Dolphins’ Duo Tops City

It was no cause for concern when Che Borja and Kramer Waltke learned they would be playing a team from Granada Hills in the City Individual doubles final Monday afternoon. Why would it be? The Dolphins’ duo had already vanquished Granada Hills’ No. 3 and No. 2 teams, so it was only right they should get a crack at the Highlanders’ top tandem with the championship on the line. The match played out much like the team finals last month: a resounding victory for Palisades that settled all debate over who is the best now and who figures to be the best in years to come. “It’s a different feeling than winning the team title because that required a lot of help from our teammates but this is all about us,” Borja said after the 6-4, 6-0 triumph at Balboa Sports Center in Encino. “I’m proud of us for keeping our focus throughout the tournament and getting better and better each match.” Seeded fourth, the Palisades pair set the tone early against third-seeded Dom Plata and Aaron Goodwein, who had upset the Dolphins’ second-seeded Spencer Lewin and Spencer Pekar in the semifinals. “That’s a good team they played,” Palisades Coach Bud Kling said. “We got ahead early but the other kids caught up at 4-all. They played well, we just played a little better.” The key to the match was the Dolphins’ return of serve. They broke Plata to win the first set, Waltke followed with a love service game and they eventually broke three more times–breaking the Highlanders’ spirit in the process. “I thought we had a good shot [of making the finals] if we kept our poise,” said Waltke, a junior who will return next year to lead the Dolphins’ bid to repeat as team champions. “It would’ve been a little tougher playing our own teammates today because we know them and they know us so well.” Lewin and Pekar, meanwhile, ousted yet another Granada Hills tandem in the third-place match, 6-1, 6-4. Rarely does Kling pair a freshman like Pekar with a senior as seasoned as Lewin but it proved to be an effective union. “We have great chemistry together,” Pekar said. “He’s got a great net game, I’ve got a great baseline game so we complement each other well.” Playing William Chung and Aaron Kim, an unseeded team that had upset Palisades’ top-seeded Jeremy Shore and Kyung Choi earlier in the tournament, Lewin and Pekar stayed consistent and let their opponents make the mistakes. Lewin had overcome a severe case of mono to return to the lineup in time for the team playoffs and was stricken with strep throat in the days leading up to the Individual final. No illness, however, could prevent him from winning his final high school match. “We’re both Spencers so I guess it makes sense that we’re partners,” said Lewin, who is headed for UC Santa Barbara. “We were confident we’d win if we stuck to our strategy but we knew they beat our No. 1 team so we couldn’t take them lightly.”