UW, ranked No. 13 in the nation for women’s golf, made it to the final eight last year at the NCAA championships — and they’re peaking at the right time this year.
Mary Lou Mulflur said she is in denial that seniors Charlotte Thomas and Ying Luo are concluding their stellar careers on the Washington women’s golf team.
But the two have a chance to further leave their mark at the NCAA championships that begin Friday at Eugene (Ore.) Country Club.
Mulflur, in her 33rd season as UW’s coach, joked that when she was asked at a recent event about her two seniors, she replied, “I don’t have any seniors.”
Thomas, who recently set the mark for most top-10 finishes in UW history with 24, and Luo will be counted on to lead a team that also consists of five freshmen. The team seems to be peaking at the right time, finishing third at the Baton Rouge Regional to advance to this week’s championship.
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“They have worked hard all year, and you want to be peaking now,” Mulflur said. “We’ve got production from top to bottom, and everyone has pitched in.”
The 24 teams will play three rounds, with the top 15 advancing to Monday’s fourth round, when an individual champion will be crowned. The top eight teams after the fourth round advance to match play. UW, ranked No. 13, made it to the final eight last year, but lost in the first round of match play to USC, 3-2. The final is Wednesday, May 25.
Washington will use the same lineup as it did at the regional. Joining Thomas and Luo, who has been in the top 25 in 12 of 13 events as a senior, will be Wenyung Keh, Julianne Alvarez and Sarah Rhee.
Thomas was third at the regional, and Luo and Alvarez tied for 15th.
Mulflur said going through that experience last year will be a big bonus if UW can get to the final eight again.
“They gained so much experience and so much knowledge,” she said of Thomas and Luo. “You can’t replicate that, knowing that if you execute, you can move on and be that much closer to a national championship. You can’t recreate that at practice, and to have that experience is huge.”
Mulflur said despite the stakes, her team will be loose and will have fun. And the football that the team throws around during warmups will also be coming along.
Although her team has not played at Eugene Country Club, she said the narrow, tree-lined fairways will remind her players of Seattle Golf Club and Sahalee Country Club in Sammamish, courses they know well.
“It will feel comfortable and familiar, and that’s good,” Mulflur said.
Men’s golf
The UW men’s team is in sixth place after Tuesday’s second round of the NCAA Franklin Regional at the Vanderbilt Legends Club in Franklin, Tenn. The Huskies shot 8-under 280, but fell three spots in the team rankings and stood one shot short of the NCAA Championships qualifying position.
“The course is so scoreable right now that you feel so much pressure to be making birdies all the time,” said UW coach Matt Thurmond. “It’s easy to get frustrated when you make a mistake.”
Washington freshman Carl Yuan was just one shot off the overall lead, while sophomore Frank Garber had the round of the day for the Huskies. Garber shot a 5-under 67 to climb into a tie for 19th.
Yuan backed up his bogey-free 65 on Monday with a second round of 3-under 69. Yuan is attempting to make it five straight years a Husky has won an NCAA Regional.
The Huskies will tee it up for the final round on Wednesday morning, looking to get into the top five.
Texas leads overall, at 37 under for the week.