Supreme Court-Ship

Melissa Esmero was already over the disappointment of losing the Southern Section individual final to San Marino’s Luana Magnani. Esmero, a Mater Dei senior, meant it when she remarked after the loss that she was ready to begin a new chapter.

After spending the weekend away from tennis, Esmero was back on the court Monday at Los Caballeros Racquet Club, hitting serves with her longtime coach, Wojtek Pietrowski. She spent the day running three miles and working in the gym, sticking and jabbing her way to quicker foot speed and a stronger upper body.

She plans on giving the USC women’s tennis program more than it bargained for.

“I want to do my part,” she said. “If they’re going to commit a full scholarship to me, I’m going to give them all I have.”

But before she gives everything to the Trojans, Esmero had a little receiving left to do at Mater Dei. At the team banquet, Coach Gina Jojola announced that the team MVP award would permanently be called the “Melissa Esmero Award.” And if that didn’t make Esmero blush, Mater Dei girls’ Athletic Director Geri Campeau did when she announced that Esmero’s tennis jersey would be retired in the school’s gymnasium.

“I felt really honored,” Esmero said. “I really made my mark at Mater Dei and that was my goal when I entered here.”

Esmero also made her mark on Orange County high school tennis. For the second consecutive year, she is the Times’ Orange County girls’ tennis player of the year. Esmero led the Monarchs to their second consecutive Southern Section Division II title, compiling a 35-1 singles record and an 18-0 doubles mark. She also became the first county player in four years to reach the section individual finals.

Esmero’s achievement even drew a mention from Bruce Rollinson, Mater Dei’s football coach, at a school assembly.

“I was surprised to hear him say something about me,” Esmero said. “It’s nice to know we have the respect now, even from Coach Rolly.”

So as much as Esmero tries to look ahead, she finds it hard to forget her past.

“The banquet was bittersweet,” she said. “It’s kind of hard to leave it all behind. I’m going to miss my team, especially my best friend, Mary Hung. It’s kind of sad. But I know I have so much going for me.”

Pietrowski remembers when all Esmero had going for her were “those powerful little legs.

“I told her, ‘You have one choice. If you want to be a serious player, you’ll have to work that much harder than everybody else because of your size,’ ” said Pietrowski, Esmero’s coach for nine years.

Esmero still isn’t very big. But at 5 feet 2, she has more game than many players half a foot taller. Trailing 4-1 in the first set to Woodbridge’s Susanna Lingman in the section individual round of 16, Esmero did something most players her size would never think of--she began attacking. She even did a little serve and volleying.

“She’s one of the few high school players who play some serve and volley, and that was big in beating Susanna,” Pietrowski said. “Ninety percent of the girls are baseliners. If you have a good volley, you can win practically every point. I think that’s how she could have beaten Magnani, but she was just too tired to come in.”

Said Jojola: “Melissa had already played three sets in the morning. She was playing on fumes. The legs were like rubber. But she didn’t give in.”

Esmero said she hopes to say goodbye to those rubber legs forever.

“I saw a lot of things in that [Magnani] match that I need to work on,” she said. “I was in pretty good condition, but I guess not good enough. I also know that because of my size, I have to be quicker. I want to get to as many balls as I can. If I can touch the ball, I should be able to hit it.”

If she improves her conditioning as much as her serve, Esmero should be fine. Once a gaping hole in her game, Esmero’s serve is now an asset.

“She’s hitting that serve like she’s 5-8,” Pietrowski said. “Because of her footwork and the extension she gets, it seems like she’s in the air five or six inches. She’s got such power in those legs.”