Saddleback Drops Team for Season

Saddleback College, coming off its best season in women’s basketball, announced the suspension of the program for one season Wednesday.

Saddleback was 31-1 in 1995-96 and won the Orange Empire Conference. The only loss was to Ventura, 69-62, in the state final.

Jack Single resigned July 10 as Saddleback’s coach and was named Rancho Santiago’s coach the next day. Clark Wilkerson, Single’s assistant, also left for Rancho Santiago, leaving the program with no coaches and not enough time to hire replacements. In addition, everyone Single had recruited for Saddleback is expected to follow him to Rancho Santiago, where class starts Monday.

Shanna Renken, a first-team all-conference forward, center Nekeda Allen and guard LaShieka Henderson all could have returned to Saddleback this fall but instead are expected to transfer to Rancho Santiago and sit out a season under conference rules.

“I’m pretty sick about it,” Saddleback Athletic Director Keith Calkins said. “Sometimes things happen you have no control over. I wish I would have known about it earlier then we could have done something about it.”

Calkins said a new coach is expected to be hired in November or December and the team will return for the 1997-98 season.

The other Orange Empire Conference teams will have a bye on the dates they were scheduled to play Saddleback.