WOELKE STEPS DOWN

WOELKE STEPS DOWN: After a stellar 22-year basketball career in the college ranks, Coach Debi Woelke is stepping down from her position of Head Women's Basketball Coach at Fullerton College.

"The past 15 years have been at Fullerton College my dream job since I was a student athlete here in 1976-1978. I bleed Blue & Gold and I am a HORNET for life. I still love the game and cherish all the opportunities it has given me, and all the relationships I have had with players, coaches and fans. But this past year was extremely difficult for me with the passing of my mentor and friend, former FJC Head Coach Colleen Riley", stated Woelke. Woelke recently achieved one of her personal goals raising twenty thousand dollars for the Colleen Riley Scholarship Fund through the Fullerton College Foundation. The goal amount gives deserving student-athletes a one thousand dollar scholarship each and every year.

Woelke wraps up her impressive 15-year basketball career at Fullerton with a 330-163 (.669) overall record finishing last season 21-9. The past four seasons Woelke led the Hornets to four consecutive Orange Empire Conference titles. She was voted the Orange Empire Conference Coach of the Year in 1998, 2007, 2009, 2010, 2011, and 2012. Woelke was also named as the State Coach of the Year in 2010.

Woelke won her 400th game as a college head coach on January 19, 2011 (a 65-58 road win against Riverside College); and she notched her 300th win as Fullerton's head coach on January 21, 2011 (a 62-53 win vs. Orange Coast College). Under Woelke, the Hornets have posted eleven 20-win seasons, including the last six campaigns, where FC has compiled an impressive 153-47 record. Under Woelke's leadership, the Hornets qualified for post-season play in 14 out of 15 season.

The 2009-10 season was one of Woelke's most successful as she led the Hornets (32-2 overall) to the State Championship game where they fell to Ventura College in the title game 59-47. Her overall coaching career spanned 22 years beginning at UC Riverside and then Fullerton College where her overall record stands at 440-253.

In addition to her coaching honors, Coach Woelke has received several "Teacher of the Year" honors. She was one of five finalists for FC "Teacher of the Year" in 2005. In 2006 Debi was voted SCOPE's "Physical Educator of the Year". Then in 2007, Debi was honored as FC "Teacher of the Year".

Woelke will now take over as the Head Coach for the Fullerton College Women's Golf Team. "I have always loved golf, played it for the past 25 years, taught it for the past 20 years, and ran golf tournaments for 20 plus years as fund raisers for basketball. I am excited for this new challenge and look forward to spending more time on the golf course", Coach Woelke.

Taking over the reigns in Woelke's place will be Coach Mary Hegarty who was an assistant coach on the Hornet coaching staff and brings an impressive list of basketball credits. A former UCLA women's basketball star, Hegarty played point guard and was the captain of the Bruins in the early 1980's. She was honored as one of the 15 Greatest Players in UCLA women's basketball history. She also set the all time record of 240 assists as a freshman in the 1980-81 season. Hegarty recently spent 6 years as the Head Women's Basketball Coach at Cal State Long Beach where she was named Big West "Coach of the Year" while winning a Big West Conference Championship in 2006 (first time since 1991). Prior to her coaching at Cal State Long Beach, Mary was the Head Women's Basketball Coach at Chapman University for 10 seasons. By the end of her time spent at Chapman, the Panthers had become a consistent contender for the NCAA tournament (4 of the last 7 years). In the 2001-02 season, Mary guided Chapman into the Sweet 16 with a record of 23-5.