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WACO, Texas (SMU) – SMU women's golf advanced to the NCAA Championship as the NCAA Waco Regional Champions on Wednesday at Ridgewood Country Club.

"I'm incredibly proud of the way this team continues to represent our program," said fifth year head coach Lauren Mason. "They led from the beginning and never let up, which is one of the hardest things to do in championship golf."

"(Associate Head Coach) Carly's (Ludwig) experienced game plan, preparation and strategy was a huge contributing factor in our dominant performance this week," added Mason.

"Getting our first win of the season at this point in the year gives us great momentum, but I still believe our best golf is ahead of us," concluded Mason. "We're continuing to grow every week, and there's another level this team can reach. Now the focus shifts to La Costa. We're excited for the opportunity to continue our postseason run and compete against the best teams in the country. This group has earned that opportunity, and we're looking forward to what's to come."

The Mustangs entered the final round with an eight-stroke lead over the rest of the field. The team needed a spot in the top five to advance to the NCAA Championship. The Mustangs shot three-over in the final round to win the tournament by six strokes over Texas A&M, the fourth ranked team in the country. In total, SMU finished ahead of seven ranked teams. This marked the second regional title for the Mustangs who won the 2023 San Antonio Regional before advancing to the NCAA Championship and placing 11^th there. The 17-under final score marked the Mustangs ninth lowest in program history and their lowest at an NCAA event.  The 11-under score that the Mustangs shot on Tuesday was the lowest round of any team in the field by three strokes.
 
Kirra St-Laurent and Celine Chen led the way during the week with a third-place showing. St-Laurent posted the fourth lowest round in Mustang history on Tuesday with a 64. She finished the tournament at five-under par with the third-place finish being her best collegiate placement. Chen shot three-under on the final day playing the final 16 holes five under. Chen birdied three straight holes from the ninth hole to the 11^th. She birdied 13 times on the week.
 
Emily Odwin recorded her sixth top 10 finish of the season with a 10^th-place showing. She carded a final round 69 to make a jump into the top 10. Odwin lowered her season scoring average down to 71.47, fourth best in Mustang history.
 
Grace Jin finished alone in 12^th after a final round 71. Her best round came with a 68 on day one which she played bogey free. She was two places off her best finish as a Mustang.
 
One shot back, Mackenzie Lee recorded the 34^th top 20 finish of her career with a 13^th-place finish. She carded rounds of 72, 67 and 71. Her 67 came with a bogey-free round. Her SMU-best career scoring average improved this week down to 71.48.
 
Next up, the Mustangs will be one of 30 teams heading to Omni La Costa in Carlsbad, California for the NCAA Championship, their third trip to the NCAA Championship in the last four seasons. The Mustangs tee off in California May 22 and the tournament runs through the match play final on May 27.
 
TEAM LEADERBOARD
1  SMU  -17
2  Texas A&M  -11
3  Baylor  E
4  LSU  +1
T5  Tennessee  +7
T5  Tulsa  +7
7  Oregon  +9
8  TCU  +14
9  Colorado  +34
10  Tarleton State  +37
11  Prairie View A&M  +99
12  Northern Arizona  +N/A
 
SMU LEADERBOARD
T3 Kirra St-Laurent -5
T3 Celine Chen -5
T10 Emily Odwin -2
12 Grace Jin -1
T13 Mackenzie Lee E