’It’s The Best Decision Of My Life’

By John Frierson
Staff Writer

Golfers Ben van Wyk and Caterina Don arrived at the University of Georgia from very different places. In Athens and at UGA, they have both, like so many international student-athletes before them, found a home and experiences far beyond what they ever imagined.

"It's the best decision of my life, for sure," van Wyk, from George, South Africa, said of transferring to Georgia after two years at Augusta University, where his brother Alex was also on the men's golf team.

"I got a second family (at Georgia)," said Don, from Pinerolo, Italy,

Don and van Wyk are in their final seasons on Georgia's golf teams, wrapping up excellent Bulldog careers on the course and collegiate years off it. On Monday, Don and the Georgia women will kick off NCAA Auburn Regional play as the No. 4 seed, hoping to earn a spot at the NCAA Championships later this month in Carlsbad, Calif. The Georgia men are headed to the NCAA Austin Regional which gets started May 13, also as the No. 4 seed. A year ago, van Wyk won the NCAA Bath (Ore.) Regional and went on to place 14th individually at the NCAA Championships.

Earlier this month at Pelican Golf Club in Belleair, Fla., Don helped the Bulldogs reach the semifinals of the SEC's. In late March, at her final event on the UGA Golf Course, Don played some of the best golf of her Georgia career, finishing second and helping her team to a third-place finish at the 52nd annual Liz Murphey Collegiate Classic.

"I had tears in my eyes (at the end of the Liz Murphey). My parents couldn't be here but all of my friends made an effort to come out and watch. All the people that surround our team and work with us every day, not just the coaches, were there for me and cheered for me.

"It's just really great to have a second family. I know my parents are with me wherever I go, but it's great when you're so far away from home to have people that support you."

Last week, Don was named second-team All-SEC for the third time in her career. Don was Georgia's top finisher in nine of 11 regular-season tournaments over the fall and spring, with seven top-10 and 10 top-20 finishes.

"I think there is a lot of practice that came into me playing better, but there is also the idea that it is my last dance and I've got to enjoy every moment," Don said. "It's more of like, just go out there and enjoy and have fun, rather than, I want to win this. Golf is a hard game, so you're going to win it or you're not going to win it, but you can't not enjoy your last few months of college and your last few months on the course with your teammates."

Last month, the Georgia Way, which works with student-athletes to develop the Bulldogs off the field or course, held its annual Dawgs Choice Awards, and Don was one of the recipients. An exceptional student throughout her career, Don, a mathematics major, was the female recipient of the SEC Boyd McWhorter Post Graduate Scholar-Athlete Award. In 2022, she received the Joel Eaves Award as the UGA female student-athlete with the highest GPA.

"She's a true student-athlete," women's golf coach Josh Brewer said. "She's excelled on the golf course, but off the course, she's taken advantage of everything that the University of Georgia offers her."

And that isn't limited to academics. Far from it, in fact. Don is the female student-athlete representative on the UGA Athletic Association's Athletic Board. She was one of two current Bulldogs to serve as panelists during the athletic association's event last year celebrating 50 years of Title IX. Don also serves as Vice-President of the UGA Student-Athlete Advisory Committee.

Don even, and you can bet she never imagined this when she first arrived from Italy, was one of 10 college student-athletes in the state last year to be honored by the Atlanta Area Boy Scouts as a "Peach of an Athlete" for her work in the community and the classroom.

"For her to achieve all that is pretty special," Brewer said. "Can I have her for five more years?"

Recently, van Wyk was named to the international team for this summer's Arnold Palmer Cup — like the Ryder Cup but for collegiate golfers — which will be played in Ireland in July. At the SEC Championships last month at Sea Island, van Wyk shot a pair of rounds in the 60s, bringing his total of sub-70 rounds this season to a team-high 14. Earlier in April, van Wyk placed second at the Calusa Cup in Naples, Fla. Off the course, van Wyk has participated in Georgia's Leadership Education and Development Program (LEAD) and played this year as a graduate student after earning his degree.

While van Wyk has improved with the technical aspects of his game over the past year, he said it's the mental part of the game that keeps getting better and better.

"Mentally, there's no threshold," he said. "You get incrementally better every year."

For van Wyk and Don, traveling far from home to play collegiate golf has brought them experiences and memories that will last a lifetime. And hopefully, there are many more great ones to come before their Georgia careers are complete.

"I'll forever remember my experiences at college. It's more than exceeded my expectations," van Wyk said. "It not only develops you as a person but there are so many good memories you make out here. It's all way more than the golf itself."

Assistant Sports Communications Director John Frierson is the staff writer for the UGA Athletic Association and curator of the ITA Men's Tennis Hall of Fame. You can find his work at: Frierson Files. He's also on Twitter: @FriersonFiles and @ITAHallofFame.

University of Georgia Athletics

Players Mentioned

Caterina Don

Ben van Wyk

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