Lori Hatcher Bonacci enters her fifth season at the helm of The Citadel women's golf program. 

In her first year, she improved the Bulldog program drastically. In just one season, Bonacci decreased the Bulldogs’ overall stroke total from 2006-07 by 510 strokes.  Recruiting talented players, Bonacci looked to increase The Citadel’s level of competition and make a significant impact in the Southern Conference. In her fourth season, Bonacci led the Bulldogs to their best team round (302) at the Great Smokies Intercollegiate and best 54-hole competiton score (965) at the Sea Trail Intercollegiate, both of which are school records.

Bonacci capitalized on a solid 2010 -11 recruiting class with the play of Erica Pellegrini. Pellegrini played in all 24 rounds of the team’s 10 tournaments, finishing with a stroke average of 82.08. Behind Bonacci’s tutelage, Pellegrini posted a third round, 75, at the Edwin Watts Invitational in February. Also finishing with strong 2010-11 campaigns were Bree Baumgartner (83.25 stroke avg.) and Alanna-Jean Keith (83.42 stroke avg.). Baumgartner also posted a round of 75, at the Great Smokies Intercollegiate on Sept. 19, 2010. Among Keith’s standout performances was an opening round 76 at the Winthrop Fall Golf Classic.

That parlayed into success for Bonacci’s squad during the 2011 fall season, as Pellegrini amassed a stroke average of 76.75 in eight rounds. She was closely followed by Baumgartner (80.73 stroke avg.) and Keith (81.67). Bonacci’s freshmen class of Kellie Anderson, TaKima Butler and Devin Lowe also made their presence felt during the fall slate. Anderson (85.00 stroke avg.) carded two rounds in the 70s, including a second round 75 at the Great Smokies Intercollegiate on Sept. 20. Just over a month later, Anderson came through with an opening round 77 at the Palmetto Intercollegiate. Classmates Butler (89.33 stroke average) and Lowe (85.50 stroke avg.) experienced their best scores at the Terrier Intercollegiate in September, posting scores of 173 and 170, respectively.

A 2004 graduate of Youngstown State, Bonacci earned her undergraduate degree in marketing and was a four-year letterwinner for the women’s golf team. In 2003, Bonacci led the Penguins in becoming the first YSU women’s program to earn a Horizon League Conference Championship winning the inaugural league women’s golf title by 10 strokes over Loyola. Along with the team championship, Bonacci won the individual championship and earned All-Conference and All-Tournament honors. Following her championship junior season, Bonacci repeated her honors on the All-Conference and All-Tournament teams.

Prior to her collegiate debut, Bonacci played in the highly esteemed United States Girls Amateur Tournament as well as in various tournaments with the American Junior Golf Association. In 2000, she won the P.J. Boatwright Challenge Cup Junior State Championship in Pennsylvania.

A native of Wheeling, W.Va. Bonacci taught golf for six years at The Oglebay Resort where she was an instructor in the junior golf department. She and her husband, Anthony, have two children, a daughter Emily Gianna and a son Miles, who was born on Feb. 22, 2012. The Bonacci family resides in Summerville.