SMU women’s golf beat North Carolina 3-1 in the ACC semifinals and will face top-ranked Stanford with the conference title on the line Sunday.
SMU women’s golf is one win away from an ACC championship after taking down North Carolina, 3-1, in Saturday’s semifinal match at the ACC Women’s Golf Championship in Wilmington, North Carolina.
The Mustangs came in with momentum after earning a bye through stroke play, and they carried that sharp form right into match play.
Now, SMU women’s golf gets a shot at the league title against No. 1 Stanford on Sunday.
The Mustangs didn’t waste time grabbing control. Starting on the back nine, SMU put itself in strong position early by moving ahead in multiple matches and never really letting the pressure swing the other way for long.
North Carolina grabbed the first point when Mackenzie Lee was edged in a tightly contested match, but SMU answered in a big way.
Kirra St-Laurent delivered the most dominant performance of the day, rolling to a 5&4 win over Megan Streicher.
Her round turned into a runaway after a long stretch of hole wins gave her all the breathing room she needed.
Celine Chen followed with a steady 4&3 victory over Ing Iadpluem, giving the Mustangs a 2-1 advantage.
Chen stayed in front throughout the match and kept applying pressure with clean, controlled golf when it mattered most.
That left Grace Jin with the chance to finish it, and she came through.
After falling behind early, Jin settled in, erased the deficit, and then took over late on the way to a 3&2 clinching win over Marie Prats-Rigual.
Emily Odwin was still on the course when the match ended, holding a one-hole edge with four to play before her pairing was ruled unfinished.
With the win, SMU advances to the ACC title match and now faces the biggest challenge possible ... Stanford, the nation’s top-ranked team.
The Mustangs are chasing their third conference crown in four seasons and a statement finish in their first ACC campaign.
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