Ben and Caroline Goldberg Score Doubles, Singles Wins

While it is customary to see Palisadians making an individual impact on the tennis world, Ben and Caroline Goldberg accomplished something unique at the 62nd Annual Central California Junior Tournament in Bakersfield on March 25.
Though both won individual titles, their sweetest feat was winning the 14-and-under mixed doubles event. Defeating Kento and Yuka Perera of Santa Barbara, 10-7, in the finals, the Goldbergs rekindled memories of the 2011 Arcadia Open, the only other time they played a tournament together.
“We don’t play often – this is pretty rare actually,” said Ben Goldberg, 14. “But we haven’t lost together yet. It took a few games to get going because we hadn’t played together in a while, but when we figured it out everything started working.”
Ben is a freshman at PaliHi, where he plays singles, and also attended Marquez Elementary and Paul Revere. His regular doubles partner, Connor Rapp of Palm Desert, did not make the trip to Bakersfield, which allowed him to play mixed doubles with his sister.
“It was kind of cool,” said Caroline Goldberg, 11, a sixth-grader at Revere who also attended Marquez. “The team we played was highly ranked, so to play them and have my brother on my team was really fun.”
Individually, the Goldberg siblings were hardly tested. Ben breezed through the first three rounds of the 14-and-under field, dropping only two games. In the finals, he beat San Clemente’s Gavin Spencer, 6-3, 6-3.
Caroline, seeded first in her 12-and-under bracket, cruised all the way through, capping her run with a 6-1, 6-1 win off Brittany Lavenant of Camarillo.
Ben and Caroline’s mother, Vicky, can’t quite recall when the two first started playing tennis, only that the game has been a part of their lives for a long time. Vicky played all the way through high school in Northern California before attending UCLA.
Though Vicky did not pursue the game in college, tennis remains a big part of her life, as she often practices with Ben and Caroline at the Palisades Tennis Center and the courts at UCLA. Her husband, Dan, works in athletic compliance at UCLA.
This past weekend in San Diego, Ben Goldberg got off to a hot start in the 79th annual Harper Ink Junior Open, advancing to the round of 16 with three straight victories. In Goldberg’s first two wins, he needed three sets, including a 2-6, 6-4, 11-9 marathon over Fullerton’s Eric Hahn in the opening round.
The tournament will resume this weekend, with Goldberg set to take on Trabuco Canyon’s Harry Cohen.
Also winning at Bakersfield was 12-year-old Palisadian Caroline Vincent, who played up in the 14-and-under division and emerged victorious by beating Bakersfield’s Anastasia Drulias, 6-1, 6-2 in the finals.