Erika DeSanty hired as head coach of women's golf

WILLIAMSTOWN, MA — Williams athletic director Harry Sheehy announced today that Clarksburg (MA) native Erika DeSanty has been named the head coach of women’s golf.

DeSanty succeeds co-head coaches Fran Vandermeer who retired this month after nine years at Williams, the last two in which she headed the women’s golf program along with Kris Herman.

Vandermeer and Herman guided the Ephs to the NCAA Tournament and an eighth-place finish nationally in the spring of 2008.

Erika DeSanty

“We’re excited to welcome Erika into the department as a head coach,” Sheehy said. “She has a great passion for teaching and coaching and we feel she is a great fit for our women’s golf program. I look forward to working with her.”

DeSanty, enters her third year at Williams after spending the last two as an assistant coach in the women’s basketball program, where she coordinated film exchange and assisted in recruiting, player development, and game preparation.  Prior to that, she spent two years at Elmira College as the assistant women’s basketball coach.

“I am honored and humbled by this opportunity; it is one that I have hoped for all of my life,” DeSanty said. “I have followed Williams’ athletics since a young age, coming to coach (Harry) Sheehy’s basketball camps and games, all the while imagining and hoping that one day I could be a part of a program committed to academic and athletic excellence like Williams.”

DeSanty continued to pursue her passion for golf in recent years while performing her duties at both Elmira and Williams, working for the Callaway Golf Company as a demo technician and for eduKaytion golf as an instructor. She recently began the first stage of certification to become a LPGA Teaching & Club Professional.

She has already met with her student-athletes at Williams, laying the groundwork for what is to come when the season begins in the fall.

“I hope that the student-athletes will take pride in their effort and commitment towards improving, but more importantly, I hope that they enjoy and learn from their experience as a member of this team,” DeSanty said.

DeSanty graduated from Colby-Sawyer in 2005 with a Bachelor of Science degree in sport management and from Elmira College in 2007 with a Master of Science degree in education.