Finishing the first half of the season with a 5-0 record, the badminton team looks to keep rolling to an unprecedented fifth consecutive South Coast Conference title.

The team is unexpectedly in first place after a first half that saw the return only a handful of players.

“We’re ahead of where we thought we’d be,” coach John Britton said. “Our success has come from a combination of the improvement we’ve shown and the fact that most of the teams aren’t as good as we thought.”

The team played yesterday but results were unavailable at press time.

The women will host Compton on Monday then travel to Pasadena Wednesday. The team will then play in the Orange Empire Tournament April 8 before heading out to East L.A April 20. The team will host Pasadena April 27.

With such a rigorous schedule, it would be a mistake to think that this team is going to effortlessly cruise through the rest of the season.

“The conference title is not out of reach,” Britton said. “But it will not be easy. Pasadena has a very good team.”

Nevertheless, the players are optimistic and with the new players meshing with the older ones, they have formed a dominating group.

Tomoe Oguchi, nicknamed “Tomato” by her coach, continues to dominate as the team’s No. 1 player. The addition of Mayumi Inata has helped even more.

“Mayumi has been a big help,” Oguchi said, who is the No. 2 ranked player on the team. “She is Japanese, so we can communicate.”

“Mayumi has contributed a lot to the team,” Danielle Ruedas, the No. 4 ranked player on the team, said who, combined with No.3 Ida Leong Sok, form a devastating second unit. “She is the biggest surprise of the season.”

The team has benefited from the influx of new players, most of whom are new to the sport.

“I didn’t even know this was a sport,” Marjorie Cortez said. “But once I started playing, I found that it was so fun.”

The players admit that they are lucky to play for a coach who knows the game well and knows how to have a good time.

“We have a wonderful coach,” Cortez said. “He knows when to mess around and make us laugh. He helps us unstress ourselves.”