There was an air of familiarity at Balboa Sports Center before the start of Friday afternoon’s City Section Division I tennis final.
For the fifth consecutive year, Palisades and Granada Hills met for the girls title and for the third straight time it was Palisades that left with the trophy.
The Dolphins needed a mere 44 minutes to clinch their 23rd section crown and fittingly it was senior captains Madeline Prins and Elizabeth Belokonnyi who earned the fourth and decisive point with a 6-0, 6-0 victory over Granada Hills’ Cassidy Pedraza and Shalini Vijayekumar at No. 1 doubles.
“We had a lot of underclassmen and juniors this year and even though 10 of us got to play today, everyone shares this,” said Belokonnyi, who partnered with Prins to win the City Individual doubles title last fall.
“This is our last year, so we wanted to win and leave behind a nice legacy,” Prins added.
Top-seeded Palisades (22-3) won 6-1, building a 3-0 lead after three one-sided singles wins.
Freshman Caroline Goldberg blanked the Highlanders’ Megan Kim, 6-0, 6-0, at the No. 2 spot; junior Calypso Peraticos beat Joyce Min, 6-1, 6-0, at No. 3; and senior Morgan Swan swept K.C. Redoblado at the No. 4 position. Less than 45 minutes into the best-of-seven match, the Dolphins were on the verge of a threepeat.
“I didn’t know what position I’d be playing until right before the match,” said Peraticos, a transfer from Florida. “I’ve had so much fun here. Everyone’s been so inviting and made me feel part of the team.”
Shortly after Prins and Belokonnyi wrapped up their match, freshman twins and new Highlands residents Sophia and Ireland Amato completed a 6-0, 6-0 win at No. 2 doubles.
“It’s really exciting,” Ireland said. “And we like playing together because we know each other’s games so well. I always play the deuce court and Sophia plays ad since she has a better backhand.”
“This whole season has been great,” Sophia added. “Staying at a motel for the [Sage Hill] Tournament… that’s the biggest memory for me.”
Junior Abby Schleichkorn, who had played singles all season, paired with sophomore Taylor Barfield to beat the Highlanders’ No. 3 duo of Anna Davenport and Ada Hu, 6-0, 6-1.
“I hadn’t played a doubles match [in City] since my freshman year with Lizzie so I was a little surprised when Coach told us, but I’ll do whatever’s best for the team,” Schleichkorn said. “Taylor has a huge serve and set me up for some easy volleys. Doubles is a different game but I love being up at net so I enjoyed it.”
“We’re both pretty good at adjusting, so it worked out fine,” Barfield added. “It was a lot less stressful this year… everyone got along a lot better.”
With the championship secure the Dolphins gathered around the last court to see if No. 1 player Caroline Vincent could complete the shutout by defeating Rena Lin, the top seed for the City Individuals tournament.
Lin prevailed, 6-0, 6-2, to earn the lone point for the second-seeded Highlanders (12-1), who won the West Valley League title under first-year coach Archer Nishioka.
It was the 39th City title for Bud Kling, who returned to coach the girls this season after leading the boys to their record seventh straight section championship in the spring. He was assisted this season by Sam Megowen.
“This is exactly how I expected it to go,” said Kling, who has coached the Dolphins to 23 boys titles and 16 girls titles since 1979. “I knew their No. 1 player was really strong, but I figured we were favored at every other spot. Every time you win City it’s great, but this is special because it’s a brand new group, I was starting from scratch and the conditioning and drilling was more rigorous. I appreciate how receptive the girls were. I think they know the time I put in.”
Friday’s finals culminated one of the most dominating runs in City playoff history, as the Dolphins lost a total of four games in 28 sets in the first two rounds.
— Steve Galluzzo
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