By Alex Riley
Special to SMUMustangs.com
 
WILMINGTON, N.C. – The sound from about 30 feet away caused Emily Odwin to turn her head quickly. The SMU senior was with her teammates in the Porter's Neck Country Club parking lot following the final round of the ACC Women's Golf Championship when two children yelled words of encouragement to the golfers as they packed up their belongings. 



Fresh off a 3-0 loss to top-seeded Stanford in match play, it would have been easy for the golfers to offer a simple thanks and finish what they were doing. Instead, Odwin waved the pair over, reaching in her bag for a ball and glove, even taking out a marker to sign them. 



The youngsters scurried back to their parents triumphantly holding the momentos, beaming with ear-to-ear grins. "At the end of the day, we're very lucky to do what we do. It's a privilege and a blessing being able to travel around and play golf," Odwin said. "Being able to come out to Wilmington, play on a really good golf course against some really good competitors, it's what we want to do. But I think a big part of that is inspiring kids and trying to give them those experiences. I think that's just as important as what we do on the golf course." Sunday's final round did little to dampen the overall experience in coastal North Carolina. 


Last spring, SMU took part in its first ACC Championship, finishing 14th out of 15 teams in stroke play, eliminating them from moving on to match play. A year later, the Mustangs placed second in stroke play, beat North Carolina during Saturday's semifinal match play, then squared off with the No. 1 ranked team in all of NCAA women's golf in the conference finale. 


"We've got such a great team this year, and I keep telling people that. Everything's coming together at the right time," SMU coach Lauren Mason said. "The pieces are falling into place. We've played really solid golf collectively, and now we're seeing our hard work pay off when it matters most, in the postseason run. We've put in a lot preparation, and it's finally showing. I've told people all along how special this group is."

 
With a top 30 ranking already and a high probability to move up in the standings next week, the Mustangs now wait to hear their name during the NCAA Division I Women's Golf Selection Show on April 29. Regionals will take place May 11-13 at one of six locations across the country with the team championship set for Carlsbad, Calif., May 22-27. 
While the ACC outcome wasn't exactly what the team hoped for, they left North Carolina with plenty of positives to build on and optimistic view on what's ahead. "I think it speaks a lot to the work that both Lauren and (Associate Head Coach Carly Ludwig) have done the last year putting the pieces together, recruiting some of the best players to try and put us in this position so we can make a deep run this week," Odwin said. "It speaks to the strength of this team and the depth that we have. It wasn't really just any one player this week, it was a real collective effort. I'm just really proud of this team."