Dolphins Duo Captures City Tennis Crown

By STEVE GALLUZZO | Sports Editor

The question wasn’t whether or not Palisades High would win the City Individual doubles championship on Wednesday, the question was which Dolphins duo would it be?

After numerous service breaks in both sets, sophomore Diego Huttepain and freshman Henry Lovett defeated seniors Alex Liu and Jared Fong, 6-4, 6-4, in a spirited match at Balboa Sports Center in Encino.

Seeded No. 1 in the 32-team draw, Huttepain and Lovett didn’t drop a set on the way to the title, although it appeared they might let the first set slip away in the final.

“I was more confident we’d win this year because I have a better partner but it was still hard,” said Huttepain, who won the title last season with senior Barron Chavez, who graduated last spring. “I chose to play with Henry and the competition was a lot tougher than last year, so I don’t know if I would’ve won with someone else.”

Lovett was paired with Fong at the High School All-American Invitational earlier in the season and admitted it was hard for either team to get into a rhythm.

“We were able to win a few key points here and there and that was really the difference,” said Lovett, who hit a forehand winner passing shot to break Liu and level the second set at 4-4. “We know their games, but they also know us.”

Asked if they would reunite to defend their title next spring, neither would say but both will be trying to crack the Dolphins’ singles lineup. Seeing two of his doubles teams match up in the finals is nothing new for Pali High Coach Bud Kling, who usually opts not to talk strategy with either side during changeovers.

“It was a very tight match and it could’ve gone either way,” Kling said. “It’s tough because what if I tell one team to try something and it works and I tell the other team to counter that and it doesn’t work?”

Fong lamented what might have been.

“Every game there was at least one point that could’ve gone either way,” he said. “We had so many groundstroke rallies. At the net we were trying to keep it away from Diego.”

Liu, who has committed to UC Berkeley along with his twin brother Kevin, said he felt nervous  playing his own teammates.

“I should’ve been more daring at the net and pick off more balls,” he said. “We were seeded No. 2 and made the final, so that’s good. It’s helpful to play with someone you know.”

In the third-place match, fifth-seeded Kevin Liu and Jack Harrington lost 7-6(3), 6-4 to third-seeded Sebastian Prokic and Daniel Lin of Granada Hills.

Having already won their eighth straight team championship, the Dolphins were seeking their second consecutive triple crown (sweeping the City team, singles and doubles  titles), but in the singles final Granada Hills junior Ryan Nuno upset Palisades sophomore Jake Sands, the No. 2 seed, 6-2, 7-5.

“Nuno got ahead early, then caught fire and got into a groove with his serve that made it hard for Jake to break,” Kling said. “Jake wasn’t playing his best, but give the other kid credit. He hit some big shots when he had to.”

Nuno’s win was even more improbable coming the day after his 6-7(6), 7-6(3), 6-3 semifinal victory over Palisades’ top-seeded and defending champion Ben Goldberg.

Sands led 5-4 in the second set, but Nuno held serve to tie it, then broke on the winner-take-all deuce point for a 6-5 lead. He got in four sizzling first serves to close out the match.

“Today I felt like I was worrying too much on who I was playing,” said Sands, who lost to Goldberg in last year’s final. “This has been a long stretch with a lot of matches over the last month. I’m definitely disappointed but I have to use it as a learning experience.”

Nuno believes a more positive mental approach allowed him to turn the tables on Sands, who had beaten him 6-1 two weeks earlier in the City team finals.

“The thing that helped me the most the last two days was my attitude toward these matches,” said Nuno, who won his first City singles title as a freshman in 2014. “In the end, I just wanted it more. Ben is an amazing player. He gets so many balls back and that hurts you mentally. Jake, on the other hand, is a more aggressive player and you can’t give him anything or he’ll run with it.”

Weakened by the flu, Goldberg bounced back from his three-hour marathon against Nuno  to beat his nemesis, third-seeded Zac Brodney of LACES, 6-1, 6-4.

“I’d played him seven times and lost all seven,” said Goldberg, a senior headed to UCLA. “He’s a lefty with a big serve and a great forehand. In the past I’ve played to his backhand too much. This time, I tried to get the points over quicker, but in a high-percentage way. Maybe me being sick and Ryan  being tired helped us both concentrate better today.”