A former collegiate and professional golfer, Felicia Brown recently finished her eighth season in the San Diego State women[apos]s golf program and her seventh as the Aztecs[apos] head coach.
In 2008-09, SDSU logged five, top-10 finishes in eight events, including two fifth-place performances in the spring. The squad tied the No. 2 all-time low 54-hole score in program history with an 885 in September and also posted the sixth and 10th-best 54-hole scores at Fresno State and Hawai[apos]i.
Individually, Brown helped newcomer Malin Enarsson earn Mountain West Conference Freshman-of-the-Year accolades and a spot on the nine-player all-league team. Enarsson was the Aztecs[apos] top golfer in every tournament and twice finished under-par.
Off the course, the women[apos]s golf squad had 10 players honored at the department[apos]s annual scholar-athlete banquet in late April. The team was also SDSU[apos]s first to receive a perfect score in the NCAA[apos]s Academic Progress Report, ranking in the top 10 percent nationally of all squads in the sport of women[apos]s golf.
A year ago, SDSU finished third at the La Quinta Inn & Suites Shootout to begin the fall campaign and was the runner-up at the Lady Braveheart Challenge to open the spring. Individually, senior Anna Booth placed eighth at the Heather Farr Memorial Invitational in Colorado with a 4-over 220, including two rounds of 73, which tied her for 10th in the Aztec record book for a 54-hole event.
In the spring of 2007, SDSU claimed a victory at the Lady Braveheart Challenge for the second consecutive season, carding a 36-hole score of 621 to tie for 10th in school history.
After the Aztecs won three tournaments in 2005-06 (two in the fall and one in the spring), Brown led Booth to her first individual title at the La Quinta Inn & Suites Shootout in Flagstaff, Ariz. in fall 2006. It was Booth[apos]s first career win and it was the best finish by an Aztec. In addition to Booth, Maki Kamimura also had her best career performance at La Quinta, ending up right behind Booth in second place.
In 2004, Brown directed SDSU to a record-setting campaign, including an appearance in the NCAA regional tournament, the program[apos]s first since 2001. The Aztecs finished 15th overall at the regional, the best ever performance in SDSU women[apos]s golf postseason history.
Over the 2003-04 season, SDSU placed in the top four in six different tournaments and finished the year at No. 40 in the Golfweek rankings.
Individually, Brown helped three players break the school[apos]s all-time average scoring record, including freshman Jenna Wilson, who was named all-Mountain West Conference, only the third Aztec and first freshman so honored.
In the fall of 2003, the Aztecs saw dramatic improvement under Brown, jumping 46 spots to No. 41 in Golfstat[apos]s rankings. Included in the outstanding fall was the program[apos]s first 54-hole victory in five years at the Lady Aztec Invitational, as SDSU broke the school[apos]s team scoring record by nine strokes with a total of 878 (+14).
The Aztecs also set a school record for 36 holes at the 2003 Heather Farr Invitational with a 597 (298-299), while Wilson set an individual 54-hole record at the Lady Aztec Invite with a 211, good for medalist honors.
In her first year at the helm of the program, Brown guided the Aztecs to three second-place finishes after inheriting a team that lost its top scorer and another regular in the lineup.
Brown served as assistant coach in 2001-02, when the Aztecs claimed top-10 results in all 10 events, including a second-place finish at the 2002 Mountain West Conference Championship.
Brown is a local product who prepped at San Marcos High School, where she competed as the only female member of the boys[apos] team.
Following high school, Brown played for one of the nation[apos]s premier collegiate programs at the University of Arizona from 1984-88, helping the Wildcats to a number of top-10 national rankings. She also earned scholar-athlete honors all four years.
After completing her bachelor[apos]s degree in 1988, Brown went on to play professionally on the Players[apos] West Golf Tour, racking up three tournament victories and 26 top-10 finishes. She also competed on the Futures Tour from 2000-01.
Brown won the 2002 Ladies Professional Golf Association Touring and Club Professionals[apos] Western Section and qualified for the McDonald[apos]s Championship in Wilmington, Del., one of the LPGA[apos]s four majors.
An eight-year member of the LPGA[apos]s teaching division, she possesses a Class A rating and previously served as the assistant men[apos]s golf coach from 1991-92 at Pima Community College in Tucson, Ariz.
Before joining the Aztec staff as an assistant coach in 2001, Brown worked in various capacities at the Lake San Marcos Resort and Country Club, including as a teaching professional.