WILMINGTON, Calif. — A dominant performance from start to finish for top-seeded Stanford women’s golf resulted in an ACC conference championship, defeating second-seeded SMU 3-0 in the match play finals for Stanford’s first conference title in the ACC.
The Cardinal got off to a dizzying start at Porters Neck Country Club, with all five golfers in its lineup winning the opening hole to take 1up leads. From there, Stanford only trailed at one point in one match, and that only lasted for one hole. By the time the finals reached the midpoint, Stanford had leads of at least two holes in all five matches.
The first to go final was Meja Örtengren, who was an absolutely ripper in match play at the ACC Championship. She won 4&3 over Grace Jin, and seized control of the match in the middle portion. Örtengren knocked down five consecutive birdie putts to turn a tie match into a 5up advantage through 10 holes. After ending the match in 15 holes, Örtengren was at 5-under on the round, saving some of her best golf for the match play finals.
Shortly thereafter, Megha Ganne secured the second point for Stanford. Putting was nearly perfect for Ganne, especially early, as she went 4up through just six holes. Mackenzie Lee of SMU fought back to gain a couple of holes, shrinking Ganne’s lead to 2up through 10, but Ganne’s short game was just too good. She sank six birdie putts on Sunday, the most in any round she had this weekend, and secured a 3&2 victory.
It then became a matter of who could clinch the third point. All three remaining matches for Stanford had opportunities to clinch first, but it was the ACC’s individual champion, Paula Martín Sampedro, who got it done on 15 with a 4&3 win over Emily Odwin. The junior from Spain had a commanding early lead, stretching it as far as 4up through seven holes early, and then added another hole win on 12 to extend the lead to five. After failing to close out the match with a three-putt on 14, she birdied 15 to secure the team championship for the Cardinal. After winning the individual championship on Friday, Martín Sampedro had seven birdies in 15 holes on Sunday.
Simultaneous finishes almost occurred for Stanford. Kelly Xu was leading by three holes on 16, just moments away from closing it out, while Andrea Revuelta was up by two on 17, but those matches went unfinished.
Sunday is the first conference championship for Stanford since 2024 in its final season in the Pac-12. That year, Stanford went on to win the NCAA Championship. This also marks the first time in program history that Stanford won a conference championship and had an individual conference champion in the same season.
Stanford will now turn its focus towards the NCAA Regionals, which begin on May 11. Stanford Golf Course will host this year, and Stanford figures to likely be the top overall seed in the field. The NCAA’s selection show is on April 29 at 1 p.m. PT on Golf Channel.
No. 1 Stanford 3, SMU 0
- Meja Örtengren (STAN) def. Grace Jin (SMU), 4&3
- Megha Ganne (STAN) def. Mackenzie Lee (SMU), 3&2
- Andrea Revuelta (STAN) vs. Celine Chen (SMU), 2up thru 16
- Kelly Xu (STAN) vs. Kirra St. Laurent (SMU), 3up thru 15
- Paula Martín Sampedro (STAN) def. Emily Odwin (SMU), 4&3
Order of Finish: 1, 2, 5*