Allegheny College Athletics

More than two decades after graduating, Kristen Barclay Barrish remains arguably the most decorated player in the history of Allegheny College women’s tennis.

A native of Scottdale, Pennsylvania and graduate of Southmoreland High School, she was a First Team All-NCAC honoree in each of her final three seasons at Allegheny, while also earning the honor for doubles play as both a junior and senior.

Locking down the top-flight singles spot for the Gators for all four seasons, she graduated as the program’s all-time leader in singles (68), doubles (64) and combined wins (132).  Her 64 doubles wins currently remain tops in program history, while she still ranks second all-time in career combined wins.  

As a senior in 1992-93, Kristen went 18-6 in singles, and ascended to a ranking of 49th nationally and 21st in the East region.  She also teamed up with Kristie Kachuriak to achieve a regional ranking of 13th after going 17-4 in top-flight doubles. Along with her individual success, the Gators fared quite well as a team under coach Mark Fleming during Kristen’s four seasons, posting an overall record of 60-29.  

In addition to her multiple All-NCAC accolades, Kristen was a two-time team captain, and won the team’s Arthur “Pinky” Bates Sportsmanship Award in all four of her seasons.  She was named an ITA All-American Scholar-Athlete, a GTE Academic All-American, and the 1992-93 Allegheny College Female Athlete of the Year.

After graduating from Allegheny with a degree in biology, Kristen earned a Masters of Science in Physical Therapy from Gannon University.  She and her husband Andy have two sons, Matthew (14) and Christopher (11), and reside in Carmichaels, Pennsylvania.  Employed as  a physical therapist for Golden Living Center in Carmichaels and Uniontown, Kristen enjoys watching her sons play sports, while she is also active in volunteering for her church, the local food bank, and local youth sports, while she has gone on a number of mission trips.