Women's Tennis

Ben Cabell is in his 16th season as head coach of Santa Clara women's tennis.

Cabell has compiled a career record of 137-162 and has coached a total of 26 All-West Coast Conference singles players along with 12 all-conference doubles players along with a conference Player of the Year and Freshman of the Year. In addition, Cabell's teams have produced two CoSIDA All-District Academic All-Americans and 41 WCC All-Academic selections.

In 2020, seven Broncos were named WCC All-Academic for the highest total in his tenure where 41 student-athletes have received the honor.  

Cabell’s highlights include coaching Katie Le, who went 101-34 in her Bronco singles career and is the program's winningest player in that category by 23 victories. Le won a program record 27 singles matches in 2011-12 and tied the record with 27 victories in 2013-14. She qualified for three consecutive NCAA Singles Championships from 2012-14 and earned the program’s first individual postseason victory with a 7-6(3), 7-5 defeat of No. 30 Emina Bektas (Michigan) on May 22, 2013.

In 2013, he was named West Coast Conference Co-Coach of the Year, guiding the Broncos to a 12-10 overall record and a program's best 7-1 WCC record, giving Santa Clara a share in the WCC regular season co-Championship for the first time in history. Cabell was chosen as WCC Co-Coach of the Year for the first time along with Gualberto Escudero of Pepperdine.

Cabell has also coached the two most successful doubles pairs in program history; Kelly Lamble/Maggie McGeorge own a 58-40 doubles record and Jessica Agra/Le went 41-31 as a pair. Lamble/McGeorge won a program record 18 doubles matches in 2010, and posted 17 victories as a pair the following year to tie for the team lead with Agra/Le.

In 2015-16, Delphine Rouvillois was named Second Team All-WCC for singles after putting together a 7-3 spring record at the No. 1 position, while Nabila Farah and Daniella Silva were named All-WCC Doubles Honorable Mention with a 7-4 spring record at the No. 1 position. The Broncos also led the conference by having five players with all-academic recognition. They finished the year at 7-12 overall and 3-6 in conference play.

In 2013-14, the team reached the semifinals of the WCC Championship for the second straight year under the guidance of Cabell as well as assistant coaches Tricia Guidace and Jakub Cech. The Broncos also recorded their fifth consecutive winning season and totaled 70 victories from the five-year span of 2010-14, which included 25 team appearances in ITA polls.

Le was named First Team All-WCC after tying her own program record with 27 victories while Rouvillois and Stephanie Skaras were both named All-WCC Honorable Mention in singles. Chelby Cooke and Le were tabbed No. 1 Doubles on the WCC All-Tournament Team. Le headlined the WCC All-Academic list with her third straight appearance, posting a 3.80 GPA as a Computer Engineering major. In addition, Rouvillois made the All-Academic Team for the first time while Cooke and Skaras received honorable mentions for their academic achievements.

Cabell was named WCC co-Coach of the Year for the 2012-13 season as the Broncos went 12-10 overall and 7-1 in conference to earn a share of the WCC regular season championship. The team received a No. 3 seed in the WCC Championships and reached the tournament’s semifinal round for the second straight year. Le took home First Team All-WCC honors in singles and Second Team All-WCC honors in doubles (with partner Agra) in addition to winning the program’s first NCAA Singles Championship match. Lamble and Cooke each earned WCC Honorable Mention accolades in singles.

In 2011-12, the Broncos achieved their highest ITA ranking in program history (No. 51 — February 28, 2012) as part of a 13-11 season. Santa Clara posted two separate four-match winning streaks and swept Gonzaga and LMU en route to a WCC Championship semifinal appearance. Le set a single-season school record with 27 victories and was tabbed WCC Player of the Year as well as being named First Team All-WCC singles, First Team All-WCC doubles (with partner Agra) and a CoSIDA All-District Academic All-American. Le broke Sarah Duncan’s school record of 26 wins, which had stood since 1997 (15 seasons). Three-year captain Kacie Wagner earned All-WCC Honorable Mention honors.

The Broncos set a program record with a .739 winning percentage as part of a 17-6 season in 2010-11. Santa Clara made the ITA national rankings six times during the season; the Broncos made the poll only three times in program history prior to the 2010-11 campaign. Le earned the second WCC Freshman of the Year honor in Bronco women’s tennis history and was named Second Team All-WCC in singles alongside All-WCC Honorable Mention honorees Wagner and Lamble. Le notched a 25-6 record in the No. 1 singles position and combined with Agra for a 17-4 doubles record. Le and Agra received Second Team All-WCC accolades in doubles while Lamble and McGeorge earned All-WCC Honorable Mention honors in doubles for the second straight year. Le earned an individual ranking as high as No. 110 and a combined doubles ranking as high as No. 74 alongside Agra.

Santa Clara took home fourth place at the WCC Championship in 2009-10 — its highest finish since the 2003-04 season — as part of a very successful campaign. The Broncos went 14-7 overall and 4-2 in conference action, including a seven-match winning streak from March 1 – April 1. The team earned its second ITA national ranking in program history and first since 2004-05 by landing the No. 74 spot in the March 23 poll. Santa Clara’s standout freshman class took home four conference honors; Alex Zaniewski was named Second Team All-WCC with an 11-9 record at No. 1 and No. 2 singles, Lamble and Agra were each named All-WCC Honorable Mention, and the pairing of Lamble and McGeorge went 15-4 to earn All-WCC Honorable Mention distinction in doubles.

In 2008-09, Santa Clara had four players receive all-conference honors for the first time in program history. Stephanie Galainena and Ashley Pane earned All-WCC Honorable Mention honors in singles while the freshman doubles pairing of Wagner and Kimmi Cox earned All-WCC Honorable Mention honors by posting a 10-3 record in the No. 3 position. The Broncos finished 8-10 overall and 2-3 in the WCC, and took seventh place at the conference tournament with a 4-1 win over Gonzaga to close out the postseason.

Despite finishing the 2007-08 season with a 5-18 record, the Broncos made vast improvements both individually and as a team. Seniors Myra Davoudi and Lindsay McBride teamed up to become a threat in every doubles match, while freshman Carmen Pham stepped up and contributed points in singles and doubles right from the start. Davoudi, McBride and Pham each earned All-WCC Honorable Mention honors in singles while Davoudi and McBride earned All-WCC Honorable Mention honors in doubles — the pair went 10-5 overall and 5-0 in conference regular season matches.

Cabell was named head coach on July 16, 2007 after serving as interim head coach during the 2006-07 season. Prior to taking over as interim head coach, Cabell spent two seasons as an assistant under Damon Coupe from 2004-06. He was involved in on-court training, while also serving as the strength and conditioning coach.

Santa Clara recorded a number of big wins during Cabell's interim period as head coach in 2006-07. In the beginning of women's dual action, the Broncos defeated then-No. 22 UC Santa Cruz 6-1. Later in February, the Broncos dominated San Jose State in a Rivalry Series match 6-1. Nearing the end of the regular season, the team fell in a WCC road match against Portland but faced the Pilots again in the WCC Championships and came out with a clutch win, 4-3, to put the Broncos in position for fifth place. While at the conference championships, Pham prevented a sweep by then-No. 18 Pepperdine in the first round matchup as she defeated Anete Bandere at the No. 4 spot (6-3, 6-2). It was the first time since 1995 that a Bronco had won a singles match against the Waves.

Cabell's vast knowledge and solid coaching style helped a number of players have standout campaigns in 2006-07. Under his tutelage, seniors Erika Barnes and Casey Knutson were named Second Team All-WCC in doubles, as they put together one of the top doubles seasons in school history. The pair tied Santa Clara's record for wins with 16, while also pulling out a number of memorable victories. Barnes and Knutson defeated the nation's No. 39 team of Renata Kucerkova and Anastasia Petukhova of Fresno State 9-7 for one of the program's biggest historical wins. Knutson and fellow senior Kim Daniel each earned All-WCC honors and finished in the top 10 all-time in singles wins at SCU. In 2007, Daniel became Cabell's first ESPN The Magazine Academic All-District selection and WCC All-Academic honoree.

As a player, Cabell began his collegiate career at Foothill College before transferring to San Diego State University. He also spent time at Santa Clara as a member of the men's tennis team. He still competes in a number of local tournaments and played competitively in challenger matches and tournament qualifiers for professional tournaments following his collegiate career. Cabell has also worked as an assistant pro at the Los Altos Golf & Tennis Club.