2005 – A Year of Improvement

The 2005 season was an incredibly successful season for the Lady Pilots Tennis Team.  After going 3-10 in ‘04 & not really being competitive in any of the losses, the team had a dramatic improvement & began turning heads in the Marine League, finishing up at 7-6.  In only his second year of coaching the girls’ team, Coach Castillo began the process of building a legitimate tennis program that this school and community can be proud of.

Some of the highlights of the season included a 7-0 victory over Dorsey in which the Pilots completed what may very well be the most dominant victory in the school’s history.  Not only did the Pilots sweep the Dons by winning all 7 matches, but they also outscored them 56 games to 1.  In league play, the Pilots avenged 04’s back-to-back 5-2 defeats against Gardena, by posting back-to-back wins of 6-1, and 4-3.

After having only 1 player with a winning record in 2004, the Pilots had some tremendous results this time around.  Nancy Melgoza, dominated throughout the season going 9-1 in her doubles match-ups, mostly with her regular doubles partner, Edme Nunez, who finished with a 10-2 record.  Margaret Young & Jasmin Morales both finished with 7-3 records, while Cynthia Espinoza added a 5^th player with a winning record at 7-2.

Despite taking a beating all year at #1 singles, Cinthya Monroy showed tremendous heart & determination while posting two upset victories.  The first was against Gardena, in which she came back from literally being 1 point away from defeat. Down 6-3 in the tie-break, she fought hard and pulled out the match winning 8-7 (9-7 in the tie-breaker).  Her second upset was against Carson in which she handed the Pilots their first individual-match victory versus the Colts in at least the last 4 tries, easily winning her match 8-5.

Not only did the team finish with its first winning season in at least the last 10 years, but the team sent 4 players to compete for the LA CIF City Section Championship in the individual doubles playoffs.  Out of over 200 doubles teams in the city, only the top 56 doubles teams make it to the playoffs.  Banning is sent 2 doubles tandems: #1 Doubles Nancy Melgoza & Margaret Young, & #2 Doubles Edme Nunez & Jasmin Morales.  Also, Cinthya Monroy was selected as an alternate to compete for the LA CIF City Section Championship in the individual singles playoffs.

The team looked towards 2006 as a re-building year with 6 of the 10 Varsity starters being lost to Graduation.  However, Coach Castillo has confidence that the team will continue to be successful & competitive and build on the year’s success. 

2005 RECORD: 7-6 Overall, 4-6 League, 4^th Place Marine League

MVP: Nancy Melgoza

Most Improved Player: Cinthya Monroy

PLAYOFFS

Team: None

Individuals        Singles:             None

                        Doubles:   Nancy Melgoza/Margaret Young (Rd. of 32)

                                        Jasmin Morales/Edme Nuñez (1^st Round)