Gator Country

Photo Courtesy of Duke Photography

Over the years, Florida Athletics Director Jeremy Foley has been able to find young coaching talent and giving it a chance to flourish. Jan Dowling has a chance to become the latest.

The 28-year-old Canadian, who has never been a head coach but has received raves as an assistant coach at her alma mater Kent State and Duke University, is the fourth women’s golf coach at Florida, succeeding Jill Briles-Hinton, who resigned last month following the NCAA East Regional at the Mark Bostick Golf Course.

“Florida’s had success developing young, gifted coaches and Jan certainly fits that model,” Foley said. “Jan loves coaching and loves the game of golf. She is confident that she can lead this program and recruit talented student-athletes to Florida. We believe Jan will be very successful.”

Foley’s coaching hires have included Billy Donovan (men’s basketball) and Urban Meyer (football), each of whom have won two national championships since 2006; Tim Walton, who has taken the softball team to the last two Women’s College World Series, finishing third and second, respectively; Kevin O’Sullivan, who in two years has the Florida baseball program knocking at the College World Series door; and Amanda Butler, a former Florida player who in two seasons had her alma mater’s women’s program in the Top 10.

A 2002 graduate of Kent State, Dowling, a Bradford, Ontario, native, helped lead the 2009 Duke women’s golf team to a sixth-place finish at the 2009 NCAA championships. Led by senior All-Americans Amanda Blumenherst and Jennie Lee, Duke also finished sixth at the NCAA East Regional hosted by the Gators in early May. Blumenherst, the U.S. Women’s Amateur champion in 2008, was the medalist and Duke lost to Auburn in a playoff for the team title at the SunTrust Lady Gators Invitational in April.

When Duke Hall of Fame coach Dan Brooks was ill last fall, Dowling took over and directed the team to the National Golf Coaches Association (NGCA) Collegiate Match Play Championship at the Ginn Resort.

“I’ve been extremely fortunate to have worked with some great coaches,” said Dowling, who got her coaching start under her former head coach, Mike Morrow, at Kent State, before moving to Duke to work with Brooks. “I can’t thank Duke University enough for the opportunity that I received there. It is one of the most storied programs in women’s golf and I’m looking forward to taking those experiences and building on them as a head coach at Florida.

“I’d like to thank Mr. Foley for this tremendous opportunity,” Dowling added. “There are currently a lot of talented players at Florida and we are going to create a team atmosphere to build on this and get the program back into national championship contention year in and year out. We have every resource imaginable at the University of Florida that will attract elite student-athletes.”

Golf Channel fans will remember Dowling, who competed in the hit reality television golf series Big Break III: Ladies Only, in the fall of 2005.

Dowling has a bachelor’s degree in Leisure Studies from Kent State. From 2003-05, she competed on the Futures Golf Tour and the BMO Canadian Women’s Tour. The 2000 Canadian Amateur champion, Dowling was a member of the inaugural Kent State women’s golf team in 1999 and helped lead the team to four straight MAC Championships and three NCAA Regional appearances. She totaled five career victories, including back-to-back MAC Championships as a freshman and sophomore, and had a school-record 25 top-10 finishes. She was the MAC Freshman of the Year in 1999 and the MAC Player of the Year in 2000.

Off the course, Dowling was just as successful, earning multiple academic honors. She was named to the Academic All-MAC Team three times, the NGCA Division I All-Scholar Athlete Team and the ESPN The Magazine Academic All-District IV At-Large Team. In 2002, she was named Kent State’s Woman of the Year and Female Athlete of the Year in the same season.

After her playing career, Dowling returned to her alma mater as an assistant coach. She helped the program to its 10th consecutive MAC Championship with back-to-back titles in 2007 and 2008. She also helped individuals Kira Meixner (2007) and Kirby Dreher (2008) to win MAC medalist honors. Dowling is a member of the Varsity “K” Athletics Hall of Fame’s Class of 2008.

Dowling has conducted numerous instructional clinics throughout the United States and Canada. She is a PGA of America Level I Apprentice and holds a Titleist Performance Institute Certification as a Golf Fitness Instructor (Level I). She also lists Moe Norman, the legendary Canadian golfer whose swing is the basis of Natural Golf, as a mentor,

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