Risë Alexander (REE-suh) enters her second season (2019-20) as the assistant coach for the Mustangs.
In her first season at SMU, Rise helped the Mustangs to a win at the Dr. Donnis Thompson Invitational where the team tied for first with No. 2 Texas. The squad also added two fifth place finishes at their season opener, the Golfweek Conference Challenge, and their home event, the Trinity Forest Invitational. The team finished sixth at the American Athletic Conference Championship, where Dunne received All-Conference honors and advanced to the NCAA Norman Regional as an individual.
Alexander came to Dallas with nearly three decades of coaching experience at the collegiate level, including 24 years in the Pac-12 Conference.
"We are very pleased to add Risë to our team," Sutherland said. "She is a skilled coach who cares deeply about her players and their progress on the course and in life. Her experience allows her to step in and help with all aspects of the program."
Alexander was an assistant coach at North Carolina State for one season. During her time at N.C. State, she helped guide the Wolfpack to five top-six finishes and the NCAA San Francisco Regional.
Prior to her stint in Raleigh, Alexander served as the head coach at the University of Texas Rio Grande Valley for three seasons. 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.
Alexander spent 24 years (1990-2014) at the helm of Oregon State's women's golf team. 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. She coached one All-American and five All-Pac-12 selections.
Alexander competed for the Oregon State women's golf team from 1973-77. While in Corvallis, she 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.
