earn Second Team All-NCAC recognition.  In 2012, both squads excelled, although the women shined down the stretch as they rallied to finish ninth at the NCAA Championships following a victory over national runner-up DePauw at the second event of the NCAC Championship Series. The men finished fifth in the NCAC Championship Series, although the team picked up back-to-back victories late in the spring for the programs first team titles in two years. The womens squad earned its 2011 NCAA bid following another outstanding campaign in which it captured six tournament titles, including the inaugural North Coast Athletic Conference (NCAC) Championship. The Gators, who were ranked int he top-20 nationally throughout the season, captured their first league title by an astounding 98 strokes in four rounds of play. Individually, Hannah Schonau-Taylor secured medalist honors en route to NCAC Player of the Year, while Groff picked up the first NCAC Coach of the Year award on the womens side. Under Groffs tutelage, all five Allegheny players competing at the championships earned All-Conference honors. The team capped the season with a sixth-place finish at the NCAA Division III Championships, their highest finish at the national tournament in team history. Any time a team gets a bid to the national playoffs, it is a testament to the program and what the players have done throughout the year, Groff said. ...Ill be honest, this was never the plan coming in. Our primary focus was on building a program. In a few short years, the ladies have created their own identity and tradition of excellence. It has been an exciting story to say the least. During Groff's tenure, seven Allegheny golfers have combined to earn a total of 13 All-America honors. Ben Rathfon, a 2006 graduate, was just the third player in program history to earn four All-America honors, while Oliver White earned three straight All-America plaudits between 2012-14.  Additionally, Liz Blyth became the first Allegheny women's golfer to earn the honor, doing so as a freshman in 2010, before following it up with a repeat performance a season later.  In 2004, Groff was named the Easton Golf Pride Mid-Atlantic Regional Coach of the Year (men) as he led the Gators to wins at both the fall and spring Mid-Atlantic Regional Tournaments. The following season, he picked up his first of three NCAC Coach of the Year honors as the squad won six events and captured runner-up at the conference championship. In 2008, Groff was also the National Golf Coaches Association East Region Coach of the Year (women), while earning GCAA Mid-Atlantic Region Coach of the Year for the men a season later.    Groff is a 1983 graduate of Millersville (Pa.) University, where he played baseball and was an Academic All-American outfielder as a senior. He earned a bachelors degree in business administration from his alma mater and went on to earn his masters in sports administration from Kent State University in 1985. Groff has been a member of the NGCA Division III Awards Committee, the NGCA East Region Advisory Committee and the Golf Coaches Association of America Mid-Atlantic Regional Committee, where he served as the chairperson and voting member of the Golf World/Nike Golf Coaches Poll for several years. A native of Lancaster, Pa., Groff attended Penn Manor High School, where he played varsity soccer, basketball and baseball. He also is an avid golfer and a student of the game. Groff is married to the former Chris Binnie, a 1989 Allegheny graduate.     The Jeff Groff File

Sorensen, the 2012 Allegheny College valedictorian, returns to Meadville after spending the two seasons as the head women's golf coach at Division II Gannon University in Erie, Pennsylvania.   In 2013-14, she guided the Golden Knights to a total of five team titles, including the Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference (PSAC) championship, en-route to earning PSAC Coach of the Year laurels.  During her first year at the helm, the Golden Knights turned in a total of six top-five finishes, highlighted by a second-place performance at the PSAC championships. During her career as a student-athlete at Allegheny, Sorensen was part of three squads that qualified for the NCAA Division III National Championship, while the Gators won the North Coast Athletic Conference crown in 2010-11, and finished second at the league championship in 2011-12.  Individually, she turned in six top-10 finishes in her career, highlighted by a second-place effort at the 2011 Allegheny Invitational, and a seventh-place finish as the first event of the 2010 NCAC Championship Series.  She was named to the National Golf Association's All-America Scholar Team following both her junior and senior seasons. An Erie native and product of Villa Maria Academy, Sorensen graduated from Allegheny with a degree in women's studies and a minor in political science, and was a two-time Doane Scholar and three-time Distinguished Alden Scholar.  She is currently employed full-time as a marketing/events manager at Jameson Publishing in Erie.