UVA head women’s golf coach Ria Scott announced the appointment of Marissa Dodd as assistant coach.
Dodd replaces Calle Nielson, who accepted the head coaching position at Richmond in June. Dodd, a native of Allen, Texas, served as a volunteer assistant coach at SMU last spring after competing for three years on the LPGA’s Symetra Tour, playing in 49 of its tournaments.
“In Marissa Dodd, we found a coach who understands the highly-competitive academic student-athlete experience inside and out,” Scott said. “She has competed at the NCAA Championships and on professional tours, so she understands the talent level, work ethic and dedication required to get there. Our current student-athletes and recruits will instantly realize her personality and positive energy are infectious.”
Dodd competed at Wake Forest from 2011 to 2015, playing in 40 tournaments for the Deacons.
As a senior, she was Wake Forest’s top finisher (16th) at the NCAA Championship and helped the Demon Deacons finish second at the NCAA South Bend Regional. She earned a spot on the all-region team and wrapped up the season with a 74.14 stroke average and three top-10 finishes.
“I am thrilled and honored to be joining the women’s golf program at UVA,” Dodd said. “I am grateful to Ria and the athletics department at UVA for giving me this opportunity. I am looking forward to working with this great group of student-athletes and continuing to build a championship program.”
In just her second professional tournament, Dodd won at Stallion Mountain in Las Vegas on the 2016 Cactus Tour. In her inaugural professional tournament, she tied for first but lost a playoff for medalist honors. The Allen, Texas, native made her debut on the LPGA Tour at the 2016 Marathon Classic in Ohio. She shot a 4-under 68 in a qualifier to claim one of the final two spots in the event.
As an amateur, Dodd reached the finals of the 2011 USGA Women’s Amateur Publinks and qualified for the U.S. Amateur. She was the Texas 5A state champion as a junior at Allen High School.
In addition to volunteering at SMU last year, Dodd worked during that time for Chisum Sports and Hospitality as a golf events and hospitality manager and as a certified fitness trainer. She has conducted golf clinics at Glen Eagles Country Club in Plano, Texas, since 2013.
Dodd earned her undergraduate degree in mathematics and a minor in psychology from Wake Forest in 2015. She graduated cum laude, was a four-time member of the All-ACC Academic team and the recipient of the Edwin G. Wilson Most Outstanding Scholar Athlete Award, which is presented annually to the school’s most outstanding junior or senior male and female student-athlete based on academic excellence. In 2015, she was one eight student-athletes from the ACC invited to the NCAA’s Career in Sports Forum in Indianapolis.
Her father, Mark, played soccer at Duke, was a goalkeeper for the U.S. National Team and the Goalkeeper of the Year for the MLS’s inaugural season in 1996. Her mother, Stacie, also has ACC ties. She graduated from N.C. State.
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