Gillinger hired as women’s tennis coach

The Saddleback athletics department announced on Monday that Melody Gillinger will take over as the new head coach of the women's tennis program.  Gillinger has coached and taught tennis for over 25 years.

Gillinger becomes the sixth head coach in Saddleback history….a program that dates back to 1977.  She replaces Jay Amos, who had coached the program since 2001.

Gillinger brings a wide range of experience dating back to the 1990's.  She also coaches the freshman and sophomore teams at Edison High School. 

Gillinger has been a private tennis instructor since 1996 and also spent three years training line coaches and chair umpires for the United States Tennis Association in Hawaii.  She was an assistant tennis professional at the Hale Koa Resort (Waikiki, Hawaii) from 1999-2001 and an assistant profession at the Cleveland One Center (Cleveland, OH) from 1997-97.  In addition, Gillinger was the Director of Tennis for the Bondallion Tennis Academy (Hickam AFB, Hawaii) from 1999-2002. 

Gillinger played tennis at Rutgers/Rowan University where she received a Bachelor of Arts degree in Communications.  She later went on to get a Master's Degree in Sports Administration at the University of Hawaii. 

Saddleback College has a long history of success in women's tennis, winning a state championship in 2010 and 12 conference titles in 45 years.