Game, Set, City!

Tennis Tops Taft for Third Straight Title

Too deep, too talented and too determined. That might be the best way to describe the Palisades High girls tennis team this season. After the Dolphins wrapped up their third consecutive City Section championship with a 5-2 victory over Woodland Hills Taft Friday at Balboa Sports Center in Encino, the obvious question was how long Palisades can keep its dynasty going. In a rematch of last year’s final, Palisades showed why it was seeded No. 1 in the tournament and why the Dolphins have won 20 Section titles, including 14 under Coach Bud Kling. Rather than folding under pressure, Palisades rises to the occasion. Just as they did in their 4-3 victory 12 months ago, the Dolphins swept all three doubles matches. Rose Schlaff and Yasamin Ghiasi set the tone, winning 6-0, 6-0, at No. 3 to notch Pali’s first point. “Coach was counting on us to sweep the doubles and that was our mindset,” Schlaff said. “We just took our time and hit our shots when they were there.” Kathryn Cullen and Erika Lee gave the Dolphins a 2-1 lead with a 6-1, 6-2 victory over Taft’s No. 2 tandem of Tammy Zack and Mayan Ruimy. “I was happy to play doubles today,” said Cullen, one of the team’s co-captains and the only current Dolphin to have played in the finals all four years. “I play a little less risky in doubles, especially with Erika. She’s really good at poaching, so I don’t have to take as many chances.” Marina Sterngold then won, 6-3, 6-3, at No. 3 singles to move Pali within one match of a three-peat. “Marina’s victory was critical for us,” said Kling, who reached another personal milestone: his 30th City title since taking over the boys’ program in 1979 and the girls’ in 1984. “She moved up from doubles to singles and played really steady, solid tennis.” Audrey Ashraf and Phoebe Driscoll clinched Pali’s latest championship with a 6-4, 6-4 victory at No. 1 doubles’the Dolphins’ fourth point in the straight-up, best-of-seven format. “Part of the art of arranging your lineup in the playoffs is to get a feel for what matches might take longer,” Kling said. “You want to have people on the court, when you have a couple hundred people yelling and screaming on every point, who will hold up under the pressure.” One of those players is No. 1 player Katy Nikolova, who needed over three and a half hours to pull out a 7-5, 4-6, 7-6(4) victory over Taft’s Sarah Cohen on her 18th birthday. Cohen was trying to avenge her loss in last year’s City individual singles final and the players embraced at the net at the end. “What it came down to is that they are just too strong in doubles,” Taft Coach Tom Wright said. “We had our chances, they were just too tough.” Despite losing to Taft’s Yuliya Maystruk, 6-1, 6-2, at No. 2 singles, freshman Samantha Kogan has been a solid contributor all season and, with Nikolova graduating, could be Palisades’ top player when it goes for four in a row next fall. “I’ve had a great experience this year,” Kogan said. “To win City my first season is great. Hopefully, I can win a few more.”