Gary Sabella Hired to Coach Women's Golf Team in 2008

         Saddleback College Athletic Director Tony Lipold has announced that Gary Sabella has been hired to coach the Gauchos’ women’s golf team next fall.

         Sabella served as the boys’ and girls’ golf coach at Trabuco Hills High School as well as that school’s athletic director before retiring in 2003.  He takes over a Saddleback women’s golf program that has captured six of the past eight Orange Empire Conference titles and which has qualified for the post-season in each of the past nine seasons.  Under the coaching direction of Nick Trani this season Saddleback finished second in the Orange Empire Conference and fourth at the Southern California regional championship.

         Sabella was a baseball star in college, playing at Los Angeles Harbor College before earning a scholarship to play at Pepperdine University where he played for three seasons.  He earned both his bachelor’s and master’s degrees from Pepperdine and began his coaching career at Pacifica High School in Garden Grove as an assistant football coach, freshman basketball coach, and junior varsity baseball coach. 

         He resigned from his position as a junior high school principal to become athletic director and golf coach at Trabuco Hills when the school opened in 1985, leading the Mustangs to eight league titles, a CIF championship in 1993 and the state championship in 1992.  He plans on achieving similar success at Saddleback College.

         “I’ve lived in the community since 1972 and I’ve always followed the success of the Saddleback program,” Sabella said.  “When I saw this job opportunity, I was really interested.  It’s a great school and I’m blessed to be offered the position.”

         Sabella was a member of the CIF advisory committee which drafted a proposal to add girls golf at the high school level and coached the Trabuco Hills team from its inception until his retirement.

         Golf runs deep in the Sabella family with the children also pursuing careers in golf.  Greg (34) was on the Saddleback golf team in 1992 and now works for Callaway golf while Lance (36) is the general manager of the Lakeside Country Club in Toluca Lake.

         “I’ve talked with a couple of the returning players and I’m anxious to get out there and start recruiting,” he added.

         Freshmen Brittany Ruble and Karolyne Crowe, both graduates of Murrieta Valley High School, had solid seasons for the Gauchos and plan to return for their sophomore seasons.  Ruble played in every match for the Gauchos in 2007, averaging 85.0 strokes through 17 rounds.  Crowe missed just one match, averaging 85.3 strokes.  Both players earned first-team all-conference honors.

         Sabella can be reached in his office at GSabella@saddleback.edu or by phone at (949) 582-4846.

Gauchos Finish Second In Match At Oak Creek

The Saddleback women’s golf team finished second in a four-team conference match at Oak Creek Country Club on Wednesday, snapping a string of first-place finishes and keeping the Gauchos in second place in the conference standings at 10-5.
Saddleback, which shot a team score of 324 a week earlier on the same course, saw individual scores elevate this week and settled for a 338. Santiago Canyon won the match with the team score of 325 while Irvine Valley placed third (344) and Santa Ana was fourth (362).
Connie Gonzalez was the only Gaucho golfer to lower her score from a week ago, dropping eight strokes to post a team-low 82 on Wednesday. Lana Cox (83), Brittany Ruble (86), and Korri Broadhead (87) each posted higher scores this week.
Although Saddleback was not able to catch Santiago Canyon (13-2) in the conference standings, the Gauchos were able to separate themselves a little farther from Irvine Valley (6-9) and Santa Ana (1-14) with nine regular-season matches to play. The Gauchos host their final conference match on Wednesday, October 17.

Women's Golf Sweep Conference Match On El Prado Course

For the second consecutive outing, the Saddleback women’s golf team swept the competition and placed first in a conference match to pick up three victories. This last match, held on the El Prado golf course and hosted by Santiago Canyon, helped Saddleback strengthen its hold on second place in the conference standings and inch closer to Santiago Canyon.
Brittany Ruble, Lana Cox, and Karolyne Crowe each carded 81’s for the Gauchos while Connie Gonzalez added an 84 and Korri Broadhead posted an 86 to help the Gauchos finish with a team score of 327. Santiago Canyon placed second with a 332, followed by Irvine Valley (348) and Santa Ana (358).
Santiago Canyon is 10-2 in the conference standings, followed by Saddleback at 8-4. Irvine Valley is 5-7 and Santa Ana is 1-11.

Gauchos Win Conference Match At Oak Creek

The Saddleback women’s golf team finally broke through for an impressive team score of 324 to defeat Santiago Canyon (342), Irvine Valley (343), and Santa Ana (386) in an Orange Empire Conference match hosted by Irvine Valley on the Oak Creek Country Club course.
Saddleback freshman Lana Cox was the event medalist, shooting a 4-over-par 75 while Brittany Ruble (81), Karolyne Crowe (83) and Korri Broadhead (85) also figured in the scoring. It was the first time in three conference matches that the Gauchos (5-4) took the top spot. In the first conference match the Gauchos finished fourth and in the second conference match the Gauchos placed second.
Santiago Canyon (8-1) will host a conference match on Monday, October 1, at the El Prado golf course

Saddleback Finishes Second On Home Course

In its second conference match of the season, the Saddleback women’s golf team fared much better on its home course than it did a week ago on the Riverview course in Santa Ana.
Playing at Tijeras Creek Golf Club in Rancho Santa Margarita, the Gauchos posted a team score of 346 to place second in the four-team event. Santiago Canyon won the event with a 329, followed by Saddleback, while Irvine Valley (353) and Santa Ana (404) trailed.
Brittany Ruble led the Gauchos with an 84 while sophomore Connie Gonzalez added an 85. Freshman Lana Cox carded an 88 and Karolyne Crowe was one shot back at 89.
The second place finish puts the Gauchos’ conference record at 2-4 early in the season.

Gauchos Place Second At Tee-Off Classic

The Saddleback women’s golf team placed second at the Tee-Off Classic played Monday on the El Prado course.
Freshman Lana Cox paced the Gauchos with an 80 in her first collegiate match while Brittany Ruble added an 84 and sophomore Connie Gonzalez added a season-low 85. Saddleback’s team score of 339 was one stroke better than Irvine Valley College’s 340 and 30 strokes better than Santa Ana (369). Santiago won the event with a team score of 321.
Saddleback opens the Orange Empire Conference schedule on Wednesday, September 19, on the Riverview Golf Course in a match hosted by Santa Ana College. The Gauchos have won back-to-back conference titles and six of the past seven titles.

Nick Trani Begins Era With a Win

The beginning of the Nick Trani era of the women’s golf team started similar to how the Bill Cunerty era ended: with a victory.
Trani, the new head coach of the women’s golf team, was pleased with his team’s 370-399 victory over Palomar College on Wednesday at the San Luis Rey Downs Country Club. This is the inaugural season of women’s golf for Palomar and the 10th year for Saddleback’s program.
Brittany Ruble was the event medalist after carding an 87. Saddleback teammates Korri Broadhead (93), Karolyne Crowe (94), and Connie Gonzalez (96) were bunched together in the mid-90’s.
Saddleback has won the past two Orange Empire Conference titles and six of the past seven conference titles before Cunerty retired this past spring.

Cunerty Annouces His Retirement (over 600 coaching wins)

Saddleback head coach Bill Cunerty announced to his colleagues at the 2007 men's state championship tournament that he is retiring from coaching and teaching at Saddleback. Cunerty joined the Saddleback College staff in 1980 as an assistant football coach and head men’s golf coach. He spent three seasons as the head football coach (1995-1997), posting a record of 25-7 and winning the National Championship in 1996 with a perfect 11-0 record. On the golf course, Cunerty earned a record of 506-47 in 26 years as the men's golf coach and a 94-7 record in nine seasons as head coach of the women's golf team.
In addition to six state titles in men's golf, Cunerty has guided the Gauchos to 24 conference titles and two conference runner-up finishes. Saddleback finished as the state runners-up six times and placed third at the state championship seven times, meaning his Saddleback men's teams have finished among the top three in the state 19 times in the past 26 years.
As head coach of the women's golf team, Cunerty has guided the ladies to six conference titles and three conference runner-up finishes in the nine years since the program was started in 1998. His women have qualified for eight consecutive playoff appearances. Three of his players - Selby Schriber in 1998, Karlie Ward in 1999, and Carling Cho in 2003 - earned individual state champion honors.
Longtime Saddleback instructor and coach Nick Trani will take over the women's golf team for the 2007 season.

Gauchos Win Conference Title (13-0 record)

Saddleback struggled on the first day of the conference championship at Los Serranos Golf Course but bounced back on the second day to pass the three other colleges, winning the conference championship tournament to remain unbeaten in Orange Empire Conference play.
Sami Freitas shot rounds of 86 and 80 over the two different Los Serranos courses, finishing 20-over-par for the tournament. Although she finished just short of earning the conference's Player of the Year award, Freitas earned first-team all-conference honors along with Gaucho teammates Debbie Shelgren, Kathy Campbell, Teresa Gonzalez, and Connie Gonzalez. Bill Cunerty was named as the conference Coach of the Year for the seventh consecutive season.
Saddleback (13-0) will now compete in the Southern California Regional championship on Monday and Tuesday, November 6-7, on these same Los Serranos courses.