ST. ANDREWS, Scotland – Giovana Maymon was in Milton, Georgia, in late June, recruiting for Texas A&M at the AJGA Rolex Girls Junior Championship, when she received the best news of her coaching career: She had been hired as the next head women’s golf coach at the University of Arizona, replacing decorated coach Laura Ianello, who had taken the Texas job a few weeks earlier.
She also had less than two hours to prepare for her first team meeting, a Zoom call with her players, many of them international, spread around the world.
“I didn’t really know any of the girls, but Laura did a great job recruiting great players, winning a national championship (in 2018), and last year they had a great year, so for me that was it. I don’t come in here to change the people they are, but rather really get to know them and help them from there. But even then, you still have to get these players to trust and respect you while still trying to build your own culture, and that takes some time.”
Only that is not the case.
Arizona capped Maymon’s first semester with team titles, earlier this fall at Folds of Honor Collegiate and then Wednesday at St. Andrews Links Collegiate, where the Wildcats defeated Northwestern in the match play final on the Old Course. Led by sophomore Charlotte Back, who recorded 19 birdies in three days (including seven as part of a 6-under 66 at the Old), Arizona posted a convincing 4.5-1.5 victory, the same result as in the men’s final, won by Northwestern. over Arizona.
“These ladies can fight,” Maymon said as the rain poured, as it had for much of the day, outside the R&A clubhouse. “This fall went by so quickly, it felt like we didn’t have time to rest, but they did great. It couldn’t have been a better first semester.”
Just a few months ago, so much was still unknown. Back and her teammates were shocked when Ianello was hired by the Longhorns just days after Ryan Murphy’s official firing.
“We all thought Laura was going to retire to Arizona,” Back said. “It was sad.”
Carolina Melgrati, one of the two seniors, also felt the sting, though she encouraged the rest of the team to stay in control and let the rest of the chips fall where they could.
“Everything in life moves so fast,” Melgrati said, “so you have to accept things as quickly as possible.”
When Maymon got the team together in early August, she quickly made an impression. The Wildcats athletic department was looking for a coach with high energy, and that’s exactly what they got. Maymon usually joins her players for early morning practices, and not far removed from her playing days at Baylor, she will compete against them. From Mexico, Maymon also gets to interact with many of her international players, and as Melgrati says, she and her teammates already feel comfortable talking to Maymon about things outside of golf. There are also plenty of laughs and inside jokes, and amid all the fun, Maymon has proven that she is well prepared for her team.
“It was definitely a surprise to find out that our new coach is really great,” Melgrati said. “She’s actually a player, honestly.”
Added back: “The perfect teammate coach.”
Aside from incoming freshman Alisa Inprasit, Maymon had no transferring players, and after setting mostly process goals prior to the season — they did have the goal of winning a tournament this fall (double check) — the Wildcats were off and running. Besides the two wins, Arizona finished solo fourth in the Mason Rudolph and tied for eighth in a deep Windy City Collegiate. Melgrati and Back combined for six top-6 finishes, including Back’s second-place finish at St. Andrews, where she nearly won despite a triple bogey and a double bogey.
“I don’t think I’ve ever made that many birdies in a tournament, and it didn’t feel hard at all,” Back said.
Maymon added: “She has a very easy game, and when she makes putts, this is what you get. I’m so excited that she’s only a sophomore.
Melgrati smiles when he thinks about the team’s potential this season.
“We’ve never played as well as we’ve ever played,” Melgrati said. “This is my fourth year and that’s what I feel. We are so much better as a team and the environment is just very good.”
A few months later, Maymon seems like a perfect fit.
