Caterina Don Named EMU Assistant Women’s Golf Coach – Eastern Michigan University Athletics

YPSILANTI, Mich. (EMUEagles.com) — Caterina Don, a standout golfer at the University of Georgia for the past five seasons, has been named an assistant women’s coach at Eastern Michigan University, Head Coach Josh Brewer announced today, July 15.

“It is another exciting day for Eastern Women’s Golf,” Brewer said. “We are honored to have Caterina Don join our coaching staff. I really enjoyed being her coach for five years, now I get to call her a teammate. Caterina will bring a vast knowledge of how to prepare and compete as she was and still is one of the best players in women’s amateur golf. As a standout student-athlete herself, Caterina will also make sure we grow our players to be amazing women when they leave Ypsi. Again I want to thank Caterina for joining me and believing in what we are building at Eastern.”

The first full-time assistant coach in EMU program history, the 23-year-old Don had an illustrious career at Georgia, marked by numerous accolades and standout performances. During the 2023-24 season, she was named honorable mention All-America by both the Women’s Golf Coaches Association (WGCA) and Golfweek, and was voted second-team All-SEC for the third time in her career.

Academically, she was named to the WGCA’s All-American Scholar team and the SEC’s Academic Honor Roll for the fifth time. Don also served as the female student-athlete representative on the UGA Athletic Association’s Board of Directors and was Georgia’s nominee for the prestigious Boyd McWhorter Scholar-Athlete Award. She finished the season ranked No. 31 in the NCAA’s Scoreboard rankings and led the Bulldogs in virtually every statistical category, including stroke average (71.54), par-or-better rounds (21), birdies (127), and top-20 finishes (11). Notably, she was Georgia’s top individual finisher in 10 of 13 tournaments, posting a remarkable fourth-best stroke average in school history.

“I am super excited to join Coach Brewer and get the chance to coach an incredible group of student-athletes,” added Don. “When Josh reached out to me, I saw an incredible opportunity to build something special and bring a championship home. I love the athletic department and university atmosphere, and I cannot wait to get to work. I hope to bring to the team an analytic eye on their golf game, and hopefully, I will be able to share my collegiate experience and help them make the next years unforgettable.”

In the 2022-23 season, Don received the Joel Eaves Award for the highest GPA among UGA’s senior female student-athletes and was named to the College Sports Communicators (CSC) At-Large All-District Team. She participated in a panel celebrating the 50th anniversary of Title IX and was honored as a “Peach of an Athlete” by the Atlanta Area Council of the Boy Scouts of America. She served as Vice President of UGA’s Student-Athlete Advisory Committee (SAAC) and competed in 12 tournaments, achieving a top-10 finish in four of eight spring starts. Her notable victory came at the San Diego State Classic, and she improved her stroke average from 74.67 in fall 2022 to 73.86 in spring 2023.

During the 2021-22 season, Don was one of two Bulldogs to compete in all 11 team tournaments, achieving a 73.61 average over 36 rounds and contributing counting scores in 88.2 percent of team rounds. She was Georgia’s top individual finisher at two tournaments and helped the Bulldogs with significant performances at the NCAA Albuquerque Regional and the NCAA Championships, including a featured 3-and-1 victory over Stanford’s Sadie Englemann in match play.

In the 2020-21 season, Don was again second-team All-SEC and named to the SEC Academic Honor Roll. She was in the lineup for nine of 11 events and recorded the second-best stroke average on the team. She notably fired a school-record eight-under 64 in the second round at the Heroes Intercollegiate, leading Georgia to an 11-under round. She competed in the 2020 U.S. Women’s Open and tied for 25th at the Augusta National Women’s Amateur, making the cut in both 2019 and 2021 editions of the tournament.

As a freshman in the 2019-20 season, Don was named second-team All-America by Golfweek and second-team All-SEC. She led Georgia in virtually every statistical category, including a 72.15 stroke average, which was the fifth-best in school history. She won the Minnesota Invitational, becoming the second Georgia golfer to win her collegiate debut, and competed as captain of Italy’s National Team in international competitions. Don continued to excel in national and international events, earning accolades such as the medalist honors at the 2020 Italian Match Play Championships and the 2020 Italian Women’s Open.

Before joining UGA, Don was highly ranked in the World Amateur Golf Rankings and the European Golf Rankings. She had an impressive record of top finishes in international competitions, including victories at the 2019 European Girls’ Team Championship and multiple Italian national championships. She also competed in the inaugural Augusta National Women’s Amateur in 2019, finishing tied for 12th.

Born and raised in Northern Italy, Don moved to college in the USA. Before becoming a full time golfer, she  was a skier and still love spending time on the slopes.

Don earned a Bachelor’s degree in Mathematics with minors in Statistics, Global Health and a certification in Data Science in 2024 at the University of Georgia. She was a recipient of the Liz Murphey Women’s Athletic Scholarship Endowment and the Ramsey Scholarship for Academic & Athletic Excellence.