Calle Barlow - Women's Golf Coach - University of Richmond Athletics

Calle Barlow

Title:
Women's Golf Coach
Email:
cnielson@richmond.edu

Calle Barlow has coached the Spiders since she came to Richmond in June 2019 following five years as an assistant coach at the University of Virginia, her alma mater.

In 2024-25, the Spiders competed in the inaugural season of women's golf in the Atlantic 10, joining Dayton, Duquesne, La Salle, Loyola Chicago, and Saint Joseph's. Richmond won the conference title at Evermore Resort in Orlando in April, coming from behind in the final round to win by eight strokes with a total of 921 (+57). It was Richmond's fifth conference title and earned UR a spot in the NCAA Regionals at Birdwood Golf Course in Charlottesville, Va. There, the Spiders finished 11th, the best NCAA Regionals showing in program history. Richmond won the Chris Banister Golf Classic in March, making 2024-25 the fourth season in program history with multiple tournament wins. Hannah Lydic was the individual medalist at the A-10 Championships, making her the first golfer in program history with three tournament wins. Lydic and Maya Beasley were named to the All-Atlantic 10 team for their accomplishments over the course of the season, during which Beasley led UR with a 75.00 stroke average, the fourth best mark in program history. By the end of the season, Beasley had moved up to third on Richmond's career scoring average list at 75.47, just behind Lydic (second at 75.01) and just in front of teammate Olivia Wilkie (sixth at 77.21). Outside of Beasley (sophmore), Lydic (junior), and Wilkie (junior), UR's lineup for the A-10 Championship and NCAA Regional included freshmen Katie Magner and Caroline Thompson, who combined to play in 22 of a possible 24 events during the season.

During the 2023-24 season, Barlow's Spiders recorded a trio of top-two tournament finishes, winning the RiverTowne Invitational in Charleston in February and placing second in both the UNCG Fall Invitational in October and the Low Country Intercollegiate in March. Richmond shattered the program record for lowest team tournament score at RiverTowne with a 5-over 869 and matched a program record for lowest single-round team score with a 5-under 283 in Round 1, equaling a mark they originally set in the final round of the UNCG Fall Invitational in October. Richmond finished three shots clear of runner-up Coastal Carolina for its third tournament win under Barlow. The Spiders were led by Hannah Lydic and Rory Weinfurther throughout the season, as they recorded the lowest (73.30) and second-lowest (74.07) single-season scoring averages in program history, respectively. Lydic, who was named Patriot League Golfer of the Week four times during the season and won the Low Country Intercollegiate in March, earned Second Team All-Patriot League honors after tying for eighth at the Patriot League Championship. Olivia Wilkie joined her on the All-Patriot League Second Team. During the spring, it was announced that the 2023-24 season would be Richmond's last in the Patriot League and the team would join the Atlantic 10 for the 2024-25 school year.

In 2022-23, Barlow led the Spiders to their fourth Patriot League Championship, breaking a tie with Boston for the most titles in conference history. Barlow was a unanimous choice for Patriot League Coach of the Year after leading Richmond to a 16-stroke victory at the conference championship, the largest margin of victory in the history of the event. Richmond also set tournament and program records for lowest total score (874, +10) and lowest single-round score (287, -1). Four Spiders earned All-Patriot League honors. Vicky Zhu was named First Team All-Conference after placing second at the Patriot League Championship along with Rory Weinfurther and Olivia Wilkie, who tied for third. Lauren Jones placed 10th and landed on the All-Patriot League Second Team. Freshman Hannah Lydic was voted Patriot League Rookie of the Year after one of the best debut campaigns in program history. Lydic broke the program's scoring record in her first career round, shooting a 7-under 65 at the William & Mary Fall Invitational en route to winning the tournament with a score of 205 (-11), beating the Richmond record for lowest tournament score by 10 strokes. The Spiders tied for first in the 10-team event, dropping a playoff to Elon. During the course of the season, the Spiders recorded the two lowest tournament scores in program history (874, +10 at Patriot League Championship; 877, +13 at W&M Fall Invitational) and two of the three lowest single-round scores in program history (287, -1 in 1st round at W&M Fall Invitational and last round at Patriot League Championship). Richmond ended its season by competing in the Raleigh Regional of the NCAA Women's Golf Championship.

2021-22 was Barlow's third season at Richmond but her first full season with the Spiders due to effects of COVID-19. Richmond captured the Navy Fall Invitational in October for its first win in an event with more than six teams since 2017's Bill Berg Invitational. The Spiders started their spring season with a win in the Independence Classic, with UR beating Seton Hall and Saint John's on its home course. The team played in three events in March, recording its best finish at the 14-team Kingsmill Spring Intercollegiate, where the Spiders placed fourth. At the 2022 Patriot League Championship in April, Richmond finished second by the slimmest possible margin, finishing one stroke behind Boston University. It was UR's best result in the Patriot League Championship since winning the event in 2018. The Spiders were led by sophomore Rory Weinfurther, who finished second, and junior Vicky Zhu, who tied for third. Both earned First Team All-Patriot League honors. Freshman Lauren Jones finished 10th, earning Second Team All-Patriot League honors. Weinfurther posted the third-lowest single-season stroke average in program history (75.25) and ended the season with the lowest career scoring average of any Spider to appear in at least 15 events, at 75.59.

During the 2020-21 school year, the Spiders were only able to play a spring season due to the effects of COVID-19. Barlow and the Spiders played an ambitious schedule, taking on some of nation's top teams at the Cavalier Match Play event in April and facing off against the University of Virginia and Old Dominion in early March. Richmond also played a pair of matches against William & Mary, defeating the Tribe twice, and competed in a pair of 54-hole events prior to the Patriot League Championship. The Spiders finished eighth at the River Landing Classic in March after shooting a 1-over par 289 in the final round, tied for the second-best 18-hole team score in program history. Richmond finished second in the Kingsmill Intercollegiate later that month, matching their best finish in an event with more than six teams since the fall of 2018. At the 2021 Patriot League Championship, the Spiders placed third, with freshman Rory Weinfurther winning the individual title with a score of 227 (+11). Weinfurther became the second Spider to win an individual conference title and the first freshman. Junior Emily Ward was named First Team All-Patriot League after finishing in a tie for fourth place and sophomore Vicky Zhu was named Second Team All-Patriot League after placing 10th.

In Barlow's first season at Richmond, the Spiders featured their youngest roster in years, as freshmen and sophomores combined to play more than 77 percent of (72 of 93) the team's competitive rounds. The team's development was halted in March, when Richmond and the Patriot League canceled all athletics competitions for the remainder of the calendar year due to the coronavirus.

Prior to joining the Spiders, Barlow spent five seasons as an assistant women's golf coach at the University of Virginia. Barlow, who competed as Calle Nielson, was a three-time All-American for the Cavaliers and helped UVA to four consecutive top-15 finishes at the NCAA Championships from 2008 to 2011.

During her five years on the Cavaliers staff, Virginia reached the NCAA Tournament four times. In 2015, her first full season as a coach, UVA captured the first Atlantic Coast Conference title in program history, snapping Duke's run of three straight conference titles.

The following season, the Cavaliers repeated as ACC champions and finished fifth in the stroke-play portion of the NCAA Championships. The result was UVA's first top-five finish at the NCAA Championships since placing fourth in 2012, when Barlow served as a substitute coach, her first foray into coaching.

Barlow earned All-ACC honors four times during her collegiate career and was named an All-American following her sophomore, junior, and senior seasons (2009-11). She was a three-time individual medalist for the Cavaliers, including a win at the 2010 NCAA Western Regional.

As an amateur, she was named Tennessee Women's Amateur Player of the Year four times, from 2008 to 2011. She qualified for the U.S. Amateur four times (2007, 2009-11) and won the U.S. Women's Southern Amateur in 2011. After turning pro, Barlow joined the LPGA Symetra Tour. From 2012 to 2014, she finished in the top 10 at Symetra Tour events five times, including a fourth-place finish in the 2012 Ladies Titan Tire Challenge.