Aug. 18, 2015
SAN DIEGO - San Diego State women's golf head coach Leslie Spalding announced the hiring Tuesday of Carly Ludwig as assistant coach. A former collegiate standout at Cal State San Marcos, Ludwig returns to the West Coast after serving a four-year stint as head coach of the women's golf team at Central Connecticut State University from 2011-15.
"I am thrilled Carly is joining our Aztec family," Spalding said. "Not only does Carly bring tremendous energy and enthusiasm to our program, she also has extensive recruiting experience, along with a desire to work with the highest level of players. "I can't wait to witness the continued success of our team with Carly's help."
During her tenure at CCSU, Ludwig was named Northeast Conference Coach of the Year in 2013, with the Blue Devils posting a second-place finish at the league championship, their highest standing since 2007. Under Ludwig's tutelage, Anna Ausanio garnered first-team all-NEC accolades that season after collecting second-team honors the previous year in 2012.
In addition to her duties with the CCSU women's program, Ludwig was named acting head coach of the Blue Devil men's golf team in October 2014, guiding the squad to a fifth-place finish at the NEC tournament last April. With Ludwig's at the helm, CCSU boasted a first-team all-conference selection in Monte Mullen, while Matt Hills claimed two individual event titles.
Both of Ludwig's Blue Devil teams excelled in the classroom, with the women's squad tying for the 20th-highest GPA out of 500 Division I, II and III schools in the 2014 Women's Golf Coaches Association (WGCA) All-Scholar Team GPA Award standings, while the men's side received all-academic recognition from the Golf Coaches Association of America (GCAA) in 2015.
Ludwig played collegiately at Cal State San Marcos for three years, earning first-team All-America distinction as a senior following a sixth-place individual finish at the 2008 NAIA Championships. Earlier in her final season with the Cougar program, the two-time team captain was also named NAIA Region II player of the year after capturing medalist honors at the regional meet.
A native of Brownsburg, Ind., Ludwig received her undergraduate degree in kinesiology from CSUSM before joining the staff at the Santaluz Club in San Diego for three years from 2008-11. During her stint at Santaluz, she gained valuable experience as a golf instructor, teaching at both the adult and junior levels while managing the course's tournament operations. In addition, Ludwig was a two-year competitor on the Symetra Tour, formerly the LPGA Futures Tour, from 2009-11 and worked as a physical therapy aide at CORE Orthopedics.
Last May, Ludwig also developed and directed a free golf clinic for children with type 1 diabetes in Cromwell, Conn., partnering with First Tee of Connecticut and Connecticut Children's Medical Center.
San Diego State returns five letterwinners from last year's squad, including all-Mountain West performers Emma Henrikson, Mila Chaves and Sirene Blair, who helped propel the Aztecs to their first-ever conference championship in 2015.