Amanda Lehotak enters her second season as the Dolphins head coach after becoming the Dolphins third head coach in school history on June 30, 2006, after serving as the top assistant under Melissa Gentile in 2006.

The Dolphins just missed qualifying for the 2007 Atlantic Sun Tournament despite facing a schedule that featured six defending conference champions and nine 2006 NCAA Tournament participants.

Despite the tough schedule, the Dolphins managed to pull off some key wins including a 3-2 victory over South Florida and a 2-1 win over Memphis. Lehotak and the Dolphins also defeated cross town rival North Florida for the first time in program history and took national powerhouse North Carolina to extra innings.

Under her tutelage, outfielder Jillian Mirante earned first team Atlantic Sun all-conference honors and the team saw an increase in productivity at the plate. The Dolphins improved on their 2006 totals in batting average, runs scored, on-base percentage and stolen bases.

As an assistant in 2006, Lehotak was in charge of the recruiting and defense. She helped center fielder Katie Pestrak to a career-best .987 fielding percentage, while senior Janine Palumbo tallied a .986 fielding percentage en route to second team all-conference honors.

Prior to JU, Lehotak helped Missouri Western State College to a 48-20 overall record and a spot in the Division II North Central Regional as an assistant coach in 2005.

Lehotak, who handled the hitting instruction, infielders and recruiting, helped the Missouri Western offense rank first in the Mid-American Intercollegiate Athletics Association in hits (534), home runs (72), doubles (92), RBI (295) and second in batting average (.289). The Griffons also set MIAA records for home runs in a game (7) and home runs in a season (72). Individually, first baseman Amy Beverly earned second team All-America honors after leading the MIAA with a .419 batting average, 93 hits, a .761 slugging percentage, 24 doubles and 67 RBI.

Prior to Missouri Western, Lehotak served as the interim assistant coach at the College of St. Mary (Neb.) where she helped lead the Flames to a No. 12 NAIA national ranking, a Region IV title and a Midland Collegiate Athletic Conference Tournament crown in 2004. Individually, first baseman Danielle Workman earned NAIA All-America honors.

Lehotak began her coaching career as an assistant coach at her alma mater, Daniel J. Gross High School (Neb.) in 2003, where she managed hitting and outfield instruction and was in charge of fundraising. Individually, eight of her players were selected to the all-state team.

Lehotak is no stranger to coaching, as she is one of three family members to coach collegiate softball and is the second in the household to become a collegiate head coach.

Her father, Ed, enters his 13th season as head coach at Bellevue University, an NAIA school in Bellevue, Neb. He has led the Bruins to the conference and postseason tournament nine times and has qualified for the NAIA national tournament on three occasions. Lehotak played for her father when she was in high school.

Her sister, Michala Cimino, will enter her 12th season as the top assistant coach at her alma mater, Nebraska-Omaha.

In her playing career, Lehotak was a two-year starter at Nebraska-Omaha from 2002-03 and led the Mavericks to an 84-22 overall record. As a senior, she earned third team National Fastpitch Collegiate Softball All-America, all-region and first team North Central Conference accolades after leading the squad with 49 runs scored and four triples. As a junior, she earned all-region and first team All-NCC honors after leading the Mavericks with 42 runs, 67 hits and 19 doubles. She also received NCC All-Academic accolades in 2003.

Prior to Nebraska-Omaha, Lehotak was a two-year starter as an infielder at the University of Mississippi from 2000-01. As a freshman, she led Ole Miss with a .286 batting average and a program-record 62 hits. As a sophomore, she finished the year with a .222 average, 35 hits and a team-high 21 runs scored.

Lehotak earned her bachelor's degree in family science with a minor in psychology at Nebraska-Omaha in 2003.