UC Riverside

The UC Riverside Women's Golf program has continually raised the bar during Mary Ritchie's time as head coach of the Highlanders.

Most recently under Ritchie, UCR twice shattered its 54-hole scoring record in 2023-24. Mylan Hirata and Vanessa Betancourt recorded career low rounds to help UCR shoot an 866 at Timpanogos Collegiate Classic before the Highlanders one-upped themselves with an 854 at the GCU Spring Classic. 

Ritchie's guidance also helped Betancourt earn two Big West Golfer of the Month awards in 2023-24 and a First Team All-Big West honor. 

Ritchie's coaching and guidance of Tiffany Le in 2023 marked the first time a Highlander women's golfer has advanced to the NCAA Championship. Le finished 19th in the country and was named Big West Golfer of the Year, also being named one of First Team All-Big West.

Since joining the UCR family in 2014, Ritchie has seen the Highlanders send three individuals to the NCAA Regionals in Savannah Vilaubi (2015), Jakeishya Le (2017) and Tiffany Le (2023), win the program's first Big West Championship in 2016 and narrowly miss out on a repeat by just one stroke the following season, and become the first team in the program's history to play in an NCAA Regional (2016). UCR has also won six team tournaments and had five individual champions.

Ritchie was named LPGA Western Section Coach of the Year in 2015 and 2016, as well the LPGANational Coach of the Year following the 2015-16 campaign and LPGA Western Section Coach of the Year in 2018.

Individual accolades have come to her student-athletes as well. Under Ritchie's tutelage, UCR has seen 5 individual championship titles from Brittani Ferraro, Hannah Facchini, Jakeishya Le, Tiffany Le and Kate Villegas.

Over 10 All-Big accolades from multiple student-athletes, including the following First Team performances: Savannah Vilaubi (2014, 17), Hannah Facchini (2016, 17), Paris Griffith (2016), Jakeishya Le (2017,19), Vanessa Betancourt(2021), Kate Villegas (2022),Tiffany Le (2022). Jakeishya Le was also named the 2016 Big West Co-Freshman of the Year. 

The Highlanders have also excelled in the classroom, as Haley Wian became the first student-athlete in UC Riverside history to be named the Highlanders' Big West Female Scholar Athlete of the Year on three occasions. Jakeishya Le was also Big West Scholar Athlete during her junior year.

In addition to overseeing the women's program, Ritchie served as the interim head coach of the men's team in the fall of 2015, paving the way for a Big West Championship performance for the men's team the following spring.

As a member of the Ladies Professional Golf Association, Ritchie remains active as a teaching professional and elite competitive coach. Before returning to collegiate coaching at UC Riverside in 2014, Ritchie worked as the Director of Instruction at Moreno Valley Ranch Golf Club in Moreno Valley, CA and was an LPGA Teaching Professional at TemekuHills Golf and Country Club in Temecula, CA for over 15 years. Prior to her time on the West Coast, Ritchie was a golf professional at Doral Golf Resort & Spa in Miami, Fla. from 2000 to 2002.

She transitioned from student-athlete to coach at her Alma Mater, the University of Alabama at Birmingham, and served as head women's golf coach for the 1996-98 following a stint as assistant golf coach for the Blazers in 1995-96. As head coach, Ritchie improved the team's national ranking from 89th to 56th as rated by Golfstat.

Ritchie was an all-conference performer at UAB, winning one tournament, finishing with 11 top-five finishes, and leading the team in scoring for three seasons. She became a touring professional in 1999, playing on the Futures Tour (now named the LPGA Epson Tour), US Challenge Tour, West Coast Ladies Tour, and Canadian Women's Tour. Additionally, she finished in the top 10 in over 30 events, including three tournament wins, and a third place finish in the 2004 LPGAT&CP Championship.

Ritchie is a LPGA Class A Professional, currently serves on the Southern California PGA Junior Advisory Board and also served as the LPGA Western Section Secretary from 2014-16. She was also a nominee for both the 2013 Western Section Teacher of the Year, and 2013 Western Section Junior Leader of the Year.