What will a national championship get you? For Arizona women's golf head coach Laura Ianello, it's a five-year contract extension. Arizona and Ianello agreed to an extension that will run through the 2023 season, per UA Athletics.
Arizona athletic director Dave Heeke said in a press release on Friday that Ianello is "dedicated to continuing the championship culture this program has developed over decades."
"We could not ask for anyone better to lead our women's golf program than Laura Ianello, and because of that we are both incredibly proud and excited to announce this five-year extension," Heeke said. "The remarkable performance of this year's national championship team exemplifies how fortunate we are to have Laura as our head coach. ... We look forward to continued excellence from our women's golf team on the course, in the classroom and in the community for many more years to come."
Ianello and the Wildcats took home the national title, upsetting the top-seeded Alabama in a playoff round. It was the first time Arizona won the national championship since 2000, when Ianello was student-athlete.
As a player, Ianello has been a part of one national championship and three Pac-10 championships between 2000 and 2002. In eight seasons as a coach, Ianello led the Wildcats to six trips to the NCAA Championships, produced nine All-Americans, 22 All-Pac-12 selections, a Pac-12 championship in 2015 and this year's national title.
"Arizona has been great to me as both a student-athlete and coach, and there is nowhere else I'd rather be. The belief our administrative team has in me and my staff with coach Derek Radley is truly amazing," Ianello said. "We are excited to return our national championship team, which had no seniors, to carry us into a bright future for Arizona golf. I am ecstatic to continue the championship tradition we have built at Arizona, graduating our student-athletes and seeing successful young women come out of our program."
.@ArizonaWGolf head coach Laura Ianello on winning the national championship: pic.twitter.com/4hoFrXdolO
— The Wildcaster (@TheWildcaster) May 25, 2018
Looking ahead to next season, Ianello will retain the group that won the national championship: Haley Moore, Bianca Pagdanganan, Gigi Stoll, Yu-Sang Hou and Sandra Nordaas.
