Men's Golf 6/15/2019 10:08:00 AM Nicholas Huenefeld (@niklaustradamus)

Danna selected as new @FGCU_MGolf head coach

FORT MYERS, Fla. - Andrew Danna has been selected as the next head coach of the FGCU men's golf program.

"We are excited to have Andrew and his bride Carey joining our Eagles Athletics Family," FGCU director of athletics Ken Kavanagh said. "Amidst a very strong field of candidates, we believe that his background and experiences were the best overall fit for FGCU men's golf at this juncture. We now look forward to Coach Danna coming on board and building upon many positive elements on and off the course in our pursuit of the ASUN Championship and NCAA Tournament."

Danna, who spent the past year as an assistant coach at LSU, previously led the Lynn University men's golf program to its first NCAA Division-II national championship in the spring of 2018. In fact, in his six-year tenure there, he also produced three runner-up campaigns along with a third and eighth-place finish at the national tournament.

"I am honored and humbled to have the opportunity to lead the men's golf program at FGCU," Danna said. "I would like to thank Ken Kavanagh and Graham Diemer for this opportunity and their belief in me as a coach. I look forward to contributing to the growth of this program and to help guide our student-athletes to achieve success both on and off the golf course."

This past year, Danna played a key role in the development of a team at LSU that advanced all the way to the third round of stroke play at the NCAA Championships.

"Andrew is more than ready for this step in his career," LSU director of golf Chuck Winstead said. "He is a tireless recruiter and has a vision for developing a winning Division-I program. I am excited for him and have no doubt of his future success at FGCU."

Previously, Danna left Lynn University as the most accomplished men's golf coach in program history. Since joining the Fighting Knights in 2012, he steered his teams to six NCAA national tournament appearances, including a national title in 2018 and three national runner-up finishes. The team won back-to-back Sunshine State Conference (SSC) championships in 2015 and 2016.

In his final season with the program, Danna led the Blue and White to its first-ever NCAA national title before being named the Dave Williams National Coach of the Year for Division-II. Along the way, Lynn broke program records for lowest 54-hole total (826 – FAU Spring Championship), stroke average and team stroke average. In addition, the Fighting Knights finished in the top-five in 10 of their 12 tournaments and had at least one individual place in the top-10 in nine events.

A two-time SSC Coach of the Year, Danna oversaw 17 All-Americans, nine All-America Scholars, a National and SSC Freshman of the Year in Felix Kvarnstrom and 13 All-SSC selections at Lynn. The 17 All-Americans awarded under Danna are the most during any coach's tenure in program history.

In the fall of 2016, Danna became the record holder for career victories at Lynn after the team took top honors at the Otter Invitational, the 17th time the program finished first under his direction. He concluded his time at Lynn with a program-record 22 tournament victories.

On top of all that, one of Danna's recruits at Lynn, Tomás "Toto" Gana, won the Latin America Amateur Championship and competed in the 2017 Masters.

Prior to his six-year stint at Lynn, Danna served as the head coach at Georgia Southwestern State University. In two seasons, he had three student-athletes selected as All-Americans as announced by the Golf Coaches Association of America. Named the 2012 Peach Belt Conference Coach of the Year in his final year at Georgia Southwestern, he helped lead the team to three squad victories and had two players take home medalist honors as they rose to No. 1 in the NCAA Division-II Golfstat rankings.

Danna earned his master's in business administration in December 2017 from Lynn University and a Bachelor of Science in business administration in August 2006 from Mississippi State University.

FOLLOW ALONG
For schedule updates, news and information, visit FGCUAthletics.com. For the latest news and behind-the-scenes access to information, photos and videos, follow @FGCU_MGolf on Twitter and @FGCU_MGolf on Instagram.

#FEEDFGCU
FGCU Athletics sponsors events in November and April to benefit the FGCU Campus Food Pantry (www.fgcu.edu/foodpantry) and the Harry Chapin Food Bank (www.harrychapinfoodbank.org), FGCU Athletics' charities of choice. For more information, including how to make a contribution, please visit www.fgcu.edu/foodpantry and utilize the hashtag #FeedFGCU to help raise awareness.

ABOUT FGCU
FGCU teams have combined to win an incredible 78 conference regular season and tournament titles in just 11+ seasons at the Division-I level. Additionally, in just seven+ seasons of D-I postseason eligibility, the Eagles have had a combined 36 teams or individuals compete in NCAA championships. Seven FGCU programs have earned a top-25 national ranking in their respective sport - including both men's soccer, women's soccer, and women's basketball again in 2018-19. FGCU also collectively earned a record 3.35 GPA in the classroom in spring 2018 and have outpaced their institution's undergraduate student body GPA each of the past twenty semesters. In 2016-17, the Green and Blue posted a department-best sixth-place finish in the DI-AAA Learfield Directors' Cup and top-100 showing nationally, ahead of several Power-5 and FBS institutions. The Eagles also served an all-time high 7,200 volunteer hours - being recognized as one of two runners-up for the inaugural NACDA Community Service Award presented by the Fiesta Bowl in 2017.FGCU Athletics' charities of choice. For more information, including how to make a contribution, please visit www.fgcu.edu/foodpantry and utilize the hashtag #FeedFGCU to help raise awareness.

--FGCUATHLETICS.COM--

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