OCC Cuts List of Candidates for Men’s Basketball Coach to Six

Orange Coast’s search for a men’s basketball coach has been narrowed to six candidates--two from the community college level and four high school coaches--and the selection committee hopes to announce its choice no later than Friday, sources close to the search said.

The six coaches who have been interviewed are Don Frank, coach at Rio Hondo College and a former assistant at Rancho Santiago; Larry Sunderman, an assistant at Saddleback College; and high school coaches Roy Miller (Huntington Beach), Steve Popovich (Marina), Rainer Wulf (Trabuco Hills) and Tim O’Brien (Estancia).

The job, which will be a part-time position, opened when Tandy Gillis was reassigned to men’s tennis March 4 by Athletic Director Barry Wallace. Gillis held the job 16 years and had a record of 244-228 and won the State title in 1979. OCC was 11-19 last season.

Three Rancho Santiago athletes have announced plans to attend four-year colleges.

Mike Fontana and David Goldstein, both right-handed pitchers, are going to Cal State Long Beach and Rick Swanwick, who plays center on the basketball team, is going to Eastern Washington, which is in Cheney.

Fontana (11-0) pitched eight innings Tuesday as the Dons beat Saddleback, 11-0, to clinch their third consecutive Orange Empire Conference title. Goldstein (4-6) struck out 15 in seven innings in a game against Mt. San Jacinto this season, but he has been inconsistent at times. He was 7-1 as a freshman.

Swanwick, from Trabuco Hills High, also played at UC Irvine before coming to Rancho Santiago. Swanwick, who is 6 feet 10, averaged 11 points and 6.5 rebounds.