July 20, 2022 • 33 mins
In this episode of the Birdie Bunch Podcast, Kennedy hosts Ole Miss Golfer and Master’s candidate Macy Somoskey to discuss what it was like being a walk on on the Ole Miss golf team, as well as trying to balance academics and athletics.
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Speaker 1 (00:00):
The Birdie Bunch is a production of I Heart Radio
and the College Athletes Network. Can You dig It? Can
You dig It? You dig Hey everybody, this is Kennedy
(00:37):
Swan and you're listening to The Birdie Bunch on the
College Athletes Network. Please subscribe to the podcast so you
never miss a new episode. This can easily be done
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me on Instagram and Can You dig It or on
my website at www dot Kennedy Swan dot com. Feel
free to fill out my contact form with any suggestions, questions,
or comments of what you might want to hear on
(00:58):
the show. On this week's episod S, would we have
a very special guest, my best friend, teammate college roommate,
Macy Samowski. Hey, Macyy, So I'll go ahead and clarify
for all the listeners if I call you may throughout
the episode. UM, just know that I'm also talking about Macy.
That was the nickname that we gave her while she
(01:19):
was at Ole Miss, even though she didn't necessarily like
it at first. UM, I would say it's grown on you, yeah,
for sure, so much that sometimes had a second may
so you know or May May. Oh yeah, yeah, yeah,
I don't yeah, I guess they call you mid May sometimes. Um.
So may May um go ahead and give us a
little bit of intro about you. You know, kind of
(01:40):
where you're from, um, kind of your junior golf process, um,
and then where you went to school, your major, that
kind of stuff. Yeah. So I grew up in Northeast Ohio,
and I moved to Central Florida when I was thirteen
to be able to play golf all year round and
played the junior golf circuits um. And then I ended
(02:02):
up going to Ole Miss to play college golf. And
so I was there for three years and I graduated
early with the bachelor's in math. And now I'm at
the University of Florida, not playing golf anymore, um, but
working on a master's and statistics. So may tell us
a little bit about your time in high school. You know,
(02:23):
what was kind of high school golf like in Florida, Um.
And then you know how good was the competition and
how did you balance? Like you're valedictorian of your high
school in Florida, which was what like a graduating class
of like nine hundred kids. Yeah, like like eight hundred
something like that. Yeah, so kind of were you able
(02:44):
to still go to a D one school out of
high school and be the valedictorian of one of like
the biggest high schools in Florida. Yeah, so obviously Florida
is just full of talented golf first, um, the high
school level was, um, you know, varied in abilities, UM,
(03:10):
but we definitely had a very competitive golf team. We
ended up getting my freshman year, we got second in
States UM and we were the Division three A, so
we were the largest division in the state of Florida,
and then the next three years in my high school
we won States UM. But we definitely, you know, had
some competition in there. A lot of the girls I
played the junior golf circuit with obviously played for their
(03:32):
high school teams to UM, so it was always fun
to see them there. But balancing it was a lot
of late nights and honestly a lot of help from
teammates and and the coaches that I had at the time. UM.
So when it came to high school golf, I kind
(03:53):
of worked out of situation with my high school golf
coach at the time to where I didn't have to
play in every single event, UM, which we were able
to do because we had a really good team, so
you know, we could switch people in and out if
they wanted to, and so I was really appreciative of
being able to do that and kind of coming out
to the to the bigger events because I was at
(04:15):
the time taking a lot of classes. Um. Yeah, but
my junior year, I was taking all a p classes. Um.
My senior year, I took I think like nine or
ten classes, and I like my fall semester my senior year.
So I definitely don't think I had like a normal
(04:35):
um high school experience. But I'm so blessed to be
able to like have gone to a high school that
had so many opportunities both athletically and academically. And I
had a great group of friends. UM, all of us
kind of banded together to help each other push through it. UM.
But amazing teachers. I want to like Mary High School, UM,
which is in central Florida. It's a very big public
(04:56):
high school, and UM, I can't say enough good thing
about just the school and the teachers there overall. So
just a really great support system is kind of how
you manage that. Yeah, I think that's really true. You know,
I kind of went to a similar situation in Texas.
You know, I went to one of the biggest high
schools in Texas. I had a great support system, UM
(05:17):
with coaches and people that kind of helped us, UM,
you know, kind of get be able to balance academics
and golf because at the end of the day, you know,
in college you can kind of focus on one or
the other, but in high school you really still have
to do both, UM, which I think can be very
difficult at times. So kind of tell us about, you know,
(05:37):
what age you got started um, going through the recruiting
process and kind of who started you on it. Was
it your dad, your mom? You know, was it your
high school coaches that kind of pushed you to get
started on it? You know, how did you kind of
decide that you wanted to play collegiate golf? Yeah, so
I my golf career officially started when I was seven
(05:58):
and a half. But obviously when we decided to move
to Florida to pursue golf, that was kind of a
you know in the back of my mind, like, well,
if my parents are going to make this big move
for me, obviously, you know I should be pursuing this
at a high level and and be putting in a
lot of work towards it. UM. So I would say
maybe like that time, maybe like fourteen. So the start
(06:20):
of high school is when I really started the recruiting process.
And it was just a lot of sending out resumes,
like cold calling people emails and just seeing like you know,
I remember calling coaches because you know of the n
c A rules, Um, they can't contact you even contact them,
and there's a lot of um things with that. But
(06:42):
I would call them be like Okay, well I'll call
you again at like eleven, at eleven and twelve, just
to see if I could, if I could get them
at all because they can't call you back. Yeah. So
I was doing that. But I knew I wanted to
play golf at a at a competitive level in college. UM.
I didn't know what I wanted to do beyond that.
(07:03):
But my dad was such a big help. UM he was.
He was so supportive. UM was just you know, he
was also on me about calling coaches, following up, you know,
keeping my resume updated, getting in the right tournaments. He
did all of that research. I was not the driving
force behind that. UM, honestly, he with how I kind
(07:24):
of operated was I kind of operated on the school
end and I was like, I'm gonna keep my grades up.
My dad was like, all right, well, like I'll handle
your golf tournaments and you just show up, um, which
was which so helpful. And we definitely we had our moments. Um.
It's it's a high tension time when you're trying to
go through recruiting process. In it it's so much pressure,
especially when everyone around you, you know, is committing um there,
(07:45):
you know, they start wearing all the logos and everything,
they started making the announcements and just sitting there like
I don't know what I'm doing. I don't know where
I'm going on all these things. So um. But yeah,
but we made it through. And yeah, you know, I
think it's a big factor that people don't really realize
is that parents are such a big contributor to the
recruiting process, you know. Um Realistically, for me, like I
(08:07):
was very capable, um because I wasn't even close to
academically sniffing where you were at um to like make
my own golf schedule, you know. And my parents were
so so beneficial in that aspect where they just were
kind of able to know more and have more experience
with this. Even though you know, my mom dove collegiately
(08:27):
in college, but other than that, like you know, and
my dad played a little bit of soccer and tennis collegiately,
but you know, other than that, like you know, they
didn't have as much experience with the the intensive golf
competition side of things. And so just having parents that
were able to kind of, um, kind of lead you
in the right direction and help you manage that is
(08:49):
very helpful. So well, I think all of that's really
good and kind of talking about high school athletics, and
in the next segment we're going to kind of talk
about your transition from high school to college ATHLETEX, your
academics and athletic side in college. So you're listening to
the Bertie Bunch. I am Kennedy Swan with Macy Samoski
and this is the College Athletes Network. Welcome back to
(09:50):
the Bertie Bunch on the College Athletes Network. This is
Kennedy Swan with Macy Samoski. Make sure to subscribe to
my podcast so you don't miss the show. In the
last segment, Macy kind of took us through her junior
golf career and what it was like growing up in
Florida playing on a high school team and trying to
balance academics as well. So Macy kind of walk us
(10:12):
through your decision on Ole Miss and what it was
like getting an academic scholarship and being a walk on
on a big Division one program. Yeah. Um, so I
went through the whole recruitment process um that that you know,
people who get athletic scholarships do. And at the time
(10:35):
I didn't really care where the money came from. I just,
you know, knew that I couldn't afford college on its own,
So however I could get that paid for it, that
would would be fine with me. Um. And so when
coach Corey called and we talked UM, one of the
things that really drew me to ole Miss was she
was totally for my aspirations academically, which at the time
(10:58):
we're very different than what I currently ended up. UM.
But I remember just taking an official visit there and
she she knew I really thought academics were important, and
she emphasized that, like she took me to the physics
building and the math building, and I had meetings with
professors who you know probably looking at me being like,
she has no idea what she wants to do, but
(11:19):
she thinks she can do this. Um. But that that
was a big thing for me, Like she you know,
I do think that obviously, college coaches want to recruit
good golfers, like that's what they're paid to do. They're
they're paid to make really good teams. Um. But I
definitely felt like when I was being recruited, like I
always knew going into college I was gonna be I
(11:41):
wanted to be like a student athlete with a student
coming first. UM. So she really emphasized that and and
I ended up at All Miss and that was a
great experience. And so I think what I would say
to others is that there's a lot of academic scholarships
out there. And I do think it makes you more marketable,
you know, to to do that just because I promise
(12:04):
you it doesn't matter where the money comes from. Like
the the money amount is a money amount. Um, you
don't feel like any less part of the team. I
mean I got all the same gear practice. I mean
I didn't have to like try out or anything like.
I mean, I was recruited and the only difference between
like me and someone who had a full athletic scholarship
was my money just came from the school, and there's
(12:26):
came from like the golf funder or whatever. UM, But
everything was the same. I was treated just as another
member on the team. UM. But I would just encourage
people like to to look into that route UM because
it's a lot of great opportunities. A lot of it
has to do with UM test scores. So you're already
studying for your A C T and S A T.
(12:47):
Look into schools because my one of my biggest scholarships
came from high A C T, S A T score
UM and that got me full tuition and the out
of state fee waved UM. And so a lot of
schools do that, and alaw schools in the SEC do that.
And I know the SEC is very highly desirable for
people who want to pursue athletics at the top level
(13:09):
because it really is the best of the best. UM. Yeah, well,
and I think, uh, I think that's a very good
point because a lot of schools look for like UM,
college athletics programs look for athletes that have good test
scores because I mean, obviously it varies from sport to sport.
But with you know, women's golf, we get six scholarships,
(13:31):
and obviously you can only have five play in a tournament,
but say one of those is injured, you're down to
five players. And so teams will typically like to have
anywhere from seven at the minimum to like I've seen
teams of twelve or thirteen at the max. And like,
take Vanderbilt for example, you know, they've always had a
lot of a lot of players, but most of them
(13:51):
are on academic scholarships, and that's something doesn't mean there're
any less of a player, doesn't mean there're any less
of a competitor, but they're just getting our money from
somewhere else. And so having that academic benefit UM, I
think is definitely a pro towards your recruiting process, whether
you're going to get your money academically or athletically. You know,
(14:12):
and a lot of people can split scholarships to you know,
where you can get some academic money and some athletic money. Um.
And for me, like I know, I always like was
hoping to get some academic money, but unfortunately, like when
I was looking at Clemson, in order to get academic money.
You had to be top ten out of your high school,
and my high school is just so competitive that I mean,
(14:33):
I made really good grades, but it just wasn't wasn't
feasible for me to to be top ten. So um,
but I think that is a really good option of just,
you know, being able to kind of split that that
money academically and athletically. Um. So, may you had a
major in a minor, majored in mathematics and minored in economics.
(14:56):
Um so you graduated in three years. You're part that
you were at the reason that we won the twenty
nineteen SEC championship. Um, walk us through before we get
to the SEC championship, walk us through what it's like
graduating in three years with a major in mathematics a
minor in economics, and being like one of our top players. Like,
(15:18):
how how has that even feasible for you? Besides no sleep? Yeah,
it's totally running job. Like I I just don't sleep.
But I will tell people, um, if they're like in
their junior senior year of high school, like I, as
I said before, I took a ton of AP classes. Um,
(15:38):
I passed those and so I was able to go
in to college with fifty five credit hours UM, and
not all of those ended up being used towards my major.
But being able to do that obviously it did a
couple of things. One, it took pressure off my freshman
year UM, which was a huge adjustment. And I struggled
(15:58):
my freshman year UM moving to a totally new place,
being away from my family. UM, it was really really
hard for me to do. So you know, I knew
I could take it easier that first semester just because
I had, you know, other credits, so I didn't have
to push really hard UM. And then it also afforded
me the opportunity to like not have to be said
(16:20):
in my major I went in is like I think
I don't even know what I went in. I think
I was like a biomedical engineer at some point, at
some point I wanted to be a physicist, like all
over the places like majors like three or four times,
like and like at one point you're gonna double major
and double minor. Yeah, exactly. I didn't know. I didn't
know what I was what I was doing at all.
But putting in the work early on UM in those
(16:42):
high school years allowed me to do that and I
I switched my major ton and I still was able
to graduate in three years. Um, so that was that
was a really cool thing I was able to do
and um and yeah, but just balancing everything, I mean,
it's it's just different when you go to college, Like
especially if you go to the SEC. You're gonna wake up,
(17:05):
you're gonna have a morning workout at six, You're gonna
run to class. You're not gonna time to shower. You're
just gonna go to class, you know, unless your car
timberliney chee, chee, we love you. But she found the
time to shower somehow. She did. She always she always
looked very very nice going to class. I did not.
I was always just head down and go. Um. But
(17:27):
you you run to class and then you run grab
the kneat and then you go to qualifying or then
you go to practice, and I think you really do
kind of get used to it after a while. I know.
I think for me, the biggest change was just the
culture and being away from from people who I knew
for so long. Um. But I really think just being
(17:48):
an athlete or being you know, a high successful, highly
because blackademic student like you just you just know you
have to do it, and you just figure out a
way to do it. Um And And obviously I have
amazing friends at all Miss um And and really supportive
coaches who I mean, they gave me a kick when
I needed it, you know, when I was not being
(18:10):
a team player like they were like, you know, like
get it together, get out and sometimes tough love is
what you need. Um. So yeah, a lot of it's
just you know, being able to adjust, you know, quickly.
But I think you have the right people around you,
you know, perfectly manageable to do yeah, you know, and
I think that's something that was great about Ole miss
(18:32):
was the coaches. You really knew when to give you
tough love, and in the moment it always wasn't necessarily
what you wanted to hear, but it was something that
you know, would kind of sit and resonate with you.
And then after a day or two days or a week,
you know, you kind of realized like, wow, this was
actually something that you know, they were very they were
(18:53):
very right about and you know you can learn from
it and kind of helps develop you as a person.
So yeah, I uh, I know, both Macy and I
really enjoyed our time at wellness and I had a
lot of fun being roommates for a semester um. But
that was the second segment of the Birdie Bunch on
the College Athletes Network. And the next segment, we're gonna
(19:16):
have some fun stories for you guys along with covering
the twenty nineteen SEC Championship. Again, you're listening to the
Bertie Bunch on the College Athlete Network. I'm Kennedy Swan
and we'll catch you in the next segment. Welcome back
(20:13):
to the Bertie Bunch on the College Athletes Network. This
is Kennedy Swan. Make sure to subscribe to my podcast
see don't miss the show. In the last segment, Macy
Samoski and I talked about the challenges between being a
student athlete and uh while managing academics as well as athletics.
And so in this segment, we're going to talk about
(20:33):
Macy Samoski being the terminator in the twenty nineteen SEC Championships. So, Macy,
why don't you just give us a little background on
where the terminator face came from. Oh my gosh, Um,
I just I just have like probably the worst r
(20:54):
V of anyone that anyone has just ever met I really,
I I'm not mad that much. I think I used
to be mad. I think like when I was younger,
I was definitely like mad and like showed it, and
I showed I wear my emotions like just on my
face because I think I was just like whatever, I'd
rather someone know how I feel. But honestly, it just
(21:16):
got to the point where it was like, um, so
I was like, it's just my face. I don't feel anything.
I don't feel like it's it's bad, you know, Honestly,
I mean nothing good came from COVID, but the masks thing.
I think it kind of like, you know, maybe I
made more friends through that. No, you did not, because
it's all in your eyes. I tell you. I can
testify to this. When I first met this girl on
(21:37):
my official visit, when I was visiting Ole Miss my
junior year, I'm walking from our practice facility um up
to our like indoor hitting bay, and I'm looking looking around,
kind of seeing who's all over there, and I see
these two girls and I'm like, Okay, they must be
on the Old Miss team. So I'm kind of walking
up and I'm like going to introduce myself, and I
mean Ellen Hutchinson. Kay, who's another girl that's still still
(21:59):
in miss team? And I meet Macy and I walk
up with like my bright, bubbly personality in this big smile, like, Hi, Macy,
I'm Kennedy, me being like, you know, twenty one years old,
a junior, like you know, should have seniority and whatever.
And Macy just looks me high I'm Macy Samaski with
the terminator face of just this stone cold book. And
I spent like the next two months like scared of
(22:22):
this girl. It's like she's a freshman, like this is
her freshman year, and yet somehow I am so intimidated
by her. And to this day, you're like probably the
nicest person. I know. It's just you gotta get to
know you. But anyway, the whole terminator look kind of
how did that factor in to your match play mentality
(22:44):
in the SEC Championship and kind of walk us through
like leading up to that that tournament. Yeah, So I
was a freshman at the time, and in that fall
I didn't play much. Um I did play one or
two events I think um as an individual UM. But
(23:08):
that following spring, um I started to make the team
consistently and so it was obviously a huge, you know,
privilege and honor to go to SECS. And I had
played match play before, um, like in junior golf tournaments.
I liked match play, UM just because you know, I
(23:29):
think it was easier to move on, you know, from
shots and move on to the next hole, UM, and
anything can happen. And so I don't know what. I'm
pretty sure I wasn't even ranked at the time when
we were playing SECS, or maybe I was like two
thousand or something. I don't know, UM, but I remember
UM going there and when I played, I played my
(23:51):
first match against Florida and Kenny, you gotta robb who
the girl is because shoot, was it? It wasn't Claire
may Dealini, was it? No? Who I know exactly who
you're talking about. I can't remember, but it was um
when it wasn't Sierra Brooks either, UM, but it was
like the I think she's the top five ranked like
(24:14):
women's amateur golf ranking player in the world and like Marta,
Yes it was Marte. Yeah, yeah, I think it was Marte,
but like one of the top players in the world,
and you had no clue who she was, and no
one was going to tell you, because we knew you
would just freak out, but you had no clue who
(24:34):
she was, and you just went out there like I'm
just knna playing golf. Yeah, I I had no idea
who she was. I mean, she's very nice and I
loved playing I mean I was. I was having fun
playing with her. I mean, it was fine. It was
It was actually a really really good match my Floorida,
my first match against Florida. Just just as clarification, we
were the we were the eight seed going again. So
we played the number one Florida seed um for our
first UM match at the SEC's, and I didn't know
(24:58):
how good she was, but I knew we had a
really close match. We were kind of going back and
forth until I got to the seventh for the eighth hole,
and like our spotter was like talking the other girl
and he's like, so how is Augusta? And I was like, oh, okay,
So she just played it. She played the first ever
I guest the national women's diameter. Okay, cool, but honestly, honestly,
(25:22):
from then on, like I mean, it was a good
match the whole way, and they lasted nineteen holes um,
and then it was honestly onto the next match, but
the whole terminator persona UM coach Zack gave me that
nickname like very early on. But it's funny because like
I was always called that on the team, but yet
any time I played, he always told me, like, may
like make sure you swing your ponytail like when you walk,
(25:44):
like it's a very like bubbly kind of jumpy walk
that I have. And he's like, yeah, that's how I
know when you're loose, when it's moving around when you
when you're loose and like you're kind of relaxed out there.
So you can't tell it from my face when I'm relaxed.
You can tell it from how I walk in my hair,
Like you can definitely see it from like your language
more than more than like I think, when you kind
of zone out, you get that like RBF face, and
(26:05):
that's what like your competitors took as the like terminator
face of like I'm gonna beat you into the ground,
Whereas like you're really just zoned out and then you
start walking in your loose and you're happy, and then
all of a sudden you get on the green and
zone out and you've got this like look in your
eyes like I'm gonna kill you. Yeah. Absolutely, It's it's
not intentional. But but when I when I do play golf,
(26:25):
I am, um extremely focused sometimes and I over my
my biggest like flaw. I think when I when I
played golf, was just overthinking things. But I always wanted
control and I always wanted to like kind of four
shots and so, um, that was just something I always
had to work on. So being able to kind of
keep loose was definitely something. It's a process throughout college. Um,
(26:46):
I think I got better as time went on. But
after after Florida we played Georgia. Yeah, so skip ahead
and walk us through the the seventeen pole and finishing
in the dark and kind of that whole process. Yeah.
So that was a really really good start in that match,
(27:08):
and it the back nine took a turn for the
worst and I was, um, definitely so like the like,
I really felt pressure. I think I've ever felt pressure
like that before. Then during that match, when I knew
I had a big lead, I lost the lead, um,
and I had no idea where anyone else was. But
I was just not in a in a great headspace.
(27:29):
I know. Um, I got to the seventeenth hole, I
was one up and it was apparently dark when I
was playing. I didn't realize this. And then I went
back and washing it and I was like, I don't
know why on earth I hit that shot, because gosh,
I mean it was it was dark. I have no
idea how I saw the pin. But we finished the
round even I guess you don't say all square anymore.
(27:52):
But um, and then I had a very it was
a very hard car ride. UM, just but on to sleep,
just on me, um, just for me, kind of beating
up on myself. My team, that was great. All of
them came and talk to me. My coaches SENTI a
text that night, just like like relax, like it's not
like out of it. Whatever happens tomorrow happens, and you
(28:13):
just have to, you know, just do what you know
how to do. You've been like in situations for for
this before. That's that's why we practice the way we practice.
That's why our coaches put us in pressured situations, you know,
almost every time we go out there, um to prepare
for moments like this. Yeah, and I think it. Yeah,
it definitely helps knowing that coaches, you know, have kind
of helped prepare you, and you've put all your effort
(28:35):
into this moment um. And so flash forward you win
that match against Georgia in extra holes again. And so
let's flash forward through your match with Lois of South
Carolina in the finals. You know, we're two into South
Carolina has two points, We have two points, and you're
an eight team. And tell us about that put that
(28:56):
you make on eight team. Oh my gosh, um, So
I don't I don't know it was it was the
great put um. I actually I hadn't seen the coaches
that much and I did. I had no idea what
people were throughout the round. So when I play, I
I never know like what the team is doing. In
match play, I try and just kind of focus on
what I was doing. And I was one down going
(29:17):
into eighteen, and in my mind, I was like, well,
you know, this is pretty good. This is the best
I ever could have like hoped for. And then I
like a ton of adrenaline running hit my shot, like
I don't know fifty I think it was liket like
back of the Green, um Lois is Back of the
Green too. Downhill slider. Yeah, I think it had like
(29:39):
three different breaks to it or something. Um. But thankfully
Zach was there. Coach Zach was there and so we
had a great system. When he was around for my putting,
he just told me we're to line it up and
said get the speed right, and so I will not
take I did not read that put Um he did,
and the line looked good to me. And I had
(30:00):
actually seen Loisco right before me, and she came up short.
She came up about four or five feet short. And
so I definitely didn't have the like the mentality of like,
oh well, like make sure you get it there. I
just knew when I had the stroke, like all right,
we'll head a little harder than you think it's going
because she could miss her putt coming back. So it's
not who had to You had to win the whole
to go on the extra holes to give us even
(30:21):
a chance at it. Yeah, So I just I hit
the putt and it was a really good putt. And
then everyone says said, like you know, going in it,
I will say this, it had it was perfect speed. Um.
It really it was obviously the part of my life. Um.
People still talk about it today, but oh, I mean
this was like this was on Sports tenor Sports Center
(30:45):
Top ten. Uh, for all those listeners that didn't get
to see it, go look it up. Just google Macy
Samoski Sports Center Top ten and it will pop up.
And this is like this she's being generous with. This
is like the seventy ft downhill triple breaker, like you know,
the bomb that you make out playing with the boys.
(31:05):
That's just like, oh my gosh, I can't believe it.
But for us to go into extra holes and then
for her to continue to just hit amazing shots in
extra holes and I think it was four or five
extra holes against Lois to win the SEC championship, that
was just really something special. Macy, Yeah, thank you know.
(31:28):
I mean obviously coming from eight, you know, I knew,
we all knew we were the underdogs, and it was
just it meant a lot to be able to go
out there and prove like ole Miss is a team
to contend with, um, we're not, you know, to be
taken lightly. And obviously ol miss is continue that upward trend.
I mean, we went from winning SECS to the next year.
I think we won like four or five tournaments before
COVID hit, so we didn't even get our spring season then,
(31:50):
and then obviously Kennedy came back and lit it up
um for that final year, the final year I was
there and the final years she was there, um to
go out and win Nash. So as he sees is
I think really special to all of us because it
was a really defining moment, like kind of a start.
We can say of, you know, we this is where
like our real journey to the top started. Um. But yeah, no,
(32:13):
it was an absolutely great experience and you know, it
was so crazy. It was such a blur. You know,
when you're in it, you don't think about it that
much because you're just saying about the next shot. But
just to look back on it, UM, really incredible. And
I'm so glad I got to spend you know, spend
it with the people who I got to spend it with. Well, uh,
I know that we were we were so lucky to
have you as a teammate and as a friend because
(32:35):
we couldn't ask for anything better. And I completely agree
that was definitely where Ole Miss kind of picked up
its momentum and got you know, moving into the program
that it is today. And so Macie, thank you again
so much for being on the podcast today. I hope
our listeners really enjoyed it. You did amazing. As always,
thanks for listening. Guys. This is The Birdie Bunch on
(32:55):
the College Athletes Network. Please subscribe so you don't miss
an episode. Remember to check myself and Macy out on
social media at can You dig It and at Macy Samoski.
I'm Kennedy Swan and we will talk to you soon.
Can you dig It? Can you dig It? Care you
(33:15):
digg The Birdie Bunch is a production of I Heart
Radio and the College Athletes Network. For more podcasts from
I heart Radio, visit the I heart Radio app, Apple Podcasts,
(33:36):
or wherever you get your podcasts.
The Birdie Bunch is a production of I Heart Radio
and the College Athletes Network. Can You dig It? Can
You dig It? You dig Hey everybody, this is Kennedy
(00:37):
Swan and you're listening to The Birdie Bunch on the
College Athletes Network. Please subscribe to the podcast so you
never miss a new episode. This can easily be done
via the I Heart Radio app. Also, you can find
me on Instagram and Can You dig It or on
my website at www dot Kennedy Swan dot com. Feel
free to fill out my contact form with any suggestions, questions,
or comments of what you might want to hear on
(00:58):
the show. On this week's episod S, would we have
a very special guest, my best friend, teammate college roommate,
Macy Samowski. Hey, Macyy, So I'll go ahead and clarify
for all the listeners if I call you may throughout
the episode. UM, just know that I'm also talking about Macy.
That was the nickname that we gave her while she
(01:19):
was at Ole Miss, even though she didn't necessarily like
it at first. UM, I would say it's grown on you, yeah,
for sure, so much that sometimes had a second may
so you know or May May. Oh yeah, yeah, yeah,
I don't yeah, I guess they call you mid May sometimes. Um.
So may May um go ahead and give us a
little bit of intro about you. You know, kind of
(01:40):
where you're from, um, kind of your junior golf process, um,
and then where you went to school, your major, that
kind of stuff. Yeah. So I grew up in Northeast Ohio,
and I moved to Central Florida when I was thirteen
to be able to play golf all year round and
played the junior golf circuits um. And then I ended
(02:02):
up going to Ole Miss to play college golf. And
so I was there for three years and I graduated
early with the bachelor's in math. And now I'm at
the University of Florida, not playing golf anymore, um, but
working on a master's and statistics. So may tell us
a little bit about your time in high school. You know,
(02:23):
what was kind of high school golf like in Florida, Um.
And then you know how good was the competition and
how did you balance? Like you're valedictorian of your high
school in Florida, which was what like a graduating class
of like nine hundred kids. Yeah, like like eight hundred
something like that. Yeah, so kind of were you able
(02:44):
to still go to a D one school out of
high school and be the valedictorian of one of like
the biggest high schools in Florida. Yeah, so obviously Florida
is just full of talented golf first, um, the high
school level was, um, you know, varied in abilities, UM,
(03:10):
but we definitely had a very competitive golf team. We
ended up getting my freshman year, we got second in
States UM and we were the Division three A, so
we were the largest division in the state of Florida,
and then the next three years in my high school
we won States UM. But we definitely, you know, had
some competition in there. A lot of the girls I
played the junior golf circuit with obviously played for their
(03:32):
high school teams to UM, so it was always fun
to see them there. But balancing it was a lot
of late nights and honestly a lot of help from
teammates and and the coaches that I had at the time. UM.
So when it came to high school golf, I kind
(03:53):
of worked out of situation with my high school golf
coach at the time to where I didn't have to
play in every single event, UM, which we were able
to do because we had a really good team, so
you know, we could switch people in and out if
they wanted to, and so I was really appreciative of
being able to do that and kind of coming out
to the to the bigger events because I was at
(04:15):
the time taking a lot of classes. Um. Yeah, but
my junior year, I was taking all a p classes. Um.
My senior year, I took I think like nine or
ten classes, and I like my fall semester my senior year.
So I definitely don't think I had like a normal
(04:35):
um high school experience. But I'm so blessed to be
able to like have gone to a high school that
had so many opportunities both athletically and academically. And I
had a great group of friends. UM, all of us
kind of banded together to help each other push through it. UM.
But amazing teachers. I want to like Mary High School, UM,
which is in central Florida. It's a very big public
(04:56):
high school, and UM, I can't say enough good thing
about just the school and the teachers there overall. So
just a really great support system is kind of how
you manage that. Yeah, I think that's really true. You know,
I kind of went to a similar situation in Texas.
You know, I went to one of the biggest high
schools in Texas. I had a great support system, UM
(05:17):
with coaches and people that kind of helped us, UM,
you know, kind of get be able to balance academics
and golf because at the end of the day, you know,
in college you can kind of focus on one or
the other, but in high school you really still have
to do both, UM, which I think can be very
difficult at times. So kind of tell us about, you know,
(05:37):
what age you got started um, going through the recruiting
process and kind of who started you on it. Was
it your dad, your mom? You know, was it your
high school coaches that kind of pushed you to get
started on it? You know, how did you kind of
decide that you wanted to play collegiate golf? Yeah, so
I my golf career officially started when I was seven
(05:58):
and a half. But obviously when we decided to move
to Florida to pursue golf, that was kind of a
you know in the back of my mind, like, well,
if my parents are going to make this big move
for me, obviously, you know I should be pursuing this
at a high level and and be putting in a
lot of work towards it. UM. So I would say
maybe like that time, maybe like fourteen. So the start
(06:20):
of high school is when I really started the recruiting process.
And it was just a lot of sending out resumes,
like cold calling people emails and just seeing like you know,
I remember calling coaches because you know of the n
c A rules, Um, they can't contact you even contact them,
and there's a lot of um things with that. But
(06:42):
I would call them be like Okay, well I'll call
you again at like eleven, at eleven and twelve, just
to see if I could, if I could get them
at all because they can't call you back. Yeah. So
I was doing that. But I knew I wanted to
play golf at a at a competitive level in college. UM.
I didn't know what I wanted to do beyond that.
(07:03):
But my dad was such a big help. UM he was.
He was so supportive. UM was just you know, he
was also on me about calling coaches, following up, you know,
keeping my resume updated, getting in the right tournaments. He
did all of that research. I was not the driving
force behind that. UM, honestly, he with how I kind
(07:24):
of operated was I kind of operated on the school
end and I was like, I'm gonna keep my grades up.
My dad was like, all right, well, like I'll handle
your golf tournaments and you just show up, um, which
was which so helpful. And we definitely we had our moments. Um.
It's it's a high tension time when you're trying to
go through recruiting process. In it it's so much pressure,
especially when everyone around you, you know, is committing um there,
(07:45):
you know, they start wearing all the logos and everything,
they started making the announcements and just sitting there like
I don't know what I'm doing. I don't know where
I'm going on all these things. So um. But yeah,
but we made it through. And yeah, you know, I
think it's a big factor that people don't really realize
is that parents are such a big contributor to the
recruiting process, you know. Um Realistically, for me, like I
(08:07):
was very capable, um because I wasn't even close to
academically sniffing where you were at um to like make
my own golf schedule, you know. And my parents were
so so beneficial in that aspect where they just were
kind of able to know more and have more experience
with this. Even though you know, my mom dove collegiately
(08:27):
in college, but other than that, like you know, and
my dad played a little bit of soccer and tennis collegiately,
but you know, other than that, like you know, they
didn't have as much experience with the the intensive golf
competition side of things. And so just having parents that
were able to kind of, um, kind of lead you
in the right direction and help you manage that is
(08:49):
very helpful. So well, I think all of that's really
good and kind of talking about high school athletics, and
in the next segment we're going to kind of talk
about your transition from high school to college ATHLETEX, your
academics and athletic side in college. So you're listening to
the Bertie Bunch. I am Kennedy Swan with Macy Samoski
and this is the College Athletes Network. Welcome back to
(09:50):
the Bertie Bunch on the College Athletes Network. This is
Kennedy Swan with Macy Samoski. Make sure to subscribe to
my podcast so you don't miss the show. In the
last segment, Macy kind of took us through her junior
golf career and what it was like growing up in
Florida playing on a high school team and trying to
balance academics as well. So Macy kind of walk us
(10:12):
through your decision on Ole Miss and what it was
like getting an academic scholarship and being a walk on
on a big Division one program. Yeah. Um, so I
went through the whole recruitment process um that that you know,
people who get athletic scholarships do. And at the time
(10:35):
I didn't really care where the money came from. I just,
you know, knew that I couldn't afford college on its own,
So however I could get that paid for it, that
would would be fine with me. Um. And so when
coach Corey called and we talked UM, one of the
things that really drew me to ole Miss was she
was totally for my aspirations academically, which at the time
(10:58):
we're very different than what I currently ended up. UM.
But I remember just taking an official visit there and
she she knew I really thought academics were important, and
she emphasized that, like she took me to the physics
building and the math building, and I had meetings with
professors who you know probably looking at me being like,
she has no idea what she wants to do, but
(11:19):
she thinks she can do this. Um. But that that
was a big thing for me, Like she you know,
I do think that obviously, college coaches want to recruit
good golfers, like that's what they're paid to do. They're
they're paid to make really good teams. Um. But I
definitely felt like when I was being recruited, like I
always knew going into college I was gonna be I
(11:41):
wanted to be like a student athlete with a student
coming first. UM. So she really emphasized that and and
I ended up at All Miss and that was a
great experience. And so I think what I would say
to others is that there's a lot of academic scholarships
out there. And I do think it makes you more marketable,
you know, to to do that just because I promise
(12:04):
you it doesn't matter where the money comes from. Like
the the money amount is a money amount. Um, you
don't feel like any less part of the team. I
mean I got all the same gear practice. I mean
I didn't have to like try out or anything like.
I mean, I was recruited and the only difference between
like me and someone who had a full athletic scholarship
was my money just came from the school, and there's
(12:26):
came from like the golf funder or whatever. UM, But
everything was the same. I was treated just as another
member on the team. UM. But I would just encourage
people like to to look into that route UM because
it's a lot of great opportunities. A lot of it
has to do with UM test scores. So you're already
studying for your A C T and S A T.
(12:47):
Look into schools because my one of my biggest scholarships
came from high A C T, S A T score
UM and that got me full tuition and the out
of state fee waved UM. And so a lot of
schools do that, and alaw schools in the SEC do that.
And I know the SEC is very highly desirable for
people who want to pursue athletics at the top level
(13:09):
because it really is the best of the best. UM. Yeah, well,
and I think, uh, I think that's a very good
point because a lot of schools look for like UM,
college athletics programs look for athletes that have good test
scores because I mean, obviously it varies from sport to sport.
But with you know, women's golf, we get six scholarships,
(13:31):
and obviously you can only have five play in a tournament,
but say one of those is injured, you're down to
five players. And so teams will typically like to have
anywhere from seven at the minimum to like I've seen
teams of twelve or thirteen at the max. And like,
take Vanderbilt for example, you know, they've always had a
lot of a lot of players, but most of them
(13:51):
are on academic scholarships, and that's something doesn't mean there're
any less of a player, doesn't mean there're any less
of a competitor, but they're just getting our money from
somewhere else. And so having that academic benefit UM, I
think is definitely a pro towards your recruiting process, whether
you're going to get your money academically or athletically. You know,
(14:12):
and a lot of people can split scholarships to you know,
where you can get some academic money and some athletic money. Um.
And for me, like I know, I always like was
hoping to get some academic money, but unfortunately, like when
I was looking at Clemson, in order to get academic money.
You had to be top ten out of your high school,
and my high school is just so competitive that I mean,
(14:33):
I made really good grades, but it just wasn't wasn't
feasible for me to to be top ten. So um,
but I think that is a really good option of just,
you know, being able to kind of split that that
money academically and athletically. Um. So, may you had a
major in a minor, majored in mathematics and minored in economics.
(14:56):
Um so you graduated in three years. You're part that
you were at the reason that we won the twenty
nineteen SEC championship. Um, walk us through before we get
to the SEC championship, walk us through what it's like
graduating in three years with a major in mathematics a
minor in economics, and being like one of our top players. Like,
(15:18):
how how has that even feasible for you? Besides no sleep? Yeah,
it's totally running job. Like I I just don't sleep.
But I will tell people, um, if they're like in
their junior senior year of high school, like I, as
I said before, I took a ton of AP classes. Um,
(15:38):
I passed those and so I was able to go
in to college with fifty five credit hours UM, and
not all of those ended up being used towards my major.
But being able to do that obviously it did a
couple of things. One, it took pressure off my freshman
year UM, which was a huge adjustment. And I struggled
(15:58):
my freshman year UM moving to a totally new place,
being away from my family. UM, it was really really
hard for me to do. So you know, I knew
I could take it easier that first semester just because
I had, you know, other credits, so I didn't have
to push really hard UM. And then it also afforded
me the opportunity to like not have to be said
(16:20):
in my major I went in is like I think
I don't even know what I went in. I think
I was like a biomedical engineer at some point, at
some point I wanted to be a physicist, like all
over the places like majors like three or four times,
like and like at one point you're gonna double major
and double minor. Yeah, exactly. I didn't know. I didn't
know what I was what I was doing at all.
But putting in the work early on UM in those
(16:42):
high school years allowed me to do that and I
I switched my major ton and I still was able
to graduate in three years. Um, so that was that
was a really cool thing I was able to do
and um and yeah, but just balancing everything, I mean,
it's it's just different when you go to college, Like
especially if you go to the SEC. You're gonna wake up,
(17:05):
you're gonna have a morning workout at six, You're gonna
run to class. You're not gonna time to shower. You're
just gonna go to class, you know, unless your car
timberliney chee, chee, we love you. But she found the
time to shower somehow. She did. She always she always
looked very very nice going to class. I did not.
I was always just head down and go. Um. But
(17:27):
you you run to class and then you run grab
the kneat and then you go to qualifying or then
you go to practice, and I think you really do
kind of get used to it after a while. I know.
I think for me, the biggest change was just the
culture and being away from from people who I knew
for so long. Um. But I really think just being
(17:48):
an athlete or being you know, a high successful, highly
because blackademic student like you just you just know you
have to do it, and you just figure out a
way to do it. Um And And obviously I have
amazing friends at all Miss um And and really supportive
coaches who I mean, they gave me a kick when
I needed it, you know, when I was not being
(18:10):
a team player like they were like, you know, like
get it together, get out and sometimes tough love is
what you need. Um. So yeah, a lot of it's
just you know, being able to adjust, you know, quickly.
But I think you have the right people around you,
you know, perfectly manageable to do yeah, you know, and
I think that's something that was great about Ole miss
(18:32):
was the coaches. You really knew when to give you
tough love, and in the moment it always wasn't necessarily
what you wanted to hear, but it was something that
you know, would kind of sit and resonate with you.
And then after a day or two days or a week,
you know, you kind of realized like, wow, this was
actually something that you know, they were very they were
(18:53):
very right about and you know you can learn from
it and kind of helps develop you as a person.
So yeah, I uh, I know, both Macy and I
really enjoyed our time at wellness and I had a
lot of fun being roommates for a semester um. But
that was the second segment of the Birdie Bunch on
the College Athletes Network. And the next segment, we're gonna
(19:16):
have some fun stories for you guys along with covering
the twenty nineteen SEC Championship. Again, you're listening to the
Bertie Bunch on the College Athlete Network. I'm Kennedy Swan
and we'll catch you in the next segment. Welcome back
(20:13):
to the Bertie Bunch on the College Athletes Network. This
is Kennedy Swan. Make sure to subscribe to my podcast
see don't miss the show. In the last segment, Macy
Samoski and I talked about the challenges between being a
student athlete and uh while managing academics as well as athletics.
And so in this segment, we're going to talk about
(20:33):
Macy Samoski being the terminator in the twenty nineteen SEC Championships. So, Macy,
why don't you just give us a little background on
where the terminator face came from. Oh my gosh, Um,
I just I just have like probably the worst r
(20:54):
V of anyone that anyone has just ever met I really,
I I'm not mad that much. I think I used
to be mad. I think like when I was younger,
I was definitely like mad and like showed it, and
I showed I wear my emotions like just on my
face because I think I was just like whatever, I'd
rather someone know how I feel. But honestly, it just
(21:16):
got to the point where it was like, um, so
I was like, it's just my face. I don't feel anything.
I don't feel like it's it's bad, you know, Honestly,
I mean nothing good came from COVID, but the masks thing.
I think it kind of like, you know, maybe I
made more friends through that. No, you did not, because
it's all in your eyes. I tell you. I can
testify to this. When I first met this girl on
(21:37):
my official visit, when I was visiting Ole Miss my
junior year, I'm walking from our practice facility um up
to our like indoor hitting bay, and I'm looking looking around,
kind of seeing who's all over there, and I see
these two girls and I'm like, Okay, they must be
on the Old Miss team. So I'm kind of walking
up and I'm like going to introduce myself, and I
mean Ellen Hutchinson. Kay, who's another girl that's still still
(21:59):
in miss team? And I meet Macy and I walk
up with like my bright, bubbly personality in this big smile, like, Hi, Macy,
I'm Kennedy, me being like, you know, twenty one years old,
a junior, like you know, should have seniority and whatever.
And Macy just looks me high I'm Macy Samaski with
the terminator face of just this stone cold book. And
I spent like the next two months like scared of
(22:22):
this girl. It's like she's a freshman, like this is
her freshman year, and yet somehow I am so intimidated
by her. And to this day, you're like probably the
nicest person. I know. It's just you gotta get to
know you. But anyway, the whole terminator look kind of
how did that factor in to your match play mentality
(22:44):
in the SEC Championship and kind of walk us through
like leading up to that that tournament. Yeah, So I
was a freshman at the time, and in that fall
I didn't play much. Um I did play one or
two events I think um as an individual UM. But
(23:08):
that following spring, um I started to make the team
consistently and so it was obviously a huge, you know,
privilege and honor to go to SECS. And I had
played match play before, um, like in junior golf tournaments.
I liked match play, UM just because you know, I
(23:29):
think it was easier to move on, you know, from
shots and move on to the next hole, UM, and
anything can happen. And so I don't know what. I'm
pretty sure I wasn't even ranked at the time when
we were playing SECS, or maybe I was like two
thousand or something. I don't know, UM, but I remember
UM going there and when I played, I played my
(23:51):
first match against Florida and Kenny, you gotta robb who
the girl is because shoot, was it? It wasn't Claire
may Dealini, was it? No? Who I know exactly who
you're talking about. I can't remember, but it was um
when it wasn't Sierra Brooks either, UM, but it was
like the I think she's the top five ranked like
(24:14):
women's amateur golf ranking player in the world and like Marta,
Yes it was Marte. Yeah, yeah, I think it was Marte,
but like one of the top players in the world,
and you had no clue who she was, and no
one was going to tell you, because we knew you
would just freak out, but you had no clue who
(24:34):
she was, and you just went out there like I'm
just knna playing golf. Yeah, I I had no idea
who she was. I mean, she's very nice and I
loved playing I mean I was. I was having fun
playing with her. I mean, it was fine. It was
It was actually a really really good match my Floorida,
my first match against Florida. Just just as clarification, we
were the we were the eight seed going again. So
we played the number one Florida seed um for our
first UM match at the SEC's, and I didn't know
(24:58):
how good she was, but I knew we had a
really close match. We were kind of going back and
forth until I got to the seventh for the eighth hole,
and like our spotter was like talking the other girl
and he's like, so how is Augusta? And I was like, oh, okay,
So she just played it. She played the first ever
I guest the national women's diameter. Okay, cool, but honestly, honestly,
(25:22):
from then on, like I mean, it was a good
match the whole way, and they lasted nineteen holes um,
and then it was honestly onto the next match, but
the whole terminator persona UM coach Zack gave me that
nickname like very early on. But it's funny because like
I was always called that on the team, but yet
any time I played, he always told me, like, may
like make sure you swing your ponytail like when you walk,
(25:44):
like it's a very like bubbly kind of jumpy walk
that I have. And he's like, yeah, that's how I
know when you're loose, when it's moving around when you
when you're loose and like you're kind of relaxed out there.
So you can't tell it from my face when I'm relaxed.
You can tell it from how I walk in my hair,
Like you can definitely see it from like your language
more than more than like I think, when you kind
of zone out, you get that like RBF face, and
(26:05):
that's what like your competitors took as the like terminator
face of like I'm gonna beat you into the ground,
Whereas like you're really just zoned out and then you
start walking in your loose and you're happy, and then
all of a sudden you get on the green and
zone out and you've got this like look in your
eyes like I'm gonna kill you. Yeah. Absolutely, It's it's
not intentional. But but when I when I do play golf,
(26:25):
I am, um extremely focused sometimes and I over my
my biggest like flaw. I think when I when I
played golf, was just overthinking things. But I always wanted
control and I always wanted to like kind of four
shots and so, um, that was just something I always
had to work on. So being able to kind of
keep loose was definitely something. It's a process throughout college. Um,
(26:46):
I think I got better as time went on. But
after after Florida we played Georgia. Yeah, so skip ahead
and walk us through the the seventeen pole and finishing
in the dark and kind of that whole process. Yeah.
So that was a really really good start in that match,
(27:08):
and it the back nine took a turn for the
worst and I was, um, definitely so like the like,
I really felt pressure. I think I've ever felt pressure
like that before. Then during that match, when I knew
I had a big lead, I lost the lead, um,
and I had no idea where anyone else was. But
I was just not in a in a great headspace.
(27:29):
I know. Um, I got to the seventeenth hole, I
was one up and it was apparently dark when I
was playing. I didn't realize this. And then I went
back and washing it and I was like, I don't
know why on earth I hit that shot, because gosh,
I mean it was it was dark. I have no
idea how I saw the pin. But we finished the
round even I guess you don't say all square anymore.
(27:52):
But um, and then I had a very it was
a very hard car ride. UM, just but on to sleep,
just on me, um, just for me, kind of beating
up on myself. My team, that was great. All of
them came and talk to me. My coaches SENTI a
text that night, just like like relax, like it's not
like out of it. Whatever happens tomorrow happens, and you
(28:13):
just have to, you know, just do what you know
how to do. You've been like in situations for for
this before. That's that's why we practice the way we practice.
That's why our coaches put us in pressured situations, you know,
almost every time we go out there, um to prepare
for moments like this. Yeah, and I think it. Yeah,
it definitely helps knowing that coaches, you know, have kind
of helped prepare you, and you've put all your effort
(28:35):
into this moment um. And so flash forward you win
that match against Georgia in extra holes again. And so
let's flash forward through your match with Lois of South
Carolina in the finals. You know, we're two into South
Carolina has two points, We have two points, and you're
an eight team. And tell us about that put that
(28:56):
you make on eight team. Oh my gosh, um, So
I don't I don't know it was it was the
great put um. I actually I hadn't seen the coaches
that much and I did. I had no idea what
people were throughout the round. So when I play, I
I never know like what the team is doing. In
match play, I try and just kind of focus on
what I was doing. And I was one down going
(29:17):
into eighteen, and in my mind, I was like, well,
you know, this is pretty good. This is the best
I ever could have like hoped for. And then I
like a ton of adrenaline running hit my shot, like
I don't know fifty I think it was liket like
back of the Green, um Lois is Back of the
Green too. Downhill slider. Yeah, I think it had like
(29:39):
three different breaks to it or something. Um. But thankfully
Zach was there. Coach Zach was there and so we
had a great system. When he was around for my putting,
he just told me we're to line it up and
said get the speed right, and so I will not
take I did not read that put Um he did,
and the line looked good to me. And I had
(30:00):
actually seen Loisco right before me, and she came up short.
She came up about four or five feet short. And
so I definitely didn't have the like the mentality of like,
oh well, like make sure you get it there. I
just knew when I had the stroke, like all right,
we'll head a little harder than you think it's going
because she could miss her putt coming back. So it's
not who had to You had to win the whole
to go on the extra holes to give us even
(30:21):
a chance at it. Yeah, So I just I hit
the putt and it was a really good putt. And
then everyone says said, like you know, going in it,
I will say this, it had it was perfect speed. Um.
It really it was obviously the part of my life. Um.
People still talk about it today, but oh, I mean
this was like this was on Sports tenor Sports Center
(30:45):
Top ten. Uh, for all those listeners that didn't get
to see it, go look it up. Just google Macy
Samoski Sports Center Top ten and it will pop up.
And this is like this she's being generous with. This
is like the seventy ft downhill triple breaker, like you know,
the bomb that you make out playing with the boys.
(31:05):
That's just like, oh my gosh, I can't believe it.
But for us to go into extra holes and then
for her to continue to just hit amazing shots in
extra holes and I think it was four or five
extra holes against Lois to win the SEC championship, that
was just really something special. Macy, Yeah, thank you know.
(31:28):
I mean obviously coming from eight, you know, I knew,
we all knew we were the underdogs, and it was
just it meant a lot to be able to go
out there and prove like ole Miss is a team
to contend with, um, we're not, you know, to be
taken lightly. And obviously ol miss is continue that upward trend.
I mean, we went from winning SECS to the next year.
I think we won like four or five tournaments before
COVID hit, so we didn't even get our spring season then,
(31:50):
and then obviously Kennedy came back and lit it up
um for that final year, the final year I was
there and the final years she was there, um to
go out and win Nash. So as he sees is
I think really special to all of us because it
was a really defining moment, like kind of a start.
We can say of, you know, we this is where
like our real journey to the top started. Um. But yeah, no,
(32:13):
it was an absolutely great experience and you know, it
was so crazy. It was such a blur. You know,
when you're in it, you don't think about it that
much because you're just saying about the next shot. But
just to look back on it, UM, really incredible. And
I'm so glad I got to spend you know, spend
it with the people who I got to spend it with. Well, uh,
I know that we were we were so lucky to
have you as a teammate and as a friend because
(32:35):
we couldn't ask for anything better. And I completely agree
that was definitely where Ole Miss kind of picked up
its momentum and got you know, moving into the program
that it is today. And so Macie, thank you again
so much for being on the podcast today. I hope
our listeners really enjoyed it. You did amazing. As always,
thanks for listening. Guys. This is The Birdie Bunch on
(32:55):
the College Athletes Network. Please subscribe so you don't miss
an episode. Remember to check myself and Macy out on
social media at can You dig It and at Macy Samoski.
I'm Kennedy Swan and we will talk to you soon.
Can you dig It? Can you dig It? Care you
(33:15):
digg The Birdie Bunch is a production of I Heart
Radio and the College Athletes Network. For more podcasts from
I heart Radio, visit the I heart Radio app, Apple Podcasts,
(33:36):
or wherever you get your podcasts.
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