There are currently not enough players to field a roster for the El Camino College men’s and women’s tennis teams next season.
At the time of publication, there are only six students in the men’s team and eight in the women’s team. El Camino tennis coach Sergiu Boerica is preparing both teams for the next season, set to begin in the spring 2024 semester.
Boerica is supposed to choose six individual players to play singles and doubles matches on both teams. Due to the current lack of players, those who play singles will also play doubles.
“We will compete but [it] doesn’t mean that we will be successful and have the same record [as previous seasons],” Boerica said. “The results will be affected by the freshness of the new team.”
Since all the men’s players from last spring’s season left and the women’s team was discontinued earlier this year, the players in both teams are new to the program.
The Union reported back in February on the El Camino women’s tennis season cancelation one year after winning the state championship because the college couldn’t find a new coach in time, resulting in a delay in player recruitment.
Psychology major Kamila Bustos, 19, said she was the only player on the women’s team when she signed up in the winter 2022 semester but there were not enough players on the roster to have a team for that upcoming season.
“There was just us [two] and we would come an hour before the [men’s class],” Bustos said. “Technically, there was no [women’s] team because you have to have like five or six [players],”
Bustos said more women with high school tennis experience joined the team this semester, with some scouting from Boerica.
“It’s really awesome to see that it went from two to eight [players],” Bustos said.
Dean of Health Sciences and Athletics Russell Serr said El Camino hired a new coach once the previous coach, Steven Van Kanegan, filed an official resignation after the spring 2022 season.
Because the coach who was supposed to step in did not take the job, it was difficult for Boerica to get a team together when he was hired earlier this year in spring.
“No fault of [Boerica], it was no fault of [human resources], no fault of any of the applicants or the committee,” Serr said. “It was due to circumstances from the coach that we initially hired eventually turning down the job at the very last minute.”
Boerica used to be the assistant coach of the Pepperdine University men’s tennis team and the Loyola Marymount University women’s tennis team. He is also the owner of the Jaguar Tennis Academy which helps train players’ skills in the sport.
When Boerica learned the tennis coaching position became available again in September 2022, he sent his resume to El Camino Athletics Director Jeffrey Miera.
Boerica was hired four months later.
“[Boerica] came in at the very last minute, but he’s done a good job,” Serr said. “He’s been working really hard to build the team back up and get the numbers.”
