There’s no doubt that her fourth year was the best for Head Coach Barb Odale of The University of Texas-Pan American’s women’s golf team. As a result, Odale’s team will be coming off a championship, and with five strong finishes in six tournaments during the second semester of the 2002-2003 season and a pair of individual titles, there’s no doubt that the Lady Broncs have established themselves under Odale’s leadership.

Texas-Pan American capped the year by winning the championship for the first time ever at the National Minority Golf Championships in Port St. Lucie, Florida. Stefanie Maynard was the medalist, and it was her second first place finish of the season. She also was the medalist at the Bronc Intercollegiate Classic.

Prior to the National Minority Championships, UTPA shot the second best round in school history-312 at the Bearkat Invitational. Texas-Pan American followed that up with a sizzling 308 at the NIU Snowbird, just two strokes off the school record, and shot another 312 en route to an eighth place finish at Eastern Kentucky.

The first full-time head women’s golf coach at Texas-Pan American, Odale joined the Lady Broncs after serving as the assistant men’s and women’s golf coach at Sam Houston State University during the 1998-99 season. She was also the assistant golf professional at the prestigious Cypresswood Golf Club in Spring, Texas.

As a collegian, Odale starred for Southern Methodist between 1988 and 1992, where she twice earned NCAA All-America honors. A first team All-American in 1991 and a second team All-American in 1992, Odale also earned All-Southwest Conference honors in each of her last three sesons with the Lady Mustangs. In 1992, Odale was the Southwest Conference Player of the Year, and she finished among the top ten at the NCAA Championships. She also led the SMU golf team to the Southwest Conference title and a 12th place finish at the NCAAs. A good student, Odale was a member of the SMU 3.0 Club honoring significant academic achievement in each of her last three seasons.

Odale was chosen to play on a select team that traveled to Japan to compete in the Shiseido Cup,where she finished as the tournament runner-up. Current Ladies Professional Golf Association player Annika Sorenstam was a member of the same United States squad. She also played on both the Futures Tour and the Lady Texas Mini-Tour. In both 1992 and 1993, Odale qualified for the final stage of the LPGA Tour school. She also qualified twice for the U.S. Women’s Open, and was the leading money winner on the Lady Texas Mini-Tour.

As a junior golfer, Odale was named an American Junior Golf Association/Rolex Second Team All-American in both 1987 and 1988. She was the Texas class 4A high school champion, while winning 21 individual local and national titles between 1984 and 1988.

During her first year as head coach, Odale led the Lady Broncs to their first team title, winning their own Lady Bronc Classic while posting four top ten tournament finishes. The Lady Broncs improved during the course of the 2001-2002 season, and capped the year by finishing second at the National Minority Golf Championships in Port St. Lucie, Florida. UTPA again finished second at the NMGC in 2002-2003.

A firm believer in the scholar-athlete, Odale’s team has excelled in the classroom as well as on the course. Her 1999-2000 team had the highest grade-point average of any UTPA team, and four of her student-athletes were named to the Athletic Director’s Honor Roll. Adriana Espinoza received the prestigious Arthur Ashe Jr. Sport Scholar Award in each of her last three seasons at UTPA, and she was joined in receiving that honor by Alejandra Gutierrez in 1999-00 and by Christina Infante in 2001-02. Two women’s golfers were named to the Athletic Director’s Honor Roll in 2001-02, and three in the preceding season. Last season, Christina Infante received an Arthur Ashe Jr. Sport Scholar Award, three golfers were named to the Athletic Director’s Honor Roll, six made the Dean’s List, and eight were members of the Bronc Pride 3.0 Club.

Odale and her husband, Jeff, have four children, Charlotte, 15, Jeremiah, six, Sarah, 3 1/2, and Jordan, two. The Odales reside in Mission.