AMHERST, N.Y. – Head women's lacrosse coach
Dominique Hamman will step down from her position to accept the head coaching job and return to Grand Valley State University in Allendale, Mich., Daemen Vice President of Athletics Traci Murphy announced today.
"Daemen Athletics is grateful for Coach Hamman's hard work and commitment," Murphy said. "She took on the challenge of building our women's lacrosse program from the ground up and did so with great effort, energy and enthusiasm. Her dedication has positioned our young program well for future success, and she has been an incredibly valuable member of our Wildcat family. It's been a privilege to work alongside Coach Hamman, and we wish her nothing but the best as she takes the next step in her coaching journey at Grand Valley State."
Hamman was announced as the programs first head coach on June 3, 2021. She came to Daemen following a two-year stint as a graduate assistant on the women's lacrosse coaching staff at Grand Valley State.
In her time leading the Wildcats, Hamman developed five All-ECC caliber players with
Casey Decatur (Apollo Beach, Fla.),
Hayley Latvala (Grand Island, N.Y.),
Dana Bacher (Hamburg, N.Y.) earning All-ECC honors in 2023 and
Ella Bouley (Auburn, N.Y.) and
Tatiana Wright (Stratford, Conn.) named second team honorees in 2024. This past season, Bacher,
Gabi Accurso (Buffalo, N.Y.) and
Olivia Wade (Eden, N.Y.) were named to the 2024 IWLCA Academic Honor Roll under Hamman's tutelage, the first time in the brief two-year history of the program that a Daemen team or individual players have earned academic honors for the IWLCA.
In her two seasons at the helm, Hamman led the Blue and White to 12 wins, highlighted by a seven-win campaign in the programs inaugural 2023 season. Both years, the Wildcats were in the hunt to qualify for the ECC Women's Lacrosse Championship entering the final weekend of the regular season. The Blue and White also won their inaugural game in program history with a 14-10 victory at Lake Erie College on Feb. 26, 2023 with Hamman on the sideline.
"The decision to leave the program at Daemen was not an easy one" Hamman said. "I want to thank Traci Murphy for her belief in me and entrusting me to build the program here at Daemen three and a half years ago,
Stephanie Albano for her mentorship and guidance and most importantly, friendship as I navigated all the aspects of building a program as a first time head coach, and last but not least, Team Three. You all have given me a purpose to work as hard as I can each day and I have had an absolute blast watching you each grow into incredible young women. There is so much potential in this young team and I am excited to see where you all continue to take this program."
A national search will commence immediately to identify the program's next head coach. All inquiries about the program can be directed to the sport supervisor,
Stephanie Albano, Senior Associate Athletics Director for Internal Operations/Senior Woman Administrator.
Daemen University features the premier NCAA Division II athletics program in the Buffalo-Niagara region, sponsoring 17 intercollegiate teams. For the latest information on Daemen Athletics, follow the Wildcats via social media on Twitter,
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