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2013-14 Saluki Women’s Golf
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MVC Champions 1988 • 1990 • 1998 • 2000 • 2007
Alexis Mihelich has continued the tradition of excellence in
Saluki women’s golf in two seasons at the helm, accruing five team
tournament titles and seven individual tournament titles. She was
named women’s golf head coach at Southern Illinois University on
Aug. 5, 2011, succeededing Diane Daugherty, who retired after 25
years as head coach at SIU.
In her first year, Mihelich led the Salukis to four tournament
wins, the most wins in a single season since records started being
consistently kept in 1983. An SIU golfer won medalist honors in
five of the team’s 11 tournaments, and four different Salukis won
at least one tournament. Southern finished among the top three
teams in nine tournaments, including a third-place finish at the
MVC Championship.
Three golfers were first-team All-Conference selections and
another was a member of the seven-person MVC Scholar-Athlete
team. Alisha Matthews set a Championship record with a single-
round score of 67. SIU had six MVC Golfers of the Week. Four
players earned National Golf Coaches Association All-American
Scholar honors under Mihelich’s watch.
In her second year at the helm of the program, SIU won the
SIUE Intercollegiate, giving Mihelich five tournament titles in two
years. Cassie Rushing and Amy Lee both won individual titles on
the year, giving Mihelich seven medalist golfers in her first two
years. The team produced three MVC Golfers of the Week, two
All-Conference players (Cassie Rushing and Shaina Rennegarbe),
a third-place finish at the MVC Championship, nine straight top-
five finishes and one individual runner-up. Both Cassie Rushing
and Shaina Rennegarbe earned spots on the MVC Scholar-Athlete
team, and Rushing, Rennegarbe and Mattie Lindner all made the
WGCAAll-American Scholar team -- the second consecutive year
Mihelich landed at least three of her student-athletes on the list.
Mihelich served four years as women’s golf head coach at
Chicago State (2007-11). At CSU, she turned a last-place program
into one that competed for tournament titles. Her 2011 squad won
three events and finished in the top three of four tournaments,
including a third-place finish at the Great West Conference
Championship.
In 2010, Mihelich was honored with the Huskie Classic Coaches
Award, becoming the first coach outside of the Mid-American
Conference to win the honor since 2003. After her final season
at Chicago State in 2010-11, Mihelich earned Midwest Section
Coach of the Year honors by the LPGA.
Before coming to Southern, Mihelich was an assistant at St.
Francis (2005-07) and Robert Morris College (2007). She also
served as interim men’s golf coach at Chicago State for the 2009-
2010 season.
Mihelich has family ties to Southern Illinois. Her uncle, Skip
Cosgrove, was an assistant softball coach for 22 years before
retiring in 2010. Several relatives, including her brother, Adam,
are Saluki alumni.
Mihelich played Division I golf at the University of New
Orleans. She was a team captain her senior year and represented the
squad on the Student Athlete Advisory Committee. She graduated
with honors in 2005 with a degree in education.
Mihelich has played professionally in LPGA T&CP events
including the 2007 and 2008 Midwest Section Championship
and the 2008 LPGA T&CP National Championship at Pinehurst.
Alexis Mihelich has been an active member of the LPGA since
2005 and a former Teaching Professional at Green Garden Golf
Academy (2005-2007).
She completed the United States Army Leadership Training
Course in 2003 and is a lifetime member of the Girl Scouts of
America. She provided the golf swing model for the arcade game
“Golden Tee Live” that was featured in the Museum of Science
and Industry in Chicago. She was also the personal golf instructor
for late comedian Bernie Mac and a consultant on the set of his
movie, “Soul Men.”
Alexis Mihelich
Head Coach
Third Year
New Orleans (2005)