“My dad is the coach of a boys’ team and whenever they needed a 10th player I always got to play with them,” said Mayza, a freshman point guard for the University of Hartford women’s basketball team.
Mayza’s older brother, Tim, excels in
baseball and was drafted by the Toronto Blue Jays last year. He was one of the boys on their father’s team.
“Having an older brother around meant I always played with the guys. My dad and brother have been the most
influential people for me as an athlete.
Having my brother there the whole time I was growing up, beating me up
in the backyard, just made me tougher.
My dad is the one that got me playing basketball and always helped me
work on my skills.”
The strong competition in her formative
years only helped Mayza flourish. By the
beginning of her junior year at The Hill School in Pennsylvania, she was being
contacted by several colleges. Mayza,
who went on to set records as the school’s all-time leading scorer in
basketball (1,222 points) and soccer (67 goals), says the University of
Hartford was the one institution that made sure to stay in touch with her
beyond the initial contact.
“A lot of the schools just make contact
once and then you don’t hear from them again whereas the coaches at Hartford
just continued to stay in touch with me throughout the process. My brother looked at Hartford when he was
considering schools so I knew a little bit about it,” said Mayza.
Mayza wasn’t sure what degree she
wanted to pursue and saw that as an important consideration in addition to the
opportunity to play basketball. “I
thought that Hartford offered the most options for me to consider since I
didn’t know exactly what I wanted. The
coaching staff is great too and knowing coach Rizzotti was here made me want to
pursue it. With her being a point guard in college and playing in the WNBA it made me want to come here and learn from the best.”
Mayza lived on campus during her senior year at The Hill School, so she was used to being away from home. Still, she says she has already learned quite a bit in just one semester at Hartford. As a Division I student-athlete she sees the importance of budgeting her time well.
“During the season we don’t have a lot of free time. There is a lot to juggle just between classes and playing basketball. The coaches always make sure that we have time for study hall, even when we’re on the road. I’m learning how important it is to be proactive with my professors so that I can get things done before we go on a road trip.”
One of the best parts about her basketball experience so far is not what happens on the court, it’s the team camaraderie.
“Our team chemistry off the court is
great. Everyone hangs out and we all
have a good time together. We have a
little more free time during the winter break when there are no other students on
campus so we’re always together. We’re
either playing Rock Band or doing something else outside of basketball. We just have fun with each other.”
One of the things the team does off the
court is community service work. It’s
something Mayza says she has always enjoyed.
“When I was in high school I used to
help out my Dad with youth programs. We
would do basketball clinics and I loved it.
Now that I’m here we’re doing things like going to children’s
hospitals. We go to elementary schools
and read to the kids and talk to them.
It’s always nice to spend time with them.”
Mayza describes herself as “feisty” and
as a successful student-athlete, it’s not surprising to hear that she’s very
competitive both on and off the court.
As a freshman she still has plenty of time to decide on a future career
path but she already has a pretty good idea of what she wants to try first.
“Seeing my older brother get drafted
and knowing that he is going to live his dream in baseball makes me want to do
the same. Playing somewhere
professionally has always been a dream and something I want to pursue. Whether it’s academics or pursuing something
else I feel like I have this drive to do well.
I know that will help me going forward.”
For now, Mayza is enjoying life as a
collegian. Her basketball skills and
ambition make it clear that she will be a valuable asset for her Hartford team,
and perhaps for a professional team one day in the future. 
