Women's Golf
- Title:
- Head Coach
Risë (pronounced REE-suh) Alexander enters her 24th year as the head coach of the Oregon State women’s golf team making her the dean of coaches at Oregon State University.
Since Alexander took over in 1990, the golf program has made 11 postseason appearances and the 1998 squad was the first Oregon State team to qualify for the NCAA Championships where it finished 16th in the nation. She was named Far West District Coach of the Year after that historic season.
During the 2012-13 season Alexander led the Beavers to three top-five finishes, including a second-place showing at the Rose City Collegiate. The team had some of the best individual performances in Oregon State history, as Seshia Telles set the single-season scoring record (75.27) and shot the second-best three-round score (2-under 212 at Oregon State Invitational), and Lauren Sewell equaled the third-lowest three-round score (1-under 212 at Stanford Intercollegiate).
Alexander led Oregon State to one of its best seasons in school history in 2011-12, which included four top-five and six top-10 finishes and its first trip to the NCAA Regionals in six years. The Beavers shot school-record 2-under 282 in the second round of the Stanford Intercollegiate in Stanford Calif., and equaled their second-best round in school history with an even-par 288 in the final round of the Pacific Coast Intercollegiate in Half Moon Bay, Calif.
Individually, Whitney French, Seshia Telles, Lauren Sewell and Anica Yoo played in all 12 tournaments with French posting the seventh-best single-season scoring average in school history (76.29) and Telles finishing with the ninth best (76.46). French concluded her four-year Oregon State career with the third-best scoring average (76.95) in school history in the second-most rounds (129).
Two seasons ago was also very successful as the Beavers won their ninth team tournament in school history and two Oregon State golfers -- French and Telles -- won individual titles. French finished the season with the fifth best scoring average in school history (76.10) and had the third lowest individual tournament finish for a Beaver golfer with a 1-under 215. Telles finished with a freshman school record scoring average (75.81) that is currently the third best in school history.
In her time with the Beavers, Alexander has coached one All-American (Kathleen Takaishi, 1998) and 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.
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 resided in Corvallis since 1981 and has two children, Laura and Joey.
