Photo by: Owen Main | Cal Poly Athletics
Aagaard Accepts Head Coaching Position at Washington State
5/27/2022 12:59:00 PM | Women's Golf
SAN LUIS OBISPO, Calif. -- Sofie Aagaard, who coached Cal Poly to three Big West Conference women's golf championships in the last six years, was named head coach of the women's golf program at Washington State on Friday.
Washington State University Director of Athletics Pat Chun made the announcement Friday. Aagaard, who becomes the seventh head coach in Cougar women's golf history, will be introduced to the Pullman community at a welcome reception in the coming weeks.
Aagaard, an assistant coach at Cal for three seasons before becoming head coach of the Mustangs prior to the 2015-16 season, returns to the Pac-12 as Washington State seeks to rebuild its women's golf program.
The Cougars finished 10th in the 11-team Pac-12 Championships last month. Kelli Kamimura announced her retirement April 30 after serving 13 years as head coach of the Cougars. Her teams collected seven tournament titles, 33 top-five finishes and holds down the top nine spots in Washington State program history for season scoring average.
Four of this year's top five Cougar scorers return this fall, including 2022 Pac-12 top-10 finisher Darcy Habgood, who became only the fourth Washington State women's golfer in program history to post a top-10 finish at the Pac-12 Championships, finishing in a four-way tie for ninth place at the Eugene Country Club.
Washington State has qualified for the NCAA Championships one time (2003) in women's golf.
Aagaard guided the Mustangs to Big West titles and NCAA regional berths in 2017, 2021 and 2022, with Kaylyn Noh capturing top individual honors at the Big West finals in April at the San Luis Obispo Country Club and Caroline Cantlay claiming second place in 2021.
Under her direction, Cal Poly won 13 tournaments, including the three Big West titles, and five of her golfers claimed first-place finishes, including Elizabeth Scholtes twice.
Aagaard was honored as Big West Coach of the Year four times. In addition, six of her golfers earned first-team All-Big West honors and four were named Big West Freshman Golfer of the Year.
A 2006 Cal graduate with a bachelor's degree in political economies of industrial societies, Aagaard was the first three-time All-American in program history.
Originally from Sweden, Aagaard (Andersson) began her college career as a freshman at Mississippi State University, earning SEC second-team all-conference honors before transferring to Cal in 2003.
While at Cal, she was a three-time NCAA Division I All-American and a member of the team finishing in the top five at the NCAA Championships three years in a row (2004-06). Aagaard, who finished her career with a school-record 74.2 average for the Bears, was a two-time All-West Region honoree and twice earned All-Pac-10 Conference second-team accolades in 2005 and 2006 in addition to All-Pac-10 honorable mention praise in 2004.
Aagaard's highest NCAA finish was sixth place in 2004, she captured the 2005 Spartan Invitational individual title and she recorded 16 individual top-10 finishes while at Cal.
Qualifying for the professional tour right out of Cal, Aagaard played six years on the Symetra Tour and qualified for the LPGA Tour in 2008. In addition, she competed in two U.S. Women's Open Championships (Oakmont 2010, the Broadmoor 2011).
Aagaard was a member of the Swedish National Team from 1999-2006, helping her country to the 2004 World Amateur Team Championships gold medal in Puerto Rico and the 2006 silver medal in South Africa. She competed in five European Team Championships, assisting Sweden to a pair of silver medals and two bronze medals, and finished fifth in the 2005 European Individual Championships in Portugal.
As an assistant coach at Cal, Aagaard helped advance the Bears to the NCAA National Championship in both 2014 and 2015 and coached the squad to tournament wins at the Ptarmigan Invitational at Colorado State in September 2013 and the BYU Invitational at Entrada in March 2015.
At Cal Poly, Aagaard's Mustangs have claimed three straight Big West Conference freshman of the year awards -- Cantlay in 2018, Scholtes in 2019 and Neale in 2021. The award was not presented in 2000 due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
Aagaard is a LPGA class B teaching professional and was named 2019 LPGA Western Section Coach of the Year. She served as an assistant coach for the International team at the 2020 Arnold Palmer Cup (the International team won at Bay Hill in December 2020) and was named head coach of the International team for the 2021 Arnold Palmer Cup at Rich Harvest Farms in Sugar Grove, Illinois.
Aagaard was a volunteer assistant coach of the women's golf team at Cal Poly during the fall of 2012.
Washington State University Director of Athletics Pat Chun made the announcement Friday. Aagaard, who becomes the seventh head coach in Cougar women's golf history, will be introduced to the Pullman community at a welcome reception in the coming weeks.
Aagaard, an assistant coach at Cal for three seasons before becoming head coach of the Mustangs prior to the 2015-16 season, returns to the Pac-12 as Washington State seeks to rebuild its women's golf program.
The Cougars finished 10th in the 11-team Pac-12 Championships last month. Kelli Kamimura announced her retirement April 30 after serving 13 years as head coach of the Cougars. Her teams collected seven tournament titles, 33 top-five finishes and holds down the top nine spots in Washington State program history for season scoring average.
Four of this year's top five Cougar scorers return this fall, including 2022 Pac-12 top-10 finisher Darcy Habgood, who became only the fourth Washington State women's golfer in program history to post a top-10 finish at the Pac-12 Championships, finishing in a four-way tie for ninth place at the Eugene Country Club.
Washington State has qualified for the NCAA Championships one time (2003) in women's golf.
Aagaard guided the Mustangs to Big West titles and NCAA regional berths in 2017, 2021 and 2022, with Kaylyn Noh capturing top individual honors at the Big West finals in April at the San Luis Obispo Country Club and Caroline Cantlay claiming second place in 2021.
Under her direction, Cal Poly won 13 tournaments, including the three Big West titles, and five of her golfers claimed first-place finishes, including Elizabeth Scholtes twice.
Aagaard was honored as Big West Coach of the Year four times. In addition, six of her golfers earned first-team All-Big West honors and four were named Big West Freshman Golfer of the Year.
A 2006 Cal graduate with a bachelor's degree in political economies of industrial societies, Aagaard was the first three-time All-American in program history.
Originally from Sweden, Aagaard (Andersson) began her college career as a freshman at Mississippi State University, earning SEC second-team all-conference honors before transferring to Cal in 2003.
While at Cal, she was a three-time NCAA Division I All-American and a member of the team finishing in the top five at the NCAA Championships three years in a row (2004-06). Aagaard, who finished her career with a school-record 74.2 average for the Bears, was a two-time All-West Region honoree and twice earned All-Pac-10 Conference second-team accolades in 2005 and 2006 in addition to All-Pac-10 honorable mention praise in 2004.
Aagaard's highest NCAA finish was sixth place in 2004, she captured the 2005 Spartan Invitational individual title and she recorded 16 individual top-10 finishes while at Cal.
Qualifying for the professional tour right out of Cal, Aagaard played six years on the Symetra Tour and qualified for the LPGA Tour in 2008. In addition, she competed in two U.S. Women's Open Championships (Oakmont 2010, the Broadmoor 2011).
Aagaard was a member of the Swedish National Team from 1999-2006, helping her country to the 2004 World Amateur Team Championships gold medal in Puerto Rico and the 2006 silver medal in South Africa. She competed in five European Team Championships, assisting Sweden to a pair of silver medals and two bronze medals, and finished fifth in the 2005 European Individual Championships in Portugal.
As an assistant coach at Cal, Aagaard helped advance the Bears to the NCAA National Championship in both 2014 and 2015 and coached the squad to tournament wins at the Ptarmigan Invitational at Colorado State in September 2013 and the BYU Invitational at Entrada in March 2015.
At Cal Poly, Aagaard's Mustangs have claimed three straight Big West Conference freshman of the year awards -- Cantlay in 2018, Scholtes in 2019 and Neale in 2021. The award was not presented in 2000 due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
Aagaard is a LPGA class B teaching professional and was named 2019 LPGA Western Section Coach of the Year. She served as an assistant coach for the International team at the 2020 Arnold Palmer Cup (the International team won at Bay Hill in December 2020) and was named head coach of the International team for the 2021 Arnold Palmer Cup at Rich Harvest Farms in Sugar Grove, Illinois.
Aagaard was a volunteer assistant coach of the women's golf team at Cal Poly during the fall of 2012.
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