"I've been offered to coach the rest of this year, but I don't know anything else beyond that," Yoder said. "I'm trying to add what I can in the short amount of time that I have for sure."
Yoder worked as an associate PGA professional at Hanover Country Club since 2007, which will lend a helpful sense of familiarity to the team's transition, Heather Roland '12 said in an email to The Dartmouth.
"It is definitely nice having someone we know well as interim coach," she said. "Having known Gina since freshman year because she works at [the country club] has allowed for a relatively smooth transition from a captain's perspective."
While she has only spent approximately one week in her new role, Yoder brings 24 years of experience in the golf business to the program, she said.
After coaching her high school team in the 1990s, she had a stint at the collegiate level when she served as the head coach at Xavier University in Cincinnati, Ohio, from 2001 to 2005.
Because Xavier offers strong academics, Yoder is familiar with the mindset and unique challenges of student-athletes at Dartmouth, she said. In her time as a Spartan at Michigan State University, Yoder earned recognition as an academic All-American in 1993 and received the team's lowest average award in the same year.
Although this could have been a difficult transition, the players have all been welcoming and helpful, Yoder said. Because the team is currently practicing indoors at Leverone Field House, Yoder has only been able to analyze certain skills like chipping and pitching. She said she looks forward to seeing the golfers play outside when the Big Green takes on Brown University this weekend.
Yoder said she will work to learn team members' playing styles as quickly as possible. From there, she explained, she hopes to help them set individual and team goals for the remainder of the season.
"They're all great young women, and I have an opportunity to help them at this moment and make a transition," she said. "It's been easy to step back into that coaching role."
Dartmouth's athletic department has been helpful and supportive of the team, according to both Roland and Yoder.
"The athletic department has done an incredible job with the transition," Roland said. "They took action immediately to ensure that we would be able to continue our spring season as planned."
Yoder said that she will continue her work teaching lessons and leading clinics at the club while coaching the team.
Roland offered a message of support to Gibson on behalf of herself and the team.
"We all hope the best for [Gibson]." she said.
Under Gibson's 14 years of guidance, the Dartmouth women's golf program has received several accolades over the years, including a nod from Golf Digest in 2006 as a program that offers extraordinary opportunities both in the classroom and on the golf course hitting No. 13 on a list of 50 such institutions.
Gibson had coaching experience before joining the Big Green, including years as a basketball coach at the high school and collegiate levels. Once at Dartmouth, he spent Spring 1998 as an assistant coach and accepted the head coaching position in June of the same year.
This season has generally lacked in top finishes, but the team won the Hilton Head Invitational in Hilton Head, S.C., at the end of last month and placed third in a field of 22 teams at the Dartmouth Invitational to open the fall season.
The end is in sight for the Big Green's spring season. The team heads to Barrington, R.I., this weekend for the Brown Invitational before a trip to Columbia University the following week and, finally, the Ivy League Championship tournament April 22-24.
Gibson could not be reached for comment by press time.
