Sophomore Gianna Ruiz is a golfer for the Raiders at Savannah Christian Preparatory School. Ruiz has a bubbly and comedic personality and has impressive skills on the golf course. So far this year, she and her team are undefeated. Some of her awards include: SCPS MVP, Team City Champions two years in a row, Individual City Champion two years in a row, Savannah Morning News Player of the Year 2013, Savannah Junior Girls’ Golf Player of the Year 2013, and Savannah Junior Golf All-Star in 2012-13.
Ruiz’s mother, Donna Ruiz, recounts how her daughter got her start in the game: “She got started in it because her dad was obsessed with it, and she went out to play with him and his buddies. Her dad was like, ‘Ah! She wants to play golf,’ so when she was about six, he bought her some clubs. The first time he took her to the driving range she hit the ball a couple of times then spent the rest of the time wandering around picking up tees, and then he was like, ‘Oh, well. Maybe not.’ But she stuck with it.
“She liked being outside, running around, and she loved hitting golf balls. She would use my clubs and look kind of silly, but she wouldn’t leave until she hit four or five in a row,” says her father, Michael Ruiz. “Then she joined The First Tee and did a couple of years with them. One of those years some Senior Tour players had an exhibition over at the Crosswinds Par 3 course where she got to play side by side with some really good players. They were really impressed with her poise, how she set up to the ball, and how she made some pretty good shots for a kid around six or seven.”
In middle school, Ruiz tried out for the golf team. “In seventh grade she tried out for the middle school team which was co-ed and only had eight spots for sixth, seventh, and eighth grades. She didn’t make it. I think right then she was like, ‘I need to start getting serious about this if I want to do it.’ So she did, and she made the team in her eighth-grade year. From then on she’s been playing a lot more seriously,” says Ruiz’s mother.
“I knew this was my sport when I got to middle school and started competing with the boys. It became a lot more challenging. My coach now, Beth Sasser, saw me play in middle school and had me come practice with the high school team. She already had her eyes on me before I got to high school and was excited for me to be on the team,” says Ruiz.
Sasser is quite proud of her young star. “Gianna is very consistent. She’s been playing golf for a long time. I guess the best I can say about her is, besides being an excellent golfer, she’s a really sweet girl and a nice person. It’s so nice to see a kid with such a good nature and sense of humor. She also has a good competitive spirit. She really loves golf and wants to be great at it so she’s a really great kid to coach,” says Sasser. “She doesn’t really seem to feel any pressure. Of course, I think she puts pressure on herself to be good, but I don’t think she feels pressure from other people. Last year in the city individual championship, she tied with an older girl, and they went into an individual playoff to see who would win. It was as if she felt no pressure at all. You would think she would have seeing how she was a freshman playing a junior, but she didn’t. She acted like it was no big deal, went out there, and won.”
Ruiz’s favorite memories formed around her bond with her father and grandfather on the course. “I love playing with them. They’re really funny, and I learn a lot from them,” she says.
Ruiz’s father has more to say on that subject. “She’s a prankster and a jokester. She’s a genius at commenting on social maladies, and I would love being around her even if she weren’t my daughter. When we go out to play golf together, we always go out there to have a good time, but the minute it gets competitive, it can get obnoxious kind of quick. She’s the kind of girl that doesn’t back down from a challenge. Never in a malicious way, but the more you tell her no, the more she wants to do it,” he says. “She tries to outdrive you, tries to beat you, and if she can’t do it, she’ll go out into the middle of the fairway and stomp your ball two inches into the muck, so you can’t find it. It’s pretty funny and competitive. Also, when she plays with us, we make her hit off the men’s tees. We try to get her used to playing a longer game like she would have to on a bigger course to get her driving farther. She doesn’t mind it, and it makes her game better.”
Sasser says Ruiz’s drive is her strength on the course, and she has her father’s teaching to thank for that. “Her father has been teaching her for a long time,” says Sasser. “It doesn’t surprise me that her dad makes her play from the men’s tees. Her father is a really good guy. He tries a lot of different things with her, and I think that is what helps keep the pressure off of her because she thinks, ‘I’ve gone out there before, and I’ve done this already from farther away, so, what’s the big deal? I can go out there and do this from the girl’s tees,’ and she does.”
Favorites
Subject: Spanish
Snack: BBQ Chips
Best Score: 37 on 9 holes
Favorite course to play: Savannah Harbor
Course you hope to play: Pebble Beach
Where would you most like to travel: Italy because of my Sicilian heritage.
Superpower: Mind reading
Who is your inspiration: My dad because he inspires me to be a better golfer.
Sophomore Standout/Coastal Edition/May 2014
Gianna Ruiz
Coach Beth Sasser
Savannah Christian Preparatory School
Savannah, Georgia
Ruby Hilliard
Girls CAN drive!
Watch out! Girl driver ahead!
