University of Washington Women's Golf

Mulflur's dreams. "I thought maybe I could do it for a few years to provide that stability, but I didn't know what I was doing. ... Gosh, I could not have imagined this," Mulflur said with a chuckle from Bryan, Texas, before Wednesday's final practice day and then Washington's appearance in another NCAA championship, Thursday through Saturday. Live scoring will be available daily on . Here at GoHuskies.com we will have daily recaps and photos after each day, plus live commentary via Twitter (@UW_WGolf). It's the ninth time UW has qualified for the NCAA finals in the former speech communications-major-in-training's 28 years as coach. Mulflur is one of four longest tenured women's golf coaches in the country, and only crew bedrock Bob Ernst has a longer tenure leading a Huskies program. "I feel I am the luckiest person in the world, doing what I love at a school I love," Mulflur said over the phone from Texas. "Like today, I was out there on this beautiful course with the team, all this green grass - acres and acres of green grass - and I was thinking, `This is my office.' "Pretty neat." Also pretty neat: The unique collaboration Mulflur enjoys with fellow Husky coaches. Those relationships may pay off in a tangible way this week in Texas. The Huskies' first appearance in the NCAA women's golf championships since 2006 got an unexpected boost last week in a most unlikely setting: A staff compliance meeting. Mulflur was sitting down with her coaching colleagues, days before she and her Huskies left for the Traditions Club course in Texas. She turned around in her seat before the monthly meeting on NCAA rules began to introduce herself to a man she'd never met. It was Mike Neighbors, who had just been announced at UW as part of women's basketball coach Kevin McGuff's new staff. He said hello. "By the way," Neighbors added, "I know the Traditions course pretty well. I've probably played it 100 times." Mulflur almost swallowed her compliance notes. She eagerly invited McGuff's former assistant at Xavier to meet with her and Huskies golf assistant coach , to give them an insider's scoop on the NCAA championship course. Neighbors explained Tradition's tree-lined fairways, its often tricky winds and the small greens that are uniquely tiered. Humps divide the greens left and right instead of the usual front-to-back separation in most bi-level greens. That means the Huskies will not only have to reach the greens this week but reach the correct side of them, to stay on the same plane as the hole and create easier putts. "What we have at Washington is unique. The camaraderie among coaches, between the women's coaches and the men's coaches, is something very few places have," Mulflur said. "We are always sharing, willing to help to each other. I have a great relationship with the other coaches at U-Dub, probably the best I've had since I've been here." But the Huskies have more than just inside information going for them this weekend at the NCAA championships, where the program's best finishes were sixth-place showings in 2006 and in '04. For the first time this spring, UW got a complete team effort to finish seventh at the NCAA regionals 10 days ago on its home course, Washington National in suburban Auburn. , a junior from Tacoma, set a course record with a 6-under 66 on the second day of the regional to get UW within range of a top-eight finish and qualification for the NCAA championships. Then on the final day, senior overcame a triple-bogey on her first hole to go 1-under the rest of the way. Then senior , who could be a professional this time next month, and Parks birdied the next-to-last hole. That, plus the efforts of freshmen and , got the Huskies to Texas - and into a great frame of mind for these NCAA championships. Their eighth-place finish at the Pac-10 finals is a distant memory. "We are focused and loose, which is good," Mulflur said. "We had a really solid fall, but I think by everyone's definition we haven't played well this spring. "But this is why you play, to be in these settings. We have a team of competitors, of real fighters. I think that will come through this week."

VanderLende Hometown: Orlando, Fla. High School: Lake Mary HS Last College: Florida '05 Position: Assistant Coach Experience: 4 years Graduated: 2005 Andrea VanderLende Photo Gallery Andrea VanderLende was named assistant women's golf coach by Mary Lou Mulflur on July 8, 2009. In 2012-13, VanderLende was instrumental in helping the Huskies obtain a No. 1 ranking heading into the spring season. The Huskies won two tournaments and were second in two others to amass a 58-2 head-to-head record. SooBin Kim, a player she helped recruit to Washington, reached No. 1 in Golfstat.com's rankings during the season and earned second team WGCA All-America honors. VanderLende has helped Mulflur build a roster that is one of the most talented in the team's history. In 2013 it featured three sophomores and two freshmen and finished a school best second at the Pac-12 Tournament. Kim has earned All-Pac-12 recognition twice and freshman Charlotte Thomas earned all-conference honors in 2013. Kim finished 2013 with the lowest scoring average (71.97) in team history, while Thomas was third (72.91). At Washington, she has helped lead the Huskies to the NCAA Regionals four times and to the NCAA Championships in 2011, where they ended up 16th -- the sixth best finish in school history. Prior to joining the Huskies, VanderLende has been working in operations for the American Junior Golf Association (AJGA). Prior to that, she played on the Duramed Futures Tour from 2007 to 2009. From 2006-2007, VanderLende was an assistant golf professional at Carmel Country Club in Charlotte, N.C. In 2008, VanderLende appeared on the Golf Channel's Big Break X, where one of her competitors was former Husky golfer Amber Prange. VanderLende, from Orlando, Fla., was a highly-successful collegiate golfer for the University of Florida from 2001-2005. She was the 2003 NCAA Championship runner up and was an Honorable Mention NCAA All-American in 2002 and 2003. She was the Gator's team captain from 2003 to 2005 and earned 2004 & 2005 Southeastern Conference All-Academic Honor Roll recognition. VanderLende graduated from Florida with a bachelor's degree in commercial recreation. She attended high school at Lake Mary HS in Lake Mary, Fla., a suburb of Orlando. Hometown: Orlando, Fla. High School: Lake Mary HS Last College: Florida '05 Position: Assistant Coach Experience: 4 years Graduated: 2005 Andrea VanderLende Photo Gallery blankAndrea VanderLende Hometown: Orlando, Fla. High School: Lake Mary HS Last College: Florida '05 Position: Assistant Coach Experience: 4 years Graduated: 2005 Andrea VanderLende was named assistant women's golf coach by Mary Lou Mulflur on July 8, 2009. In 2012-13, VanderLende was instrumental in helping the Huskies obtain a No. 1 ranking heading into the spring season. The Huskies won two tournaments and were second in two others to amass a 58-2 head-to-head record. SooBin Kim, a player she helped recruit to Washington, reached No. 1 in Golfstat.com's rankings during the season and earned second team WGCA All-America honors. VanderLende has helped Mulflur build a roster that is one of the most talented in the team's history. In 2013 it featured three sophomores and two freshmen and finished a school best second at the Pac-12 Tournament. Kim has earned All-Pac-12 recognition twice and freshman Charlotte Thomas earned all-conference honors in 2013. Kim finished 2013 with the lowest scoring average (71.97) in team history, while Thomas was third (72.91). At Washington, she has helped lead the Huskies to the NCAA Regionals four times and to the NCAA Championships in 2011, where they ended up 16th -- the sixth best finish in school history. Prior to joining the Huskies, VanderLende has been working in operations for the American Junior Golf Association (AJGA). Prior to that, she played on the Duramed Futures Tour from 2007 to 2009. From 2006-2007, VanderLende was an assistant golf professional at Carmel Country Club in Charlotte, N.C. In 2008, VanderLende appeared on the Golf Channel's Big Break X, where one of her competitors was former Husky golfer Amber Prange. VanderLende, from Orlando, Fla., was a highly-successful collegiate golfer for the University of Florida from 2001-2005. She was the 2003 NCAA Championship runner up and was an Honorable Mention NCAA All-American in 2002 and 2003. She was the Gator's team captain from 2003 to 2005 and earned 2004 & 2005 Southeastern Conference All-Academic Honor Roll recognition. VanderLende graduated from Florida with a bachelor's degree in commercial recreation. She attended high school at Lake Mary HS in Lake Mary, Fla., a suburb of Orlando.