An unlikely candidate stepped up to redeem herself and lead the SMU women’s golf team to a ninth-place finish at the 16-team Susie Maxwell Berning Classic in Norman, Okla., over the weekend.

Freshman Paige Martin fired a seven-over-par 223 in the 54-hole event, tying for 14th place individually. In the only other 54-hole tournament she competed in this season – to her credit, her first event of the spring season – Martin finished with a disappointing 272 at the Texas A&M “Mo”morial Tournament in early March.

Martin was the second freshman to turn in the Mustangs’ lowest score in a tournament this season. First-year Tia Gannon led SMU with a 230 at the Central District Invite in mid-February.

Martin stepped into the lineup after junior standout Kate Ackerson injured herself in the first round of the Central District Invite, the team’s spring opener. In their first full event without Ackerson, the “Mo”morial, the Mustangs finished 14th out of 15 teams.

The slip-up was understandable. Ackerson, despite missing the last three tournaments, leads the team in scoring average (75.75 per round), thanks to a solid fall season.

The team appears to be adjusting to Ackerson’s absence, and the results have continued to improve since the “Mo”morial disaster.

Martin improved to shoot 167 at the 36-hole Betsy Rawls Invite in Austin. The Mustangs finished in a 10th place tie in the 18-team event.

Senior Lacey Jones turned in the Mustangs’ lowest score at the Betsy Rawls Invite, a 14-over-par 158, and tied for 17th individually last weekend. Jones is eighth in Conference USA in scoring average (76) this season and shared the Kyle O’Brien Team MVP Award with Ackerson last year.

Gannon (227), Laura Cross (240) and Sarah Dodson (240) rounded out the scorers last weekend for the Mustangs, who will begin the Conference USA Championship on Monday in El Paso.

SMU tied for third in last year’s event. Three golfers, including Ackerson and Jones, earned All-Conference honors, the most selections in school history.