Mailing Address Head Coach Angie Ravaioli-Larkin TCU Box 297600 Fort Worth, Texas 76129
In leading the Horned Frog women's golf program to 17 consecutive NCAA postseason appearances, Angie Ravaioli-Larkin has become an institution at TCU.
In her 19th season, Ravaioli-Larkin is the third-most tenured head coach at TCU. During her long and distinguished time on campus, she has built her program into an annual national title contender.
Prior to leading her program into its Big 12 era, Ravaioli-Larkin was named the Mountain West Coach of the Year the last three seasons (2010-12) TCU was a member of the league. She has five conference coach of the year accolades when including her selection as the1996 Southwest Conference Coach of the Year and the 1998 Western Athletic Conference Coach of the Year.
Under Ravaioli-Larkin's watch, the Horned Frogs have reached the NCAA Championships seven times (1997, 1999, 2000, 2007, 2008, 2009, 2010) and advanced to the NCAA Regionals each season since 1996.
TCU won Mountain West championships its final two seasons in the league. Overall, Ravaioli-Larkin has led TCU to five conference titles in three different leagues (Western Athletic Conference, 1998; Conference USA, 2002; Mountain West, 2007, 2011-12).
Ravaioli-Larkin has produced 33 all-conference selections,seven All-Americans and 22 All-America Scholarsin her tenure as head coach.
In addition to the 2012 MW Championship, the Horned Frogs also won the Central District Invitational in February. TCU had eight top-10 finishes, including five top-five results, in its 11 tournaments in 2011-12.
TCU has finished first or second in 13 of its last 15 conference tournaments. TCU has won 15 tournaments under Ravaioli-Larkin.
Ravaioli-Larkin has had six former TCU players (Susan Horton, Angela Stanford, Lori Sutherland, Brooke Tull, D'Rae Ward, Catherine Matranga) play professionally.
Upon arrival at TCU in August 1994, Ravaioli-Larkin had one goal in mind - returning the women's golf program, which won the 1983 national championship, to a level of prominence. She accomplished that goal in her fourth season, as the Horned Frogs earned a 12th-place result at the 1997 NCAA Championship. It was the third-best finish for TCU in its history.
TCU has since continued its climb in gaining national respect from the collegiate golf world by becoming a team consistently ranked among the nation's elite. The Horned Frogs' success is not just something that has happened by chance. It is a reflection of the coach.
Ravaioli-Larkin came to TCU knowing how to be successful on the links. A four-year letterwinner at SMU, she was a two-time All-Southwest Conference selection and was instrumental in the Mustangs advancing to postseason play.
As a freshman, she was the runner-up at the 1986 SWC Tournament. She won a pair of tournaments her senior year and helped lead SMU to the 1986 and 1989 NCAA Championships.
In August 1989, Ravaioli-Larkin turned professional and earned an assortment of impressive finishes. She competed in the 1992 U.S. Open and was the leading money winner on the 1991 Players West Golf Tour. Playing on the Asahi Asian Tour in 1992, Ravaioli-Larkin earned order merit honors and finished in the top 15 four times in five events.
Ravaioli-Larkin, a Bedford, Texas, native, joined the TCU family in August 1994 after five years in the professional golf world. Undoubtedly known for her playing ability, she was quickly recognized for her coaching as well.
Ravaioli-Larkin was named the 1996 Southwest Conference Co-Coach of the Year. In 1997, she was a finalist for NCAA District VI Coach of the Year laurels after leading her team to 12th place at the national tournament.
In the spring of 1998, Ravaioli-Larkin netted District Coach of the Year honors as well as Coach of the Year distinction from the Western Athletic Conference.
These awards are remarkable achievements, but what stands out most about Ravaioli-Larkin is her heart and ability to balance tasks. She is not only a golfer and coach, but a mentor, friend and mother. Ravaioli-Larkin encourages her team members to not only be the best golfers they can be but, more importantly, to be the best people they can be. She recognizes the importance of becoming a better person through both trials and successes.
Ravaioli-Larkin wants her players to leave TCU with more than a great golfing career. She wants her student-athletes to graduate from college with a diploma in one hand and wonderful experiences and memories in the other.
Ravaioli-Larkin's teams have always been active members of the Fort Worth community, spending time with a number of charitable causes. She advocates that team members help with the "Reading Frogs" program. She has also developed a senior charity program in which the team's seniors are responsible for adopting a charity of their choice.
During the off-season, the team gives its time to that cause. Ravaioli-Larkin not only asks her players to serve others but also leads by example in serving on several boards and committees herself, including the National Golf Coaches Association (NGCA) Educational Committee. She also leads the NGCA New Coaches Orientation.Prior to that, she served on the NGCA All-America Selection Committee and the Hall of Fame Committee from 1997-2001.
In 1999, she was selected to the NCAA Regional Selection Committee. Well respected by her peers on campus, Ravaioli-Larkin has served on TCU's NCAA compliance board and was the Chair of the TCU Head Coaches Committee in the 2000-01 academic year. She also is a member of the Chancellor's Peer Group. These commitments not only demonstrate her character, but they show her ability to "walk her talk."
On the recruiting trail, Ravaioli-Larkin seeks quality student-athletes. She strongly believes in having positive mental attitudes and wants her players to leave TCU better people, no matter how life directs them after graduation. Ravaioli-Larkin truly feels that TCU is more than just four years -- it is a lifetime. She understands that golf is an individual sport but expects teamwork and team spirit in order to become champions.
Golfing does not stop when she leaves her players. It is a family affair. Her husband, Rob Larkin, is vice president of asset management for Pegasus Golf. They are the parents of a daughter, Brittney, and son, Braeden.
The personable "Coach Angie" has her program headed into the future with NCAA titles on the mind and passion in the heart. She strives to add another NCAA championship to the lore of the TCU women's golf program.
If the past is any indication of what is to come, a national title just might be for the taking.
