Former golf coach dies from gunshot wounds
Police arrest man in connection with April 19 shooting
McLean Bennett
Issue date: 4/27/09 Section: Campus News
The man who helped coach the UW-Eau Claire women's golf team to its first NCAA Div. III national tournament appearance was killed in Arizona last week in a homicide described by Phoenix police as "heinous."
According to police press releases: Douglas G. Georgianni, 51, was shot Sunday, April 19, while he was parked along a highway monitoring cameras used to photograph speeders. He was working for a company contracted by the state's Department of Public Safety to monitor the devices.
Georgianni, of Cave Creek, Ariz., was talking with his wife on a cell phone around 9 p.m. when the driver of an SUV came alongside Georgianni's van and opened fire. Georgianni was taken to a local hospital, where he died shortly after.
Less than a day after the incident, police arrested 68-year-old Thomas Patrick Destories in connection with the shooting.
"I told our local reporter that Doug was one of the nicest, kindest people I've ever met in or out of the golf business," said Dan Wegleitner, an employee at StoneRidge golf course in Prescott Valley, Ariz., where he said Georgianni worked several years ago. "He was just a gem of a person."
Between 1995 and 2001, Georgianni - who was the first coach of the Eau Claire women's golf team - led the Blugolds to five second- or first-place finishes in the conference and amassed an overall 250-168-4 record.
He also stayed long enough to see the team clinch its first-ever national tournament finish in 2001, when the Blugolds took ninth place. The team has remained a consistent national contender since his departure, finishing in at least the top 13 every year since 2002.
John Rawdon, who took over as coach of the team in 2001, credited Georgianni and former athletic director Marilyn Skrivseth with launching the women's golf team.
"There wouldn't be a UWEC women's program without Marilyn or Doug," he said. "He got it started and I didn't do any better job than him. Just 'thank you' to him is all I can really say."
Tim Petermann, who worked as the university's sports information director and compliance officer when Georgianni was coach, said he worked closely with Georgianni to ensure that he complied with the NCAA's recruitment rules.
"I remember him coming in and just always having that positive attitude when he came in," Petermann said. "He could come in and talk about anything; he could talk about real estate, politics, whatever."
Georgianni's funeral took place Saturday in Scottsdale, Ariz., according to the Athletic Department's Web site, which posted information about the shooting on its front page.
According to police press releases: Douglas G. Georgianni, 51, was shot Sunday, April 19, while he was parked along a highway monitoring cameras used to photograph speeders. He was working for a company contracted by the state's Department of Public Safety to monitor the devices.
Georgianni, of Cave Creek, Ariz., was talking with his wife on a cell phone around 9 p.m. when the driver of an SUV came alongside Georgianni's van and opened fire. Georgianni was taken to a local hospital, where he died shortly after.
Less than a day after the incident, police arrested 68-year-old Thomas Patrick Destories in connection with the shooting.
"I told our local reporter that Doug was one of the nicest, kindest people I've ever met in or out of the golf business," said Dan Wegleitner, an employee at StoneRidge golf course in Prescott Valley, Ariz., where he said Georgianni worked several years ago. "He was just a gem of a person."
Between 1995 and 2001, Georgianni - who was the first coach of the Eau Claire women's golf team - led the Blugolds to five second- or first-place finishes in the conference and amassed an overall 250-168-4 record.
He also stayed long enough to see the team clinch its first-ever national tournament finish in 2001, when the Blugolds took ninth place. The team has remained a consistent national contender since his departure, finishing in at least the top 13 every year since 2002.
John Rawdon, who took over as coach of the team in 2001, credited Georgianni and former athletic director Marilyn Skrivseth with launching the women's golf team.
"There wouldn't be a UWEC women's program without Marilyn or Doug," he said. "He got it started and I didn't do any better job than him. Just 'thank you' to him is all I can really say."
Tim Petermann, who worked as the university's sports information director and compliance officer when Georgianni was coach, said he worked closely with Georgianni to ensure that he complied with the NCAA's recruitment rules.
"I remember him coming in and just always having that positive attitude when he came in," Petermann said. "He could come in and talk about anything; he could talk about real estate, politics, whatever."
Georgianni's funeral took place Saturday in Scottsdale, Ariz., according to the Athletic Department's Web site, which posted information about the shooting on its front page.
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