Old Dominion University Women's Golf

Crabtree helped guide the Lady Monarchs to second place finishes in the Fighting Camel Classic, the Golfweek Program Challenge and the Lady Pirate Invitational. Two of his student-athletes, Charlotte De Corte and Maggie Simmermacher, also competed in the highly prestigious Spirit International Tournament. Under Crabtrees guidance, junior Rachel Walker earned her second career C-USA Womens Golfer of the Week honor after tying for third place at the Pinehurst Challenge, shooting a career-best 6-under 210 (71-71-68). While he has already demonstrated his ability to guide the Lady Monarchs to new heights on the golf course, the academic accomplishments of his golfers continue to pour in, serving as a testament to his prioritization of success in the classroom. I believe it is difficult to play golf and perform at a high level if a player is behind in the classroom. I think its much easier to play well when your grades are good.  I encourage my team to stay on top of their classes, and then we can travel to tournaments and play and have fun. says Coach Crabtree.  The womens golf team was declared as the 2015 ODU Scholar Team of the Year, and in 2014 the squad was recognized by the NCAA for being one of only four ODU teams earning perfect graduation rate success. With Crabtree at the forefront of the program, Maggie Simmermacher and Kate Vlasinova were named 2015 Womens Golf Collegiate Scholars All-Americans, and nine players have received C-USA Commissioners Academic Honor Roll recognition. In 2014, the NCAA recognized ODU Womens Golf for a perfect APR Score 1000.  ODUs perfect APR Score ranks top 10% of all NCAA programs. The APR score provides a real-time look at a team's academic success each semester by tracking the academic progress of each student-athlete on scholarship. The APR accounts for eligibility, retention and graduation and provides a measure of each team's academic performance. As he continues to reel in top recruits from around the world and develop the Lady Monarch golfers into highly productive student-athletes, Crabtree maintains a vision for the future. I like to keep my teams small, around six players, Crabtree explained. That way I can invest more individual quality time with each player and help them progress.  I want each player to travel to every tournament because I dont think players get better if they stay home on campus.  Im convinced that players need experience traveling and competing to improve and grow as golfers and people.  I want my golfers to grow from each and every event. I want to put an emphasis on recruiting international players.    And Crabtrees philosophy has already begun to manifest its prosperity with the recent headlines surrounding the ODU womens golf program. At the conclusion of the 2015 season, Maggie Simmermacher was named C-USA Freshman of the Year and First Team All C-USA.  Simmermacher also finished top 25 at the 2014 World Am/Espirito Santo Trophy in Japan and made the final cut at the 2015 U.S. Womens Amateur. While Katerina Vlasinova earned Third Team All C-USA honors, she finished fifth in stroke play at the 2015 British Ladies Open Amateur Championship.  Vlasinova was the highest placing amateur at the 2015 Tipsport Golf Master (LET) and won the 2015 Czech Republic National Match Play Championship.  Freshman Charlotte De Corte from Belgium was semi-finalist at the 2015 Ladies British Open Amateur Championship and T8 at the 2015 International European Ladies Amateur Championship. At the time of his hiring, ODU Senior Associate Athletic Director Bruce Stewart commented on his confidence in Coach Crabtrees leadership. I found Andys vision for the program aligned with our core values. He has been described as a players coach and has been quite successful in his own regard in college as well as a golfer. I look forward to the continued success of our program under his leadership. Bruce Stewart, ODUs Sr. Assoc. Athletic Director. And as for the success of the Lady Monarch golfers, for Crabtree, this is only the beginning. Before taking the reins at ODU, Crabtree served as an assistant coach for Texas A&Ms womens golf program for two seasons.  At Texas A&M, Crabtree recruited Marijosse Navarro (#3 nationally ranked) and Maddie Szeryk (#5 nationally ranked) in the class of 2014.  Crabtree also attracted verbal commitments from top 10 nationally ranked recruits in the class of 2015 and 2016.   While at Texas A&M, the Aggies reached #10 in the national rankings, which was the highest in program history. Texas A&M won a Big 12 Championship and posted two top 10 NCAA finishes. In his first year at A&M, Crabtree helped the Aggies to individual titles at the 2012 Big 12 Championship and the NCAA Regional. The Aggies finished second at regionals to match their best finish in program history and placed 16th at the NCAA Championship to mark its fourth top 20 finish in five seasons. In 2007, Crabtree was named the first full time assistant mens golf coach in history at The University of Tulsa. During his tenure in Tulsa, the Golden Hurricane golf team advanced to NCAA regional play three times and had eight players earn All-Conference USA honors. Tulsa's 2010 recruiting class was rated one of the best in the nation among mid-major schools by Golfweek. Crabtree worked extensively with All C-USA golfers Nicolas Geyger, Rob Laird, and Arie Fauzi at Tulsa. He also helped instruct Chris Worrell, who was recognized by C-USA when he earned All-Freshman Team honors. In 2010, Crabtree caddied for Tulsa's Stephen Carney when he won the Oklahoma Golf Association State Amateur Championship. Crabtree also mentored Tulsa golfers to accomplishments in the classroom. The Golf Coaches Association of America honored Tulsa men's golf with the All-Academic Team Award in 2008-09 and 2009-10. Rob Laird was selected GCAA All-American Scholar in 2009 and 2010. While Crabtree compiled an extensive list of impressive accolades on the golf course over his four years at USF, he excelled in the classroom as well. He was named the Conference USA Student-Athlete of the Year for golf as a senior. He went on to earn his bachelor's degree in communication and was named an Academic All-American in 1999. Crabtree also qualified for the U.S. Amateur at Pebble Beach and British Amateur at Royal Liverpool.  . SIGN UP FOR E-MAIL UPDATES ©  2016, Old Dominion University Athletics. All rights reserved.

Former Monarch golfer Rachel Johnson enters her seventh season on ODU's coaching staff in 2023. A former assistant coach, she was elevated to Associate Head Coach in August of 2021. The Monarchs competed in 10 tournaments in 2022-23, recording six Top-10 finishes and three Top-5 finishes, to include tying for second at the Badger Invitational and taking second at the Lady Paladin Invitational. Leah Onosato became the first golfer in program history to win a conference tournament, placing first at the Sun Belt Championship with a two-under par 214 after leading the field from start to finish. Onosato and teammate Lucia Gonzalez were named to the All-Sun Belt First Team, and Onosato earned an at-large bid to the Palm Beach Gardens Regional.ODU competed in 10 tournaments during 2021-22, with the Monarchs turning in seven Top-10 finishes and four Top-5 finishes. The duo of Federica Torre and Leah Onosato finished first and second to propel the Monarchs to a third-place finish at the Badger Invitational. Jana Melichova then tied for second at the Bryan National Collegiate as ODU tied for third. The Pikovice, Czech Republic native secured C-USA Co-Golfer of the Week honors on Oct. 6 as she broke her own program record for 18-hole gross scoring with a final round of 65 at the Evie Odom Invitational, tying for third at four-under 206. Melichova added another weekly honor on Feb. 9 after posting her sixth-straight Top-10 finish by tying for ninth at the UCF Challenge. After Melichova claimed a runner-up finish at the Indiana Invitational, she collected All-Tournament Team honors as she tied for third at the C-USA Championship. Torre was a few strokes behind her and tied for eighth as the Monarchs combined for a 327 to tie for third. Melichova and Torre received All-Conference nods and Melichova became the first golfer in program history to advance to the NCAA Championships, where she tied for 13th. She was named a WGCA All-American and the VaSID Co-Player of the Year.In her fourth season on staff, Johnson helped lead Leah Onosato to an at-large bid to the NCAA Regionals. Onosato collected a slew of honors throughout the season and was named both First Team All-State by VaSID and Second Team All-Conference USA and played her way onto the C-USA Championship All-Tournament Team by tying for fourth. Jana Melichova also received significant honors with the help of Johnson. She finished as the runner-up at the C-USA Championships and was Second Team All-State and Third Team All-C-USA. Additionally, the Monarchs notched a pair of second-place finishes as a team, including the Reynolds Lake Oconee Invitational. In her third season as assistant coach, Johnson helped guide the Monarchs to four top-5 finishes, including a runner-up finish at the Maryb S. Kauth Invitational hosted by UTSA. ODU closed out the 2019-20 season ranked 75th according to the Golfstat rankings. Two individuals in Jana Melichova and Leah Onosato both finished ranked in the top-200 according to Golfstat.  Johnson helped lead ODU to their third-straight NCAA appearance. They closed out the season ranked No. 49 according to Golfstat. ODU took 3rd at the 2019 C-USA Championship.  In her first season as a coach, Johnson helped guide ODU to the program's first-ever at-large bid to an NCAA Regional and a final Golfstat Team Ranking of No. 60.  A 2017 graduate of Old Dominion, Johnson golfed for the Monarchs for four seasons and helped lead ODU to the 2017 Conference USA Championship, the first conference title in school history, along with the program's first-ever appearance in the NCAA Tournament.  A team captain of the 2017 Conference USA Champions, Johnson was a two-time C-USA All-Tournament Team honoree during her career and was also an individual medalist at the Golf Week Program Challenge in 2014. In addition, Johnson was twice named the C-USA Golfer of the Week. Off the course, Johnson made the Dean's List four times and was a three-time C-USA Commissioner's Honor Roll member. In 2017, Johnson earned the prestigious C-USA Spring Spirit of Service Award. She serviced more than 12 different community service causes including the Salvation Army Food Bank, the ODU Little Feet Meet, Lambert's Point Trash Pick up and Norfolk Public School Reading Day. Formerly Rachel Walker, Johnson was born in Dumfries, Scotland. She is married to ODU wrestling alum Kevin Johnson, and the pair welcomed their son Kai in December 2022.

Mallory Kane completed her seventh season as the head coach of the Monarchs in 2022-23. During her time in Norfolk, Kane has guided ODU women's golf into the national spotlight. ODU's only Conference USA Championship title occurred under Kane in 2017. The 2022-23 season saw the Monarchs post six Top-10 finishes and three Top-5 finishes, to include tying for second at the Badger Invitational as well as a second-place finish at the Lady Paladin Invitational. Leah Onosato became the first Monarch women's golfer to win a conference tournament, placing first at the Sun Belt Championship with a two-under par 214 after leading the field from start to finish. Onosato went on to compete in the Palm Beach Gardens Regional and was joined on the All-Sun Belt First Team by teammate Lucia Gonzalez.ODU had seven Top-10 finishes and four Top-5 finishes during the 2021-22 season. Federica Torre and Leah Onosato finished first and second to propel the Monarchs to a third-place finish at the Badger Invitational. Jana Melichova then tied for second at the Bryan National Collegiate as ODU tied for third. The Pikovice, Czech Republic native was tabbed C-USA Co-Golfer of the Week on Oct. 6 as she broke her own program record for 18-hole gross scoring with a final round of 65 at the Evie Odom Invitational, tying for third at four-under 206. Melichova earned the distinction again on Feb. 9 after posting her sixth-straight Top-10 finish, tying for ninth at the UCF Challenge. After Melichova claimed a runner-up finish at the Indiana Invitational, she collected All-Tournament Team honors and tied for third at the C-USA Championship. Torre was a few strokes behind her and tied for eighth as the Monarchs tied for third with a combined score of 327. Melichova and Torre garnered All-Conference honors and Melichova became the first golfer in program history to advance to the NCAA Championships, capping off her career by tying for 13th. She was named a WGCA All-American and the VaSID Co-Player of the Year.The Monarchs were represented in the NCAA postseason for a third-consecutive time in 2020-21, Kane's fifth as head coach. Junior Leah Onosato received an at-large bid to the NCAA Columbus Regional, where she finished tied for 55th. Onosato (153rd) was one of two Monarchs to finish the year ranked inside the top-240 in Golfstat alongside Jana Melichova (240th). That duo also garnered Conference USA All-Tournament Team honors with Melichova finishing as runner-up and Onosato ending in a tie for fourth. Additionally, Onosato was tabbed a second team all-conference performer, and Melichova was selected to the third team. The pair were also represented on the VaSID All-State team with Onosato making the first team and Melichova the third team. The Monarchs were competitive throughout their spring season and finished second in a pair of events and fifth twice. ODU placed second in a field of 15 teams at the Reynold Lake Oconee Invitational, its first event as a team since the end of the 2020 season. The Monarchs also placed second at the Match at Spring Creek, a tri-meet against Commonwealth rivals Virginia and Richmond. The team reached as high as 44th on the Golfstat rankings and finished the season 66th in the nation.In 2019-20, despite a shortened season, the Old Dominion women’s golf team once again had a successful year. In the final Golfstat rankings of 2020, ODU finished ranked 75th in the country and was the highest-ranked team in Conference USA. Individually, Jana Melichova and Leah Onosato both finished the season in the top-200 according to Golfstat. As a team, ODU recorded four top-five finishes in their six events. The Monarchs season was also highlighted by hosting the second Princess Anne Invitational. The event was held at Princess Anne Country Club and included four top-50 ranked opponents in the 15-team field. Individually, Melichova won the Maryb S. Kauth Invitational, earning ODU’s first individual win since Sana Tufail won the UNF Collegiate in 2017. Melichova earned C-USA Player of the Week accolades twice (10/2, 2/5), while Onosato earned the honor once on Feb. 19. Overall, Melichova compiled three top-5 finishes, and Onosato recorded two top-10 finishes. Four of ODU’s six players in Jana Melichova, Leah Onosato, Anika Bolcikova and Pilar Muguruza broke 70 at least one time this season.Also in 2020, Kane helped lead Melichova to VaSID Player of the Year honors as well as garnering first team All-State and first team All-Conference honors. Onosato also picked up first team All-State and second team All-Conference accolades. Kane's team broke multiple school records in the 2018-19 season. She also sent ODU to the NCAA Regionals for the third straight season via an at-large bid. The Monarchs ended the season ranked 49th according to Golfstat. At the Golfweek Program Challenge, ODU broke the school record for the lowest 18-hole and 54-hole and finished second. Throughout the year, the Monarchs notched seven top-five finishes. Individually, senior Charlotte De Corte was named to the All-Conference USA First Team, Jana Melichova and Leah Onosato to the all-conference second team and Sana Tufail to the third team. In addition, Melichova was named C-USA Freshman of the Year after posting a 72.9 stroke average, which ended up being the best on the team along with De Corte. 2017-18 marked yet another successful season for Kane and the Monarchs, as the team earned the program's first-ever at-large bid to an NCAA Regional. ODU ended the season ranked 60th in the Golfstat Team Rankings. During the regular season, the squad notched six top-five finishes and won the UNF Collegiate. At the Pinehurst Challenge, where ODU placed third, the Monarchs set a new school record for a 54-hole team score with an 859. Individually, seniors Maggie Simmermacher and Katerina Vlasinova capped off their illustrious careers with a bevy of accolades. Simmermacher was named the 2017-18 C-USA Player of the Year, while both Simmermacher and Vlasinova earned First Team All-C-USA honors. In her inaugural season at ODU in 2016-17, Kane guided the Monarchs to a record-setting season. The squad captured the 2017 Conference USA Championship, marking the program's first-ever conference title. The team also qualified for an NCAA Regional, also a first in program history. For the team's efforts, Kane was named the Conference USA Coach of the Year and the VaSID State Coach of the Year. Aside from the championship and coach of the year honors, there were many more accolades for Kane and the Monarchs in 2016-17. Maggie Simmermacher and Katerina Vlasinova both garnered all-conference accolades, and Sana Tufail was named to the C-USA All-Academic Team. As a team, the Monarchs recorded three top-10 finishes, including a fourth-place finish at the Golfweek Challenge in the fall and a third-place finish at the UNF Collegiate during the spring. Tufail was also the individual medalist at the UNF Collegiate. Prior to ODU, Kane was the head women’s coach at Western Carolina for six seasons. Under her tutelage, WCU had four golfers earn All-Southern Conference accolades and two more earn All-Freshman team honors. At WCU, she coached 18 WGCA All-Academic honorees and 19 Southern Conference All-Academic selections. During her collegiate playing career at the University of Georgia, Kane, formerly Mallory Hetzel, amassed eight top-10 individual finishes for the Bulldog women's golf program including, a career-best individual medalist honor at the 2009 UNLV Invitational and a third-place finish at the 2009 SEC Championship. She twice garnered All-SEC and All-America honors by the NGCA and Golfweek following both her freshman and senior seasons. Kane was also a part of Georgia's 2006-07 SEC Championship squad. Additionally, Kane competed in NCAA regional and national championship tournaments all four years, finishing tied for sixth as a team her freshman year, eighth as a sophomore with 10th and 15th-place national finishes her final two seasons. Also while in Athens, Kane served as a camp counselor at the Chris Haack Golf Camp - directed by Georgia's men's head coach - and the Kelley Hester Golf Academy for Girls - organized by UGA's women's coach - during the summer of both 2007 and 2008, where she worked directly with teaching campers fundamental elements of golf. Kane has continued her playing career while coaching and won back-to-back Carolinas Golf Association (CGA) Carolinas Women's Match Play Championship titles in 2014 and 2015. She has seven career CGA tournament titles all-time. She recently finished second in the Carolinas Golf Association Women’s Four-Ball Championship. As an amateur, she was a four-time American Junior Golf Association (AJGA) Rolex Junior All-American, earning the honor in 2001, '02, '04 and again in 2005. During that same time frame, she managed to advance to match play in three U.S. Girls' Junior Championships and was named to the East Canon Cup Team twice. She was also twice dubbed the Beth Daniel Player of the Year (2003, '04) by the South Carolina Golf Association.Upon her arrival in Athens, Ga., in 2005, Kane was ranked No. 7 in the Golfweek / Titleist Junior Girls' rankings. Following her graduation, during a brief stint on the Duramed Futures Tour - a developmental tour for the Ladies Professional Golf Association (LPGA) - Kane posted a 74.20 stroke average on the highly competitive circuit, making the cut in five of her 10 career events during 2009. Her career-best professional finish came at the Alliance Bank Golf Classic in Syracuse, N.Y., in late July, 2009 where she finished tied for 45th.