University of Richmond Athletics
Ali Wright Named Head Wo Men's Golf Coach
06/11/2014 | Women's Golf
UNIVERSITY OF RICHMOND, Va. – The University of Richmond announced the hiring of Ali Wright as head women's golf coach on Wednesday.
“I am truly thrilled to welcome Ali Wright to the Spider family,” Associate Athletic Director and Senior Woman Administrator LaRee Sugg said. “During her nine years as a head coach, she has demonstrated that she values the complete student-athlete experience from an academic, athletic and co-curricular perspective. Alison has a clear vision for our women's golf program and I am very excited to support and to watch the program's development under her leadership.”
Wright comes to Richmond following a very successful nine-year stint as the head women's golf coach at Longwood University. Prior to Longwood, Wright had been assisting the head coach at Ball State University during the fall of 2005, following a year as a graduate teaching assistant at her alma mater, the University of Louisville, where she was a four-year standout for the Cardinals.
“The University of Richmond is a fantastic school for student-athletes to both work towards a valuable degree and to strive for excellence in their sport,” Wright said. “I would like to thank Keith Gill and LaRee Sugg for their belief in my ability to lead this program toward a bright future, and I am grateful for the opportunity. The incoming and returning student-athletes are motivated and talented. I look forward to working with each of them to maximize their success on and off the golf course.”
In 2012-13, Longwood posted four top-five efforts and seven top-10 finishes overall in 10 events, posting a team average of 308.48 and finishing third at the Big South Conference Championship.
Longwood established a new school-record scoring average of 305.3 during the 2011-12 season, while earning one tournament win, two runners-up finishes and a third-place finish among eight top-10 team efforts overall with 18 top-20 individual finishes.
The Lancers earned one tournament win and a runner-up finish among nine top-10 team efforts overall with 26 top-20 individual finishes during 2010-11.
The previous season, the Lancers posted one tournament win to go along with three runner-up efforts, enjoying seven top-10 efforts among their eight tournament dates with 19 top-20 individual finishes.
Longwood finished 2008-09 with two tournament wins among 10 top-10 efforts in the 11 events, and had 27 top-20 individual efforts.
In 2007-08, the Lancers earned two tournament titles and posted eight top-10 finishes in 10 events. The Lancers compiled what was then a school-record scoring average of 311.9, nearly 20 strokes better than the previous year (331.1) with 23 top-20 individual efforts during the year. In 2006-07, Longwood earned four top-10 team finishes in nine events with seven top-20 individual efforts during the year.
Wright took over at Longwood for the spring season in 2006, and promptly led the Lancers to a pair of top-five team finishes in her first two tournaments. The program completed that spring with three top-10 efforts in four events, including one individual medalist finish among eight top-20 individual finishes. Wright also helped the program establish new school-records for both 18 holes and 36 holes by an individual, as well as a new individual season scoring average.
Longwood placed three student-athletes on the 2010-11 National Golf Coaches Association (NGCA) Division I All-Scholar Team. The Lancers ranked 12th among the 2009 NGCA Division I All-Scholar Teams with an overall combined team GPA of 3.658, including four student-athletes named NGCA All-American Scholars.
Longwood ranked 14th in 2008 with a team GPA of 3.546 and four All-American Scholars. The Lancers ranked 16th in 2007 with a team GPA of 3.616, including four All-American Scholars. Longwood ranked in a tie for 19th in 2006 with a team GPA of 3.559.
Longwood has posted perfect scores of 1,000 over five consecutive years in the multi-year NCAA Division I Academic Progress Rate (APR). The five-straight years of posting perfect multi-year APR scores are within the Top 10 percent of all Division I women's golf teams.
At Ball State, Wright conducted video swing analysis of team members and recruits while assisting in recruiting as well. She also initiated fundraising efforts by locating and contacting a target market for boosters while creating the booster program with rewards incentives.
At Louisville, Wright taught physical education classes that included sections of golf where she filmed, edited, and provided feedback of over 150 golf swings. Wright has also worked at the Hidden Lake Golf Club (1996-2004), and was an assistant to the head professional at the “Swing It Golf School” (2002-04).
As an undergraduate student-athlete at Louisville, Wright earned 11 top-20 individual finishes and served as a team captain during her senior year after helping the Cardinals advance to the NCAA Regional Tournament in 2001. She also competed in two Bank of Montreal tournaments as an amateur and was a member of both the Canadian Amateur Team (2003) and the Ontario Provincial Amateur Team (2000-02). Wright was the 1999 Ontario Provincial High School Champion as well.
A native of Oakville, Ontario, Canada, Wright earned her bachelor of science degree in business administration from Louisville. She also earned her master of sport administration degree from Louisville.