Uhlfelder became Oxy's first head coach when the program began in 2010 and has quickly transformed the team into a contender. In just the program's third season in 2012, the Tigers went 13-4, were ranked second in the West Region, advanced to the SCIAC championship game and made their first NCAA Division III postseason appearance.

Following the 2012 season, Uhlfelder was named an assistant coach for Team Canada for the 2013 Women's Lacrosse World Cup.

In October, 2012, she was named the IWLCA West Region Coach of the Year.

Her playing and coaching credentials prior to Oxy were even more impressive than the Tigers quick surge to prominence.

Uhlfelder came to Occidental with 14 years of NCAA Division I coaching experience and more than 15 years of playing experience for the U.S. National Team and at the University of Maryland. 

As a four-year starter for the Terps (1987-91) she helped Maryland to National runner-up finishes at the NCAA Championships in 1990 and 1991, and she was selected to the NCAA All-Tournament Team twice. She was chosen as the 1991 National Offensive Player of the Year and First Team All-America, while served as a team captain her senior year. 

As a junior in college, Uhlfelder made the U.S. Squad in 1990 and was a two-time member of the US World Cup Team. In the 2001 World Cup, she was the third-highest scorer on the gold medal winning American team, ranking sixth among all scorers at the World Cup, and contributing two goals in the 14-8 win over Australia in the title game. Her first World Cup appearance came in 1997 (Tokyo, Japan) when the U.S. won the gold and she earned Player-of-the-match honors versus Canada.

From the field to the sidelines, Uhlfelder easily shifted from player to coach. She spent seven years as an assistant coach at Duke University (1998-2000) and Old Dominion University (1994-1998) before joining the Cardinal as the head coach beginning in 2000.

While at Stanford she wasted no time in transforming the program into a national force, leading the Cardinal to be selected as the first west coast program to crack the top-20. From there she continued to build the program and the success was obvious. In 2006 the squad became the first team from west of the Mississippi to earn a bid to the NCAA Tournament. She coached six All-Americans at Duke, before leading two Cardinal players to All-American honors in 2006, marking it the first in school history. Part of Uhlfelder's success came from attacking the building blocks which would make them a national contender--strength of schedule and recruiting.

In league play Stanford won six league titles (2005 and 2006) and she was twice named Mountain Pacific Sports Federation (MPSF) Coach of the Year (2004 and 2005), marking the first time since the inception of the league that a coach earned that honor in back-to-back seasons.

Beyond the collegiate ranks, Uhlfelder has been responsible for promoting the growth of women's lacrosse nationally. She has run successful camps and developed club programs, which teach lacrosse skills, strategy and technique, as well as raise athleticism and level of player in the country.

Samantha Schrum, former Johns Hopkins University women’s lacrosse team captain and offensive player of the year, enters her first season as an Occidental College women's lacrosse assistant coach, bringing more NCAA Division I experience to the Oxy staff.

Schrum, 23, will concentrate on recruiting and player development, with a primary focus on offense and special situations under Michele Uhlfelder.

“Samantha has experienced a rich lacrosse tradition at Hopkins and I am thrilled that she is excited to help build our tradition here at Oxy,” Uhlfelder said. “She has a unique background, attending a Division III institution with at Division I lacrosse program. Her passion for the game and for coaching will be exciting as we head into our third season.”

Schrum was an American Lacrosse Conference Academic All-American, the conference’s rookie of the year in 2006 and a participant in the IWLCA North-South Senior All-Star Game in 2010 at the women’s lacrosse powerhouse, before spending the last two years coaching in the United Kingdom with the Caterham School and the Under 19 Welsh National Team.

 “I am honored to be the newest member of the Occidental family and a part of a new program with so much potential for growth and success in the immediate and distant future,” Schrum said. “It is a privilege to begin my coaching career under the leadership and guidance of Michele Uhlfelder who has extensive coaching and playing experience at the highest level of the game.”

Schrum also brings experience in various niche components of lacrosse that give her a unique perspective. She spent nearly a decade as a lacrosse official with US Lacrosse Inc. dating back to 2002.

Schrum graduated from John Hopkins in 2010 with a BA in political science and an entrepreneurship and management minor.

Before attending Johns Hopkins, Schrum wan an Under Armour All-American and the 2006 Washing Post and Baltimore Sun Player of the Year at St. Mary’s High School in her hometown of Pasadena, Md.

Shannon Docherty graduated from Oxy last year with a degree in Critical Theory and Social Justice. This is her second season as a coach with the Lacrosse team.

Originally from the East Coast, Shannon played one year of Division I lacrosse at Yale.  After transferring to Oxy, she had the opportunity to be part of the inaugural Varsity season. 

As a co-captain, Shannon played various roles on the team.  She ran the midfield and contributed as the third leading scorer on attack, and as an aggressive presence on defense.  She earned 1st-team all-SCIAC Honors.

She is excited to stay involved with the Tigers and watch them grow into a leader in the SCIAC league.