Pali Tennis: 19 and Counting

Dolphins Edge Taft, 4-3, to Repeat as City Section Girls’ Tennis Champions

In danger of losing for the first time in over two months, the Palisades High girls tennis team dug deep and played its best when it needed to most. The top-seeded Dolphins had to sweep the final three matches in order to defend their City Section championship against third-seeded Taft last Friday and, one set at a time, that’s just what they did. Palisades’ Audrey Ashraf and Lauren Pugatch notched the clinching point with a 6-4, 6-3 win at No. 1 doubles that lifted the Dolphins (18-2) to a 4-3 victory at Balboa Tennis Center in Encino. It was Palisades’ 19th City title and the eighth time in 10 meetings that the Dolphins vanquished Taft in the final. Moments before Ashraf and Pugatch won, Pali’s No. 3 tandem of Rose Schlaff and Alex Kling beat Taft’s Lital Ruimy and Rachel Shlesinger 6-4, 6-2 to level the match. Kathryn Cullen and partner Erika Lee earned Palisades’ first point with a 6-0, 6-2 win at No. 2 doubles. Several days before, Palisades learned its No. 2 singles player was academically ineligible and would not play in the final. Lauren Pugatch, one of only two seniors in the Dolphins’ lineup, said the rest of the team rose to the challenge: “We were still confident we could win. One of the strengths of our team all season has been our depth.” Taft took a seemingly-insurmountable lead by winning three out of four singles matches, but the advantage was deceiving. “The 3-1 lead didn’t mean anything because those were the ones we were supposed to win,” Taft coach Tom Wright said. “The ones that were in the balance didn’t go our way.” The victory was the girls’ 13th City title under Coach Bud Kling, who not only took personal satisfaction in Pali’s latest victory but was doubly-rewarded watching his daughter Alex play a huge part in the team’s come-from-behind win. “It’s always hard when you have one of your own kids on the team,” he said. “You never want the other players feeling she’s getting preferential treatment, so if anything I was harder on her than anyone else. But she understood and played great under pressure today.” Despite losing seven starters from last year’s playoff roster and having to turn its lineup topsy turvy before the biggest match of the year, Palisades prevailed. “Considering what we lost, this one [title] ranks right up their,” Bud Kling said. “We’re not used to being behind in a match. The pressure was on each and every player to get it done and they stepped it up when they had to.” Fittingly, No. 1 singles player Katy Nikolova began Palisades’ comeback with a 6-2, 6-0 victory over Sarah Cohen in a match between the top two seeds in the City Individuals tournament, which begins Monday. Nikolova admitted not having one of their best players only motivated the Dolphins more. “We’re coming to win no matter what… that was the mood of our team,” she said. “No second thoughts. No negativity.” The West Valley League champion Toreadors (13-3) took a commanding lead when Yuliya Maystruk beat Pali’s Genna Rochlin, 6-3, 6-1, at No. 2 singles, Amanda Spencer beat Yasamin Ghiasi, 6-0, 6-1, at No. 3 and Rebecca Mesropyan defeated Pali sophomore Marina Sterngold, 6-2, 6-0 at No. 4. “I was hoping for a sweep in singles,” Wright said. “Then when Sarah [Cohen] lost I thought our best shot was at No. 3 doubles but we lost that too.” Nikolova could not decide which was better–winning the City championship or successfully defending it. “Every title is great,” she said. “They’re all the best.”