Tennis Tops Crossroads

As he walked off the court after winning his first match of the season, Ben Goldberg showed almost no emotion. He knows it’s a marathon, not a sprint, and the race has just begun for the Palisades High boys tennis team.

“Winning City is always the goal, but I’d like to go for the Individual title again,” said Goldberg,  who won 6-0, 6-0 at No. 1 singles to lead the Dolphins’ 7-0 shutout of Crossroads on Monday at the Palisades Tennis Center. “Our singles lineup is one of the strongest around and once our doubles guys get used to playing with each other we’ll be even better.”

The Dolphins dropped four games in 14 sets against Crossroads in the debut of freshman Jake Sands, who won 6-0, 6-1 at No. 3 singles. Lucas Bellamy won 6-1, 6-0 at No. 2 singles and Jake’s  older brother RJ Sands won 6-0, 6-0 at the No. 4 spot.

“I wasn’t sure what to expect [in high school], but it’s fun because I get to practice with a good group of guys,” said Jake Sands,  one of the top players in the nation in the Boys 14s. “We want to get as far as we can in state and do well a the Fresno Tournament.”

Palisades is seeking its seventh consecutive City Section title and in preparation head coach Bud Kling has scheduled several strong Southern Section schools.

“We’re playing Division I this year in Fresno [at the California Tennis Classic] and that’ll test us,’ said Goldberg, who is ranked in the top 20 in Southern California in the Boys 16s. “We’ll have a better idea where we are after that.”

Bailey Joseph, one of the Dolphins’ co-captains along with Goldberg, partnered with Diego Huttepain to win 6-1, 6-0 at No. 1 doubles against the Roadrunners.

Jack Harrington and Arvin Hedayaty won 6-0, 6-0 at the No. 2 spot and Jordan Siebel paired with Joseph Nahm to win 6-0, 6-1 at No. 3 doubles.

Senior Barron Chavez, who just joined the team after playing on the Dolphins’ soccer squad, is looking forward to getting back on the court.

“It’s hard to jump right into it, but the footwork in soccer transfers over,” Chavez said.

Palisades travels to Beverly Hills today at 2:30 p.m. and opens league March 2 against LACES.