Dawn Armandi has been on the bench as an assistant coach for several of McAuley High’s girls’ basketball state championships. Now she’ll be leading the way at Falmouth High.

Armandi has been named the girls’ varsity basketball coach for the Yachtsmen. She replaces Mari Warner, who coached Falmouth for six years. Falmouth went 5-13 last winter, and has failed to qualify for the Class A South playoffs after losing in the preliminary round in each of the four previous years.

“Falmouth is a great school district, a great community and is known for producing great athletes,” said Armandi, who coached McAuley’s varsity softball team the past two years. “I know there is some room for improvement and that’s what we’ll strive for.

“I just want to see us compete and get better and see what we’re made of.”

Armandi, 29, has been an assistant at McAuley for seven years, and in five of those served as the junior varsity coach as well. She began as an assistant under the late Wil Smith, then coached with Amy Vachon and Bill Goodman.

“She did a great job for us,” said Goodman. “I see no reason why she won’t be successful.”

Cooper Higgins, the outgoing athletic director at Falmouth, said Armandi came highly recommended.

“She’s young, enthusiastic and very passionate,” he said.

Armandi, previously known as Dawn Ross, is a 2004 graduate of Gray-New Gloucester High and a 2008 graduate of the University of Southern Maine, where she played basketball under Gary Fifield. She works as an administrative assistant at an oral surgeon’s office in South Portland.

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