last_nameJenkinsphone1356-7649first_nameDanaemail_addressDana.Jenkins@Furman.edutitleHead CoachDana Jenkins enters her eighth season as head coach of theFurman University softball program in 2011. Over the past sevenseasons, the former Paladin shortstop has put her stamp on theprogram as her teams have reached the finals of the SouthernConference Tournament twice, claimed a SoCon Tournament title andearned Furman's first NCAA Tournament bid.In just her fourth year at the helm of the Furman softballprogram in 2007, Jenkins directed her squad to the SouthernConference Tournament championship and the first NCAA postseasonappearance in school history.Appearing in their second straight SoCon Final, Jenkins'Paladins downed Georgia Southern 3-2 with a dramatic two-out doublein the bottom of the ninth to claim the school's first SoCon crownsince 1995 and a berth in the NCAA's Knoxville Regional.In 2009, Jenkins guided a youthful Paladin squad that had justone senior on the roster to 21 wins despite having to play a largeportion of the season with an undersized roster due to injuries.Under Jenkins guidance, first baseman Brythe Blankenship earnedAll-SoCon honors and pitcher Lana Mackey shattered Furman's singleseason strikeout record fanning 245 batters.Last season, she guided Furman to its first winning season in adecade while posting its most victories (24) since 2001.  It took Jenkins just two years to begin the turnaround of astruggling Furman softball program, leading the Paladins back intocontention for the Southern Conference Championship. Through herfirst two seasons at the helm of the softball program, Jenkins'teams had won a combined 30 games, though the 2005 team showedsigns of promise at the end of the season, making a run through theconsolation bracket to reach the final day of the SoConTournament.The 2006 Paladins made significant strides, nearly doublingtheir win total from the previous year. In fact, with 29 winsduring the 2006 season, Furman nearly equalled the win total fromthe two prior seasons combined. The Paladins again reached thefinal day of the conference tournament, proving that the previousseason's accomplishment was no fluke.In addition, the 2006 squad set Furman single-season records inseveral offensive categories including runs scored (276), hits(489), RBI (243), and home runs (27).Jenkins, a Sugar Hill, Ga., native, became the seventh headcoach in the 25-year history of Paladin softball and the firstalumnus to return as head coach of the program when she began herduties on August 1, 2003.A four-year starter at shortstop and two-year team captain,Jenkins still holds the Paladin record for career assists with 440,and was a member of Furman's 1994 and 1995 Southern ConferenceChampionship teams.After graduating Furman in 1996 with a health and exercisescience degree, Jenkins accepted an assistant coaching position atCampbell University, where in two years she served as assistantcoach, professor, interim head coach, co-head junior varsity coach,and assistant camp director. In July of 1998 Jenkins left Campbellto become the assistant coach under Aimee DeVos at UNC Charlotte,and in 2000 accepted her first head coaching position, with theNCAA Division II Anderson Lady Trojans."I am so excited about returning to Furman," said Jenkins at thetime of her hiring. "I am thrilled to return to a team I know andhave been a part of, and I look forward to jumping right in. Idon't think I have come down off cloud nine yet."In three years at Anderson, Jenkins led a team that had won just24 games the previous three years to 76 victories. In 2003, theAnderson softball team enjoyed its most successful season ever,setting a new school record for victories with a 32-22 record, andadvancing to the finals of the Carolinas-Virginia Conferencetournament.