2004 – New Experiences
Coach Castillo took over the Boy’s
Tennis Program prior to the 2004 season. When try-outs were announced for that
1st season, only 6 students showed up, 4 shy of the minimum required to field a team. After frantically looking for bodies, Coach Castillo recruited several of his former & current students
(at the time), as well as a group of soccer players who were desperate for a spring sport, so that they could keep their same
schedules, and ended up with 18 players. The vast majority of those players had
never even played tennis before, while a few of the others had very limited experience.
This would prove to be a big challenge as the elite teams in the Marine League and in the L.A. City Section consistently
inherit experienced players, with many of those experienced players having up to 10 years of tennis experience and private
instruction.
The first season was rough. The Pilots had no pre-season/practice matches and took 6 very lop-sided losses to San Pedro, Carson & Narbonne by a combined margin of 39 games to only 3.
Those 3 teams proved to be the elite schools in the Marine League, finishing in a 3-way tie for 1st place
(all 3 teams were 8-2). Despite that fact, a lot of progress was made, as the
overall scores improved throughout the season. The team won 4 contests against
Washington and Gardena, cementing
a good starting point, with a 4-6 record. Additionally, even though JV competition
is unofficial/optional, something else that gave us hope for the future was that our JV team was undefeated (10-0).
2004
Schedule & Results (4-6 Overall/League, 4th Place)
Non-League
None
1st Half
2nd Half
San Pedro
L 7-0
San Pedro L 7-0
Gardena W 5-2
Gardena
W 4-3
Washington W 5-2 (7-0 Officially)
Washington
W 5-2 (7-0 Officially)
Narbonne L 6-1
Narbonne
L 6-1
Carson L 7-0
Carson
L 6-1
Most
Valuable Player: Randy Ngo
Most
Improved Player: Nathan Johnson
Playoffs:
Team:
None
Individuals:
Singles: None
Doubles: None
