North Carolina State University Athletics
Alexander Named Assistant Coach For Women’s Golf Program
9/7/2017 8:43:00 AM | Women's Golf
RALEIGH – Head coach Page Marsh announced the addition of Risë (pronounced REE-suh) Alexander as assistant coach for NC State's women's golf program on Thursday.
Alexander comes to Raleigh with nearly three decades of coaching experience at the collegiate level, including 24 years in the Pac-12 Conference.
"I'm excited to bring Risë on board to share her experience with us having coached on the West Coast in the Pac-12," said Marsh. "She's excited to share in the vision here and was impressed by the passion that we have at NC State for excellence on and off the golf course. We look forward to having her continue to help us reach our goals of winning championships. She is well respected in the women's golf coaching community and will complement our long time staff here."
Alexander comes to Raleigh after serving as the head coach at the University of Texas Rio Grande Valley for three seasons, guiding the program to nine top-six finishes. In 2016, the Women's Golf Coaches Association named her the recipient of the Gladys Palmer Meritorious Service Award for her contributions to the game of golf throughout her career.
"I'm thrilled to be apart of NC State, the athletic program and the NC State women's golf team," Alexander said. "It will be an honor to work with and support Coach Marsh, who I have known and respected since we met in the early 1990's. She has built a solid program here and I'm thankful for the opportunity to assist her and this team."
Prior to her stint in Texas, Alexander was at the helm of Oregon State's women's golf team for 24 years (1990-2014). She coached one All-American, five All-Pac-12 selections and had student-athletes earn NGCA All-American Scholar status 15 times and Pac-12 All-Academic honors 34 times.
The Beavers made 11 NCAA Regional appearances and one NCAA Finals appearance, finishing 16th in 1998. During her last season at Oregon State the team broke four school scoring records, one of which was the lowest team scoring average in school history of 300.5, and two individual scoring records. They finished the season ranked 66th in the Golfstat Rankings.
Alexander has served on the National Golf Coaches Association for the past 14 years, spending eight years as a member of the Division I Awards Committee and six years as a member of the NGCA Board of Directors. In 2005, she received the NGCA Founders Award for outstanding service to the NGCA, women's collegiate golf and the local community.
Alexander competed for the Oregon State women's golf team from 1973-77 and played in four AIAW National Championships and won two collegiate events and several amateur tournaments during her career. She also played basketball for the Beavers making her one of the few two-sport athletes in Oregon State history.
After graduating with honors from Oregon State in 1977, Alexander competed professionally until 1981 and also served as the volunteer head coach for the Beavers in 1978-79, 1982-83 and 1983-84.
As an amateur competitor, she was a semifinalist in the 1973 Western Junior Championship and also a semifinalist in the 1976 U.S. Women's Amateur. The U.S. Amateur finish exempted her from U.S. Open qualifiers for three consecutive years.
Born in Laurel, Miss., Alexander grew up in Hot Springs, Ark., and began playing golf at the age of eight. She had a spectacular junior golf career that included two Arkansas Junior Championships, two Arkansas High School Championships and Oregon High School and Pacific Northwest Junior Championships.
Alexander has two grown children, Laura and Joey Lakowske.
Alexander comes to Raleigh with nearly three decades of coaching experience at the collegiate level, including 24 years in the Pac-12 Conference.
"I'm excited to bring Risë on board to share her experience with us having coached on the West Coast in the Pac-12," said Marsh. "She's excited to share in the vision here and was impressed by the passion that we have at NC State for excellence on and off the golf course. We look forward to having her continue to help us reach our goals of winning championships. She is well respected in the women's golf coaching community and will complement our long time staff here."
Alexander comes to Raleigh after serving as the head coach at the University of Texas Rio Grande Valley for three seasons, guiding the program to nine top-six finishes. In 2016, the Women's Golf Coaches Association named her the recipient of the Gladys Palmer Meritorious Service Award for her contributions to the game of golf throughout her career.
"I'm thrilled to be apart of NC State, the athletic program and the NC State women's golf team," Alexander said. "It will be an honor to work with and support Coach Marsh, who I have known and respected since we met in the early 1990's. She has built a solid program here and I'm thankful for the opportunity to assist her and this team."
Prior to her stint in Texas, Alexander was at the helm of Oregon State's women's golf team for 24 years (1990-2014). She coached one All-American, five All-Pac-12 selections and had student-athletes earn NGCA All-American Scholar status 15 times and Pac-12 All-Academic honors 34 times.
The Beavers made 11 NCAA Regional appearances and one NCAA Finals appearance, finishing 16th in 1998. During her last season at Oregon State the team broke four school scoring records, one of which was the lowest team scoring average in school history of 300.5, and two individual scoring records. They finished the season ranked 66th in the Golfstat Rankings.
Alexander has served on the National Golf Coaches Association for the past 14 years, spending eight years as a member of the Division I Awards Committee and six years as a member of the NGCA Board of Directors. In 2005, she received the NGCA Founders Award for outstanding service to the NGCA, women's collegiate golf and the local community.
Alexander competed for the Oregon State women's golf team from 1973-77 and played in four AIAW National Championships and won two collegiate events and several amateur tournaments during her career. She also played basketball for the Beavers making her one of the few two-sport athletes in Oregon State history.
After graduating with honors from Oregon State in 1977, Alexander competed professionally until 1981 and also served as the volunteer head coach for the Beavers in 1978-79, 1982-83 and 1983-84.
As an amateur competitor, she was a semifinalist in the 1973 Western Junior Championship and also a semifinalist in the 1976 U.S. Women's Amateur. The U.S. Amateur finish exempted her from U.S. Open qualifiers for three consecutive years.
Born in Laurel, Miss., Alexander grew up in Hot Springs, Ark., and began playing golf at the age of eight. She had a spectacular junior golf career that included two Arkansas Junior Championships, two Arkansas High School Championships and Oregon High School and Pacific Northwest Junior Championships.
Alexander has two grown children, Laura and Joey Lakowske.
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