Susan DeKalb, who has over 20 years of collegiate coaching experience, was named the new head women’s golf coach in July of 2013. DeKalb, who has led her Hawks to two straight top-three finishes at the Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference Championships, returns a strong nucleus of players to accompany a skilled underclassmen group.
Last season, all five players on the Hawks’ card finished in the top-20 at the league championships en route to a third place result, led by sophomore Haley Goodling. The second-year Hawk recorded two rounds of 79 to go along with an 81 to finish the three-day event with 239, good for 10th overall. Making her championship debut, Erin DiDonato finished three shots behind Goodling for 14th and one spot in front of Sarah Kokotajlo. Faith Garcia (t-17th) and Kaitlin Clancy (t-19th) rounded out the Hawks’ card, which posted a 54-hole total of 961.
For the second season in a row, DeKalb’s program was honored by the NCAA for its multiyear Academic Progress Rate (APR) and received the NCAA's APR Public Recognition Award. The recognition highlights the program’s commitment to academic progress and retention of student-athletes by achieving the top APRs within their respective sports.
At the 2016 MAAC Championships, DeKalb saw her Hawks post a three-round score of 944, 11 shots off the lead. Then sophomore Kokotajlo, who had sole possession of first place with three holes to play, became the second player under DeKalb’s watch and fourth Monmouth player in history to finish second on the individual leaderboard at a conference championship after compiling a 54-hole score of 226 (78-75-73). Garcia, who also finished in the top-10 at the MAAC Championships, paced the team for the second season in a row finishing with an 80.4 stroke average and a pair of top-10 results.
As a rookie, Garcia led the way for the Blue and White during the 2014-15 campaign, compiling an 81.8 stroke average and landing in the top-10 twice, while Kokotajlo finished second on the team with an 83.7 average. Backed by a pair of upperclassmen, MU finished sixth at the championships as Jessica Kavanagh (242; t-15th) and Rebecca Gaona (245; t-18) both finished in the top-20.
In her first year, DeKalb’s squad finished fourth at the league’s championship, paced by Michelle Rosenhouse, who finished second on the individual leaderboard, three strokes off the lead. Rosenhouse, who competed in all 19 rounds on the year, finished with an 81.7 stroke average, landing in the top-five in two events. DeKalb guided Lizzie Abbondadnolo to two top-10 finishes, while Ashley Navin and Rebbeca Gaona each earned a top-10 finish of their own.
An avid golfer, DeKalb has enjoyed individual success on the course, winning three Garden State Women’s Golf Association Championships. DeKalb added to her trophy case, earning the Women’s Metropolitan Golf Association Match Play title as well as being named the organization’s Player of the Year. She was added to the French-American Team on multiple occasions, and qualified for the United States Golf Association Senior Championships three times, advancing to the round of 16 in 2008.
No stranger to West Long Branch, DeKalb lead the Monmouth women’s basketball program for 11 years, compiling 141 career wins. The 1990-91 Northeast Conference Coach of the Year guided the Hawks to three different title games. DeKalb ranks fourth in NEC History with 103 regular season league victories.
DeKalb, along with her husband Paul Sweetwood, resides in Middletown, NJ.
