After 24 years, UCLA women’s coach Carrie Forsyth retiring at season’s end
A day after Lilia Vu won her first major championship at the Chevron Championship, Vu’s college coach at UCLA, Carrie Forsyth, announced she is retiring at the end of the season.
Forsyth is in her 24th season as head coach of the Bruins, whom she has led to two NCAA Championship titles (2004 and 2011), nine NCAA regional crowns, five Pac-12 championships and 74 total tournament victories. She will coach UCLA in an NCAA regional next week – the fields are finalized on Wednesday – and then in the NCAA Championship, should UCLA qualify.
A national search for Forsyth’s replacement has already begun, while Forsyth, a UCLA alum, will remain affiliated with the program as a special assistant to athletics director Martin Jarmond.
“I have been blessed to call UCLA my home for 29 years,” Forsyth said. “It has been a privilege to live out my dream as the head coach at my alma mater and carry on the legacy of our golf program at this world-class institution for more than two decades. I have had the opportunity to coach some of the most amazing and dedicated student-athletes in the sport, and I will forever cherish our journey together. I want to thank my associate head coach and dear friend Alicia Um Holmes for her care and attention toward our team. I cannot overstate my gratitude to the UCLA administrators and the athletic department as a whole for its support of myself and our program over the years. I am thrilled to continue shaping our bright future at UCLA.”
Forsyth walked on to the Bruins team as a freshman in 1990 and earned a scholarship by her next season. She was hired by UCLA in 1999 after four years as the head coach at Cal State-Northridge.
At UCLA, Forsyth coached 27 first-team All-Americans, including three-time first-teamer Emma Spitz; two Annika Award winners, Bronte Law and Alison Lee; and several future LPGA pros, including major winners Vu, Patty Tavatanakit and Mo Martin.