The offseason is here for most Arizona sports, the 2025-26 season in the books and the 2026-27 seasons still a few months away.
What better time than now to press pause and check the pulse of each Wildcat program?
Over the next few weeks we’ll take a look at each of the UA’s men’s and women’s athletic programs to see what shape they’re in, as well as the prospects for the near future. We’ll break down each team and evaluate how it has performed under the current coaching staff, comparing it to how it looked
beforehand, and assess how it fits into the Big 12 Conference.
Now, we look at Giovana Maymom’s women’s golf program.
How it looked before
Maymom was hired two years ago after longtime head coach Laura Ianello left for the Texas head coaching job.
Ianello had spent 17 years with Arizona as an assistant coach as well as the head coach. Ianello had Arizona in the NCAA Championships on a consistent level. In 2018, the Wildcats earned the program’s third National Championship.
Maymon did not have any head coaching experience before arriving in Tucson but exceeded expectations in her first season. She helped lead the Wildcats to a Big 12 championship in the program’s inaugural season and was named the Big 12 coach of the year.
The team she inherited was in good standings which resulted in a productive season. Her second year at the helm was not as successful.
Taking Stock 2026
The offseason provides a great opportunity to evaluate each of Arizona’s athletic programs under its current leadership. Check back each day for another sport breakdown.
Sunday, May 31: Football
Monday, June 1: Volleyball
Tuesday, June 2: Soccer
Wednesday, June 3: Triathlon
Thursday, June 4: Cross country
Friday, June 5: Men’s and women’s swimming
Saturday, June 6: Men’s basketball
Sunday, June 7: Women’s basketball
Monday, June 8: Gymnastics
Tuesday, June 9: Beach volleyball
Wednesday, June 10: Women’s golf
Thursday, June 11: Women’s tennis
Friday, June 12: Men’s tennis
Saturday, June 13: Baseball
Sunday, June 14: Softball
Monday, June 15: Men’s golf
Tuesday, June 16: Men’s and women’s track and field
Where things stand now
The start of the season was highlighted by the Wildcats’ performance in the NB3 matchplay. Arizona beat both New Mexico State and New Mexico to move on to the championship round against Texas A&M.
In a 3.5-1.5 match, the Wildcats took down the Aggies for the first tournament win of the season and Maymon’s fourth tournament win as head coach. The next best finish of the season came in the Westbrook Invitational where Arizona was the runner up to Missouri.
Julia Misemer led in scoring with a 66, this tied for her lowest round of her career. Two Wildcats also had some of the best performances of the season. Senior Nena Wonthanaivmok shot 3-under par and freshman Sara Vitasek finished tied for 11th, her best finish of the season.
The rest of the season was a struggle for Arizona. Before postseason play, the best finish came in the GameAbove Invitational where the Wildcats finished tied for fourth. The postseason proved to not be fruitful for Arizona.
Arizona could not repeat as Big 12 champions and finished 11th. Wongthanavimok had the best finish with a 3-over par 75. The Wildcats then played in the NCAA Stanford Regional and could not advance after placing in eighth place.
Freshman Kinsley Ni had the best finish in the final round with a 2-over 73. The score placed her 26th overall and 5-over for the tournament.
Life in the Big 12
Arizona had two different outcomes in its two Big 12 tournament appearances. A first place finish came in the Wildcats first appearance, while an 11th place came out of the second appearance.
It’s no surprise that Arizona could not repeat as champions, the conference is very competitive. The surprise is mainly about how low the Wildcats placed. Dropping all the way to 11th was not a result that Arizona wanted to see.
The previous season, in the championship round Arizona went to a playoff against ASU and Oklahoma State. Both schools finished in the top five the following season and even Iowa State went from sixth place to winning the championship.
There was a clear drop off for Arizona and it will need to be fixed going into next season.
One big question
Can Arizona get back to higher finishes in matches? Many times last season Arizona could not find itself towards the top in most of its matches. Winning the NB3 Matchplay and being the runner up in the Westbrook Invitational did show that Arizona has the ability to find success in matches.
However, in the other matches, the Wildcats struggled to put themselves in a position to contend for a win. Arizona will lose experience with three seniors leaving in Wongthanavimok, Misemer, and Angela Arora.
The leader of the squad will be senior Charlotte Back, who has a chance to finish inside the top 10 for career scoring average. Sophomores Li and Vitasek can also help in the leadership category as they showed flashes last season.
