Dolphins Reclaim City Tennis Title

Palisades Thwarts El Camino Real’s Bid for Record Sixth Straight Section Crown

History was on the line when Palisades met El Camino Real for the City Section boys’ tennis title last Friday at Balboa Sports Center in Encino. Not only were the Dolphins vying for their first title in six years, they were also trying to protect a long-standing record. When it was over, Palisades had prevailed 16 1/2-13, reclaiming the trophy that once was its private property. “This is probably the most improbable title of them all,” said Pali Coach Bud Kling, who has won 27 section titles at the school–15 with the boys and 12 more with the girls. “When you consider that our No. 1 player, maybe the best in the City, quit before the season started, and that we lost two more singles players for various reasons, it’s a tribute to how hard the other guys worked.” Chris Ko, the Dolphins’ top player for three seasons, decided to sit out his senior year in order to concentrate on junior tournaments. Shortly thereafter, Kling suspended No. 2 player Ben Tom for failing to complete the off-season program. And just before the start of the playoffs, the Dolphins were dealt another blow when a third starter was ruled academically ineligible. Yet, through it all, Palisades persevered. “I can’t say this is the most talented team I’ve ever coached, but it may be the most resilient,” Kling said. “Whenever you lose a key player off your roster, it gives someone else an opportunity to step up and we had kids perform at critical times to get us points we needed.” The defeat brought an end to the Conquistadores’ 80-match winning streak and prevented them from establishing a new record for consecutive City titles. The Conquistadores’ five in a row equals the standard set by Palisades from 1969-73 under previous Coach Bud Ware and matched by Kling’s Dolphins from 1995-99. “Palisades won five in a row twice before us,” said El Camino Real coach Marvin Jones, whose team is 92-2 over the last six seasons. “There must be a reason why you can’t get that sixth. But we gave it a good try and I’m glad we had a shot at making history.” Palisades merely added to its own history with its 25th team title–nearly twice as many as all other City schools combined. The second-seeded Dolphins pulled off the upset Friday primarily because of their superiority in doubles, where they won seven of nine sets. The No. 2 team of Sepehr Safii and Mason Hays swept, 6-4, 6-3, 6-2, while Pali’s No. 1 team of Darya Bakhtiar and Seth Mandelkern recovered from a 6-4 loss to win its last two sets, 6-4, 6-1. “We wanted to stop them from breaking our record, sure, but we also wanted to pay them back for beating us two years ago,” said Pali co-captain Neema Ghiasi, recalling Pali’s crushing 26-3 1/2 loss to El Camino Real in the 2003 City final. “I honestly didn’t think we could do it when Chris decided not to play, but when we got to the playoffs we started to feel more confident.” Ghiasi and partner Daniel Burge won two out of three sets at No. 3 doubles, including a 6-3 victory over the Conquistadores’ top duo of Alex Tobin and Jonathan Jacobs. “Our goal was to win eight sets in doubles, but it turned out that we got a few points in singles we weren’t expecting,” added Ghiasi, one of the Dolphins’ co-captains. “I think it surprised them that most of the close sets went our way.” Adam Deloje clinched Palisades’ victory with a 6-0 singles victory over El Camino Real’s Darius Borhan. A junior transfer from Loyola High, Deloje welcomed the pressure associated with being Pali’s No. 1 singles player this season. “I’m so glad to be at Palisades,” Deloje said. “I didn’t like Loyola at all. There were no girls, I didn’t like my classes… this is just a much better fit for me.” Realizing that the championship was one set away, Palisades players lined the fence to cheer their teammate on, as if he needed extra motivation. “I was well aware of the situation,” Deloje confessed. “Sure, I was a little nervous, but I got through it. There’s no way I was going to let the team down.” With the outcome already decided, Surjue dusted off Lang, 6-1, making the final margin more convincing. “What a way to go out,” said Ghiasi, who graduates in June along with Bakhtiar, the Dolphins’ other co-captain. “It doesn’t get any better than this.” The victory was Palisades’ third straight of the playoffs against a West Valley League opponent. Having ousted seventh-seeded Cleveland, 19-10 1/2, in the quarterfinals, the Dolphins advanced to the finals with a 17-12 1/2 win over sixth-seeded Taft last Wednesday. Surjue earned a key singles point by beating the Toreadors’ top singles player, Daniel Sagal, in a tiebreaker, and Palisades was again dominant in doubles, winning eight of nine sets. “They loaded up their singles lineup but it didn’t work because our doubles are so strong,” Bakhtiar said. “Our team is too balanced to try to stack against us.” Taft tied for third in the West Valley, considered the City’s toughest league throughout El Camino Real’s five-year reign. Kling hopes Palisades’ return to glory, along with Fairfax winning the Invitational championship, will earn more respect for the Western League. “A lot of people forgot about us because we haven’t won City in awhile, but we’ve been consistently competitive,” Kling said. “We always win our league and advance to at least the semifinals of the City tournament. Most programs would be very happy with that.” Asked if last Friday’s victory was the start of another dynasty, Kling admitted it is too early to tell. “Based on what’s happened the last few years, with all the players we’ve lost unexpectedly for one reason or another, I’ll have a better idea where we stand in the spring,” he said. “But we’re only losing two seniors, so if everyone comes back, sure, I think we have a legitimate shot to repeat.”