Banning Athletics Tennis Archive

4 PILOTS ADVANCE IN INDIVIDUAL TOURNAMENT

Wednesday, November 28^th marked the first day of the L.A. C.I.F. CITY SECTION INDIVIDUAL DOUBLES PLAYOFFS.  For this doubles championship tournament, only 56 doubles tandems, out of close to 200 doubles teams in the entire city, were selected to participate in the Individual Doubles Playoffs.  Banning entered four pairings: #1 Doubles Nancy Melgoza & Cinthya Monroy, #2 Doubles Adriana Garcia & Veronica Trujillo, #3 Doubles Melissa Hernandez & Norma Santamaria, as well as #4 Doubles Cristina Alvarado & Diana Alvarado.

Pilots Victorious in Historic Matches Marked by Opposite Styles

#1 Doubles Nancy Melgoza & Cinthya Monroy, entering the tournament as one of the top 16-ranked teams in the city, proved that they deserved the respect they earned through their Marine League play, as well as their performance at the L.A. Watts Summer Games in June.  In a match marked by dominance from beginning to end, Melgoza & Monroy jumped out to a quick 5-0 lead in the first set & delivered a great performance expected from one of the Marine League’s very best, closing out the match in straight sets 6-3, 6-2 against Marshall’s top doubles team.

#2 Doubles Adriana Garcia & Veronica Trujillo, on the other hand, played a match that was very much a see-saw affair, as Banning & Westchester exchanged multiple breaks, with both teams mounting several comebacks throughout each set.  After trailing 4-5 in the first set, Garcia & Trujillo focused their efforts to take the next 3 games in a row, winning the set at 7-5.  Staying on that roll, they jumped out to a 4-2 lead in the 2^nd set before the Comets mounted their own comeback, tying the Pilots at 6-all, forcing a tie-break.  Things looked less-than-promising as Westchester started out fast 2-0, before the Lady Pilots refocused their efforts and took 7 of the next 9 points to close out the victory in dramatic fashion.

The two victories represent the first time, in at least the past 10-15 years, that the Pilots have advanced more than one playoff entry into the round of 32.  This historic step, now places these Pilots among the city’s elite, and is symbolic of the tremendous progress the team has made over the last few years.

Two Pilots’ Losses Also a Tale of Opposites

#4 Doubles Cristina Alvarado & Diana Alvarado, excited to have an unexpected opportunity to the play in the tournament, unfortunately were unable to overcome their nerves & a tough Garfield opponent.  Although the final score of 6-1, 6-0 didn’t show it, they played many tough points & challenged the Bulldogs to make plays.

#3 Doubles Melissa Hernandez & Norma Santamaria, on the other hand, also played a tight match marked by extremes.  In an interesting coincidence, these Lady Pilots were confronted with the opportunity to avenge the team’s quarterfinal playoff match vs. Bell.  They faced a tough Bell team that was looking for a little revenge of their own.  Their loss to Banning’s #2 Doubles, Garcia & Trujillo, was their team’s only loss during that quarterfinal playoff match.  That only inspired Hernandez & Santamaria, however, as they consistently played well vs. Garcia & Trujillo in practice.

After the nerves wore off following a quick loss in the 1^st set 3-6, the Pilots came back extremely strong, dominating their opponents 6-1 in the second set, to force a deciding 3^rd set.  The format of that 3^rd set, however, would prove to be the Lady Pilots’ undoing.  Rather than playing a full 3^rd set to decide the match, IAC decided to make all 1^st and 2^nd round matches subject to a best of 2 format, whereas the 3^rd set is a one-game tie-break to 10 points.  After building up all of the momentum in the second set, this quick-paced tie-break cut into the Pilots’ momentum, and before they were able to regroup, they succumbed by a total of 3 points, despite outscoring their opponents 9 games to 8. (Tough Break!)

The Playoffs continue on Friday, November 30^th at the Balboa Tennis Center in Encino, with the first match scheduled at 12:30.  Good luck to the remaining Pilots, as they continue their quest towards a city championship! J

L.A. C.I.F. – CITY SECTION INDIVIDUAL PLAYOFFS

1^ST ROUND RESULTS – TUE. 11/28/07 @ BALBOA TENNIS CENTER – ENCINO, CA