GAINESVILLE (Dec. 6) – Jen Darty of Oviedo High School has been selected as the 2018 Florida Dairy Farmers Girls’ Volleyball Coach-of-the-Year following a final round of voting by a statewide panel of high school volleyball coaches and state media representatives.
Darty had been previously selected the Class 9A Coach of the Year after leading her squad to a 28-4 record and the state title. In her eight years at Oviedo, Darty has posted a 169-65 record, including another state championship in 2013 and a state runnerup finish in 2016.
She received eight of the 19 first-place votes to total 118 points in winning this year’s award. Class 6A COY Angie Patrick of Merritt Island was the runnerup with 81 points and Class 7A COY Randy Ewers of Vanguard finished third with 47 points.
Rounding out the voting were Class 8A COY Lisa Zielinski of St. Thomas Aquinas (39), Class 5A COY Jeff Reavis of Trinity Catholic (36), Class 1A COY Heather Brinkmeier of Sneads (29), Class 2A COY Hollie Benjumea of The Geneva School (17), Class 3A COY Matt Willems of Divine Savior Academy (15) and Class 4A COY Raquel Ferreira of Shorecrest Prep (5).
All the finalists won state championships in 2018.
The Florida Dairy Farmers High School Sports Awards program exemplifies Florida Dairy Farmers’ commitment to the state’s youth. This marks the 27th year of these unique awards as we honor the state’s top athletes and coaches in all 30 FHSAA sanctioned and recognized sports. The program also emphasizes to young people the importance of keeping dairy products a primary part of their diet in their overall nutrition plan.
2018 FINAL VOTING RESULTS (Area winners in bold)
Coach Total Points 1st-place Votes
Jen Darty, Oviedo 118 8
Angie Patrick, Merritt Island 81 3
Randy Ewers, Vanguard (Ocala) 47 3
Lisa Zielinski, St. Thomas Aquinas 39 2
Jeff Reavis Trinity Catholic (Ocala) 36 1
Heather Brinkmeier, Sneads 29 1
Holly Benjumea, The Geneva School 17 1
Matt Willems, Divine Savior Academy 15 0
Raquel Ferreira, Shorecrest Prep 5 0
Past Winners:
2017 – Ross Usie, West Orange
2016 – Tanya Jarvis, Bishop Moore
2015 – Chad Davis, P.K. Yonge (Gainesville)
2014 – Tony Cothran, Bradenton Manatee
2013 – Stephanie Gibson, Winter Park
2012 – Tanya Jarvis, Bishop Moore
2011 – Randy Dagostino , Tampa Berkeley Preparatory
2010 – Randy Dagostino, Tampa Berkeley Preparatory
2009 – Marty Bielicki, Martin County
2008 – Leanna Taylor, Tampa Plant
2007 – Charmaine Cox, Lake Highland Preparatory
2006 – Louise Crocco, Ft. Lauderdale Cardinal Gibbons
2005 – Stephanie Gibson, Winter Park
2004 – Stephanie Gibson, Winter Park
2003 – Cindy Boulware, Gainesville
2002 – Teri Ohme, Plant City Durant
2001 – Virginia Kelly, Boca Raton Olympic Heights
2000 – Sindee Snow, Bishop Moore
1999 – Virginia Kelly, Boca Raton Olympic Heights
1998 – Louise Crocco, Ft. Lauderdale Cardinal Gibbons
1997 – Virginia Kelly, Boca Raton Olympic Heights
1996 – Virginia Kelly, Boca Raton Olympic Heights
1995 – Stephanie Gibson, Miami Sunset
1994 – Louise Crocco, Ft. Lauderdale Cardinal Gibbons
1993 – Carol Chalu, Tampa Berkeley Preparatory
1992 – Randy Dagostino, Tampa Berkeley Preparatory
2018 Girls’ Volleyball Coach of the Year finalists:
9A – Jennifer Darty, Oviedo
Darty led her squad to the Class 9A state title with a 28-4 record. She has posted a 169-65 record in eight years at Oviedo with another state title (2013) and a state runnerup finish (2013).
8A – Lisa Zielinski, St. Thomas Aquinas (Ft. Lauderdale)
Zielinski led her squad to its fourth state title in the past five years with a 26-5 record. In 31 years at Aquinas, she has compiled a 795-158 record with six state championships and 15 Final Four appearances.
7A – Randy Ewers, Vanguard (Ocala)
Ewers led his team to the Class 7A state title with a 26-5 record. In two years at Vanguard he has compiled a 43-12 record.
6A – Angie Patrick, Merritt Island
Patrick led her team to the Class 6A state championship with a 30-2 record. In 16 years at Merritt Island She has posted a 342-87 record with another state title (2011) and two state runner-up finishes (2012 & 2014).
5A – Jeff Reavis, Trinity Catholic (Ocala)
Reavis led his squad to a 24-5 record and the Class 5A state title. In five years at TC he has compiled a 96-22 record with a state runnerup finish in 2015. He also won the 2007 state title as the head coach at Buchholz.
4A – Raquel Ferreira, Shorecrest Prep (St. Petersburg)
In her first year at Shorecrest, Ferreira led her team to the Class 4A state title with a 24-4 record.
3A – Matt Willems, Divine Savior Academy (Doral)
In his fifth year as head coach, Willems led his team to a 25-1 record and the Class 3A state title. His overall record is 89-15.
2A – Hollie Benjumea, The Geneva School (Winter Park)
Benjumea led her team to the Class 2A state championship with an 18-6 record. In 13 years, she has a 248-107 record with two state runner-up finishes (2016-17) and another Final Four appearance (2013).
1A – Heather Brinkmeier, Sneads
In her first year as head coach, Brinkmeier led Sneads to its sixth consecutive Class 1A state title with a 24-5 record.
