Mary Cabriele came to Franklin & Marshall College as an experienced golfer having won numerous amateur and club championships. Two of the more noteworthy accomplishments included being named the 1979 New York Metropolitan Area Junior Girl's Champion and qualifying for the National Junior Championships where she placed 25th in 1980. Over the years, she also won the Westchester Country Club women's championship five times. Although only 5 feet tall, Cabriele was capable of hitting drives well over 200 yards and scored as low as 73. In 1980-81, she became the first women to play and win a varsity letter on the F&M golf team coached by Fred Daum.

That year, she played in every match with 10 of her 13 scores being in the 80s. Her 87.0 average, from the men's tees, was sixth best on the otherwise all-male team. She also represented F&M in the MAC tournament, becoming the first woman to do so, and was named the team's MVP at the end of the season. In 1981-82, she placed third in the Lebanon Valley Invitational with an 84 and was fourth in the Dickinson Invitational with a 77. Her 87.1 average was again sixth best on the team. Cabriele was the first woman to play in the Eastern Collegiate Athletics Conference tournament where she carded a two-round score of 177 (83-94) against an all-male field. Her junior year saw Cabriele's average drop to 84.4 as she played most matches at the #3 position.

The Diplomat team was exceptionally strong her senior year and although her average improved to 83.0, she played in the #4 position. The team won the MAC championships and qualified for the NCAA Division III Tournament. Once again, Cabriele became the first woman to compete in the NCAA tournament on an otherwise all-male team and did so with distinction. Following her outstanding career, Cabriele was given a prestigious award by the College for her "Outstanding Achievement in a Single Sport."She graduated in 1984 with a degree in government and has worked most recently as a senior account executive with Loughlin Creative in Vienna, Va. Cabriele has also continued to play gold competitively.

In 1991, she won the Virginia State Division I Women's Amateur Championship. The following year she was a member of the Virginia State Women's Team. In 1994, she set the woman's course record at Fox Chase Golf Club in Denver, Pa, during an alumni golf outing.