Mary (Sweeney) Giorgi enters her 12th season as head coach of the St. Catherine University golf program in the fall of 2026. Since taking over the program in November 2015, Giorgi has helped establish the Wildcats as one of the premier women's golf programs in the MIAC and NCAA Division III.
Giorgi is a four-time MIAC Coach of the Year, earning the honor in 2021, 2022, 2024 and 2025. She was also named the WGCA Midwest Region Coach of the Year in 2021.
In her first full season as head coach, Giorgi guided the Wildcats to the first MIAC Championship in program history and the conference's automatic berth to the NCAA Division III Championship. St. Catherine has since grown its championship total to five, including four MIAC titles over a five-year stretch from 2020-21 through 2024-25.
The Wildcats have made five NCAA Division III Championship team appearances under Giorgi, qualifying in 2017, 2021, 2022, 2024 and 2025. The program reached new heights in the spring of 2024, placing fifth at the NCAA Championship for the best national finish in program history.
Individual success has accompanied the Wildcats' team accomplishments. Under Giorgi, 18 different St. Catherine golfers have earned All-MIAC honors and 13 have earned WGCA All-Region recognition. Five Wildcats have been named MIAC Rookie of the Year, while Kyra Venne became the first St. Catherine golfer to earn MIAC Player of the Year honors, winning the award in both 2023 and 2025.
Venne also became the program's first WGCA All-American, earning Second Team All-America honors in 2023 and Honorable Mention recognition in both 2024 and 2025. She won two MIAC individual championships during her career, capturing medalist honors in 2022 and 2024.
St. Catherine has been particularly dominant in developing young talent. Jaycee Rhodes earned MIAC Rookie of the Year honors in 2020-21, followed by Greta McArthur in 2021-22, Grace Petzold in 2023-24, Caylin Cantwell in 2024-25 and Raquel Ahrens in 2025-26. The five awards in six seasons represent the most sustained stretch of Rookie of the Year success in program history.
The Wildcats have also rewritten the MIAC record book during Giorgi's tenure. St. Catherine owns the conference's all-time 18-hole team scoring record with a four-under-par 284 and the 36-hole record with a score of 578, both established at the 2024 St. Kate's Fall Invite. St. Catherine occupies each of the top three spots on the MIAC's all-time 36-hole scoring list with totals of 578, 582 and 586.
At the MIAC Championship, Giorgi's teams have produced several of the lowest scores in conference history. The Wildcats' 904 at the 2024 championship tied the conference's then-record for a 54-hole tournament, while St. Catherine's 909 from the 2020 championship remains among the lowest championship totals in MIAC history. In 2024-25, the Wildcats led the conference with a 301.2 team scoring average.
Beyond her work at St. Catherine, Giorgi has been active in the administration and advancement of collegiate golf. She has served on the NCAA Division III Women's Golf Regional Advisory Committee and the NCAA Division III Women's Golf Committee and has been involved in the national championship selection process. Giorgi served as chair of the NCAA committee in 2024.
Prior to taking over the Wildcats, Giorgi served as an assistant coach at Augsburg College. She joined St. Catherine following her collegiate playing career at the University of Idaho. Giorgi graduated from the University of Idaho with a Bachelor of Science in Advertising. She was a Dean's List student and a member of the Student-Athlete Advisory Committee. Giorgi was also recognized by the National Golf Coaches Association for her academic achievement after maintaining a cumulative GPA above 3.5.
Before competing collegiately, Giorgi enjoyed a decorated junior and high school career in Minnesota. She was named Minnesota Junior PGA Player of the Year and was a three-time All-State selection at Woodbury High School. Giorgi finished as the Minnesota Class AAA individual runner-up and helped lead Woodbury to a Class AAA state championship.
