Bim Jollymour Retires after 19 Seasons with CMS Men's Golf; Mitchell Fedorka Named Interim Head Coach

CLAREMONT, Calif. – After 19 seasons as the head coach of the Claremont-Mudd-Scripps men's golf team, including the program's first-ever national title in 2016, Bim Jollymour has announced his retirement, effective June 30.

Mitchell Fedorka, who has spent the last three seasons as an assistant for Jollymour, will take over as the program's interim head coach for the 2020-21 season.

After leading CMS to the 2016 national title, Jollymour earned the Dave Williams award as the NCAA Division III National Coach of the Year, and added SCIAC Coach of the Year honors the following season. Jollymour was also named one of the five finalists for the Dave Williams Award again this spring, after leading the Stags to three wins in four events before the suspension of spring sports due to the coronavirus pandemic. 

"We are so thankful for Bim Jollymour's leadership of our golf program and want to congratulate him on a well-earned retirement," said Director of Athletics Erica Perkins Jasper. "Coach Jollymour has been a tremendous mentor for Stag Golf; our competitive results during his career are impressive.  The department will miss his leadership as well as his tremendous sense of humor.  Ever-present at CMS Athletics events, we anticipate Bim and his wife Marj continuing to be two of the best fans of our Stag and Athena teams!"

"I've learned a lot from Bim and was privileged to be under his tutelage for the last three years," said Fedorka. "Bim is a great coach, and an even better person who everyone adores."

"I am delighted to have Mitchell taking over the reins of the CMS Stags golf team," said Jollymour. "He has been my assistant since February of 2017 and has done an outstanding job in all phases of the program. He is especially adept working with the players on the course during tournament play, skill that he showed while earning All-America honors playing for the University of La Verne."

Jollymour also leaves the program at a high point, with four SCIAC titles in the past six completed seasons. The Stags were also the prohibitive favorites to capture another title this spring after winning the first regular season tournament by 14 strokes. On the national stage, CMS made 14 trips to the NCAA tournament under Jollymour, including each of the last 12 seasons, and earned five top-10 finishes at the last eight NCAA Division III Championships, including eighth place a season ago.  

In addition to the team success, Jollymour coached two NCAA Division III individual national champions during his tenure in the last decade: Tain Lee (2010) and Brad Shigezawa (2013). It was almost three, as Alex Wrenn finished second in a playoff as a freshman in 2016 after tying for first after 72 holes and helping the Stags to the team title. Overall, Jollymour has coached seven All-Americans and 29 All-American Scholars during his 19 seasons. 

From 2010 to 2019, Jollymour also helped CMS win individual medalist honors at the SCIAC Championships six times in 10 years, with Lee (2010, 2011) and Shigezawa (2013, 2014) each winning twice, and Jonathan Shaw (2017) and Mason Chiu (2019) each winning once. Chiu had a dominant performance last year, shooting an impressive 63 on his opening round and winning by seven strokes.

Jollymour's efforts off the course also helped bring to fruition a long-term goal of an on-campus golf practice facility. Jollymour helped secure the funding, and worked with the Claremont McKenna facilities and campus services department, to construct a much-needed on-campus facility which opened in 2017, and which currently serves both the men's and women's golf programs and the physical education department.  

Fedorka will take over the program for the 2020-21 season after having a major impact in his three seasons as an assistant. During that time, CMS earned two top-10 finishes at the NCAA Championships and captured a SCIAC title in his first year.

"I am thrilled to name Mitchell Fedorka as our interim Head Men's Golf Coach," said Perkins Jasper. "He has established himself as one of the top assistant coaches in Division III, and he has the attributes of an excellent head coach.  I look forward to seeing our program continue to flourish under Coach Fedorka's leadership."

Fedorka had a standout playing career at La Verne, where he finished second to Lee at the 2010 NCAA Division III Championships in a battle of SCIAC rivals. He also earned the Jack Nicklaus Award as the top player in Division III in 2009, as well as the SCIAC Athlete of the Year honor.

"I'm excited and eager to get next season underway," said Fedorka. "We have two incoming freshmen to complement our very talented team. We look forward to capturing another SCIAC title next year, and continuing Bim's rich legacy."