Georgia Tech Sophomore Wins All-American Singles Championship

Pacific Palisades is a long way from home for Irina Falconi, but over the last two years she has been as confident on the courts at Riviera Tennis Club as she would be in her own backyard. A year after she and Georgia Tech teammate Amanda McDowell won the doubles crown at the ITA Women’s All-American Championships, the sophomore from Jupiter, Florida, won the singles title last Sunday, needing less than an hour to upset Georgia’s Chelsey Gullickson, 6-2, 6-1, in the finals. Gullickson, seeded No. 2, held serve to open the match but was broken in the third game and again in the seventh by a player who mixed up her shots and pace so effectively that it threw the Bulldogs’ sophomore off her game. “I really can’t compare one to the other,” Falconi said of her doubles and singles titles. “I love this place. I love the people here. I’ve played Chelsey twice over the last two years and she beat me in three-setters. I didn’t think I had her until she had that backhand long on match point.” Using drop shots and deep slices to slow down the pace, Falconi chose her spots to come in carefully and was content to keep the ball in play until her opponent made an error. “My serve was the least of my worries,” said Gullickson, who was vying to become the first Georgia player to win the singles title since Lisa Crane in 1983. “I was trying not to giver her any free points. I like it out here but it’s a lot different than Athens [Georgia].” One of the unique aspects of this tournament is also one of Falconi’s favorites: girls are invited to stay with local ‘host’ families instead of facing curfew at team hotels–and for the second year straight year she spent the week at Rick and Susie DeWeese’s house in the Marquez neighborhood. “I like to think I use the same strategy with everyone I play,” said Falconi, the No. 8 seed after eking out a 7-5, 7-6 (6) semifinal victory over Washington’s Venise Chan, who had eliminated defending champion Kelsey McKenna of Arizona State the round before. “Every tournament I play I intend to win–that’s the goal,” Falconi said. “I strongly believe the score doesn’t tell the whole story.” Riviera was hosting the event for the 25th consecutive time. The last player to repeat as singles champion was California’s Suzi Babos in 2006-07. “I’m going to try to defend next year and the year after that for sure,” said Falconi, who won 30 singles matches and earned Campbell/ITA All-American honors as a freshman for the Yellowjackets last fall. Gullickson, also a sophomore, was extended to three sets twice in the early rounds and even though her two matches prior to Sunday’s final were straight sets victories, three of the four sets were decided by tiebreakers. In the consolation draw, Notre Dame’s Kali Krisik and Kristy Frilling beat Clemson’s Josipa Bek and Ina Hadziselimovic to capture the doubles title and Fresno State’s Anastasia Petukhova swept Yasmin Schnack of UCLA, 6-4, 6-3, in the singles final. Falconi was not the only player to win her second Riviera title on Sunday. An hour and a half later, so too did Caitlin Whoriskey, who paired with Tennessee teammate Natalie Pluskota to capture the doubles championship with a 3-6, 6-1, 6-0 victory over Florida freshmen Lauren Embree and Allie Will in an All-SEC final. Now a senior, Whoriskey won the doubles title here two years ago with a different partner, classmate Zsofia Zuber. This time, Whoriskey and Pluskota had to knock off three of the nation’s Top 20 duos to reach the finals, including an 8-3 triumph over Stanford’s No. 2-ranked Hilary Barte and Lindsay Burdette in the quarterfinals. “Knowing the surroundings and the environment and having won it before definitely helps but you still have to play smart and make your shots to win,” said Whoriskey, who felt comfortable all week at the home of Rustic Canyon resident Jill Baldauf. “It’s a good way to start the season. We’ll see them again in dual matches and that doubles point really counts so hopefully we can draw from this.” The Volunteers’ tandem looked overmatched in the first set as Embree and Will mixed pinpoint passing shots with well-placed topspin lobs to break Pluskota in the second game and Whoriskey in the eighth to build a 5-3 lead. With Embree serving at 40-15, Pluskota netted a forehand return and suddenly the Gators’ twosome was one set away from the championship. However, the Tennessee tandem regrouped and seized every opportunity to rush the net and finish the point. The strategy worked, and in a game that went to six deuces the Vols took a 4-0 lead in the second set when Embree fell down lunging for a forehand volley. Whoriskey hit three volley winners as she and Pluskota broke Embree to open the third set. Pluskota consolidated the break with an overhead smash and hit a clean winner to break Will for a 3-0 advantage. Twelve minutes later it was all over and this year’s final champions were crowned. “We came in ready and match tough, they just played better the last two sets,” Will said. The Kogan Family has been hosting players for five years and mother Pam was delighted to have Embree and teammate Marrit Boonstra visit this time. “They are the nicest girls and their coach said it really helps them to stay relaxed and play better if they like the place they’re staying.” Florida’s duo was unseeded yet advanced all the way through qualifying and the main draw before coming up one set short in the finals. Still, they showed the maturity of more experienced players with a 6-4, 2-6, 6-2 semifinal upset of North Carolina’s No. 4-ranked Sophie Grabinski and Sanaz Mirand. “At the beginning we knew they were both going to play back so we wanted to be more aggressive and force them to make winners,” Whoriskey said. “In the first set we were one or to steps behind so we weren’t getting after it fast enough. Fortunately, we were able to turn it around.”

Certain moments in sports are etched indelibly in the minds and hearts of those who lived them or watched them as they happened. The end of Game Six of the 1975 World Series between the Boston Red Sox and Cincinnati Reds was one of those unforgettable moments and now best-selling author Mark Frost retells the story of that magical night like only he can in his latest literary work “Game Six,” which he talked about last Thursday evening at Village Books on Swarthmore. “I was on a book tour in Boston and asked one of my audiences if there was anyone who doesn’t remember where they were when Fisk hit the home run. Not a single hand went up,” Frost said. “Then I asked ‘Does anyone here not know someone who was there?’ Again, not one hand was raised. Finally, I asked ‘Does anyone here not think Luis Tiant belongs in the Hall of Fame?’ No one moved a muscle–and that’s when I knew I was indeed in Boston.” Frost, who lives in Los Angeles and grew up a Dodgers fan, decided to write the book because he remembers watching the game as a kid and the feeling that has stayed with him ever since. “I wanted to go back in time and describe to the reader what it was like to be there,” Frost explained to Village Books guests, many of whom purchased signed copies of the book. “In order to devote two years of your life to a project like this the event has to be extraordinary–this was; it has to be full of remarkable people–this was; and it has to have happened at the right time in history for it to be meaningful–and this clearly did.” One of the first people Frost contacted about “Game Six” was the Reds’ then manager Sparky Anderson, whom he described as a ‘chronic worrier.’ The two of them watched a tape of the game together and Frost said Anderson got so worked up that he had to take a break every four innings, as if the game was going to end differently. “I talked to 100 people who were there–from the groundskeeper to the organist, to the players, the managers, coaches and sportswriters,” Frost said. “At that time the Red Sox were worth between $11 and $12 million–and that included Fenway Park. Today, the franchise is worth north of $900 million.” The book not only delves into the lives of the people involved–most notably Tiant and his father–a former major leaguer himself who lived in Castro’s Cuba and didn’t see his son for 14 years, it also examines the structure of the game, which would change forever the next season with the advent of free agency. Before leaving for the book signing Frost was at home watching the dramatic ending of the Dodgers-Cardinals playoff game (the Dodgers rallied to win in the bottom of the ninth) and equated that to the feelings inspired by the events of his book. “There’s something about those moments that touches all of us and lifts the human spirit,” he said. “The games don’t have any real bearing on life but in them we see people at their best when they deliver in the clutch and it inspires us to be the best we can in whatever it is we do.” Frost previously wrote several notable golf books, “The Greatest Game Ever Played: A True Story,” a nonfiction account of the 1913 U.S. Open; “The Grand Slam: Bobby Jones, America and the Story of Golf”; and ‘The Match: The Day the Game of Golf Changed Forever.” “Baseball and golf have something in common–there’s no clock,” said Frost, a former TV writer and producer who co-wrote episodes for Hill Street Blues and the Six Million Dollar Man. “There’s a lot of time between pitches or between golf shots to describe the scene. That’s why those sports have produced some of the best writing we’ve ever had.” Signed copies of “Game Six” are available at Village Books (1059 Swarthmore Avenue).

Head Coach Kelly Loftus liked most of what he saw from the Palisades High varsity football team last Friday night. The few things he didn’t like, however, are what ultimately cost the Dolphins a chance to win their first game of the season. Franklin was heavily favored going into the game but was unable to pull away until late in the fourth quarter, settling for a pedestrian 24-7 win. The turning point in the game came in the waning seconds of the first half, when Malcolm Creer intercepted a pass by Panthers’ quarterback Cesar Hernandez at the goal line and raced up the left sideline for an apparent touchdown that would’ve given Palisades a 14-10 lead. A holding penalty negated the score and the Dolphins’ offense sputtered in the second half. “I’m not disappointed with our effort–that was there all night long,” Loftus said. “We just have to stop shooting ourselves in the foot. This game went exactly the way us coaches wanted. It was right there for the taking'” Palisades’ defense was sparked by the return of senior linebacker and captain Casey Jordan, back on the field for the first time since he suffered a concussion in the season opener at Hollywood. That defense stopped Franklin twice on fourth down and intercepted two passes–one by Creer and the other by Hakeem Jawanza in the fourth quarter. Quarterback Preon Morgan completed 4 of 8 passes for 8 yards, including a 7-yard touchdown pass to Kevin Mann on the Dolphins’ first drive. Joe Brandon rushed 7 times for 45 yards, Creer added 35 yards in seven carries and Mann had three catches. Brandon and Lawrence Villasenor each had eight tackles on defense while Jeremy Smith and Juan Climaco added seven apiece for Palisades (0-5). Hernandez threw for 170 yards and two touchdowns and Eugene Gandara had six catches for 75 yards for the host Panthers (3-1). The scoreboard malfunctioned before kick-off so officials kept time on the field. “This was our best game so far and I like that we’re improving,” Loftus said. “We’re starting league and it’s a whole new season now. Four wins should get us into the playoffs and we still have a shot at that.”

After a sluggish first half, the Palisades High frosh/soph football team dominated the last 24 minutes to beat Franklin, 27-15, last Friday afternoon in Los Angeles. The host Panthers led 7-0 at the break and seemed poised to deal the Dolphins their second straight defeat. However, Jauan Tate scored on a 4-yard run on Palisades’ first possession of the third quarter and the visitors were off and running. Corey Richardson recovered a fumble and romped 35 yards untouched for Palisades’ second touchdown. Then, midway through the fourth quarter, the Dolphins drove to the Franklin 12-yard-line, where quarterback Nathan Dodson called an audible, faked a hand-off and threw a high-arching pass to Dylan Hellberg for a touchdown. With Nate Dodson holding, Ricky Lynch kicked his third point-after. With less than five minutes left in the fourth quarter, Tate scooped up a Panthers’ fumble and returned it for Palisades’ final touchdown. “I was pleased by the team’s response at halftime and I’m thrilled we got back in the win column,” Head Coach Ray Marsden said. “However, if we play poorly in the first half against Westchester next week the outcome will be very unpleasant.” Palisades’ frosh/soph hosts Westchester at 4 p.m. Friday at Stadium by the Sea, followed by the varsity game at 7.

After outscoring University in their Western League openers the Palisades High girls’ and boys’ varsity cross country teams wanted to remain undefeated with victories over Hamilton. That’s just what they did last Thursday at Pierce College. Senior Carlos Bustamante won the boys’ race in 15:58–his fastest time so far this season–and sophomore Grant Stromberg came in second with a career-best time of 16:18. Freshman Drake Johnston and junior Danny Escalante ran personal-bests for the season to tie for third place and sophomore Daniel Hernandez finished sixth in 18:19. Freshman Jacklyn Bamberger again led the girls with a first-place finish and season-best 19:26, followed by sophomore Sophia Stone in second in a season-best 20:43, sophomore Melissa Tallis in third in a season-best 21:23 and junior Wendy Gomez in fourth in a career-best 22:04. Senior Jamilett Maldonado finished fifth in 23:06. The boys’ varsity will run in the Castaic Lake Invitational this Saturday before returning to league competition October 29 against Venice.

The final match of the 2009 polo season at Will Rogers State Historic Park could not have been scripted any better. Like a scene from a Hollywood movie it was decided in overtime and when the mallets were put away and the saddles taken to the barn Perennial Financial Services had defeated Jennifer Lowe, mortgage broker, 11-10, in a thrilling championship game of the 17th annual Pacific Palisades Chamber of Commerce Polo Tournament. Honorary Mayor Gavin MacLeod, Chamber President Ramis Sadrieh and current Mr. and Miss Palisades Wyn Delano and and Sabrina Giglio, were among those who participated in the Throwing-in of Ball ceremonies. Then, it was time for players and their mounts to take the field. “It turned out to be a wonderful day,” said the Chamber’s Executive Director Arnie Wishnick, who estimated close to one thousand people came to watch. “It was one of the biggest crowds we’ve ever had. Everyone had a great time, ate plenty of food and saw some great polo.” The 4-Goal game pitted resident pros Domingo Questel and Ernie Darquea against each other, with Questel leading Perennial Financial Services and Darquea leading the Jennifer Lowe, mortgage broker side, which built a seemingly insurmountable four-goal lead late in the third chukker. However, Questel tied the game on a penalty shot with 14 seconds left in regulation, setting the stage for teammate Bill Davis’ game-winning goal–his fifth of the match–with 5:27 left overtime. There was a reversal of fortunes this year, as last year’s 4-Goal champion Body Inspired Fitness won the 2-Goal trophy this year and last year’s 2-Goal winner Perennial won this year’s 4-Goal championship. “That was probably the most exciting championship game I’ve seen in the 15 years I’ve been calling the Chamber Tournament,” announcer Al Epstein said. “The fans were really into it. I have so much fun doing the play-by-play. I’m sad to see the season end.” Other team sponsors were Anthony Marguleas at Amalfi Estates, Pacific Palisades Lions Club and Sanda Alcalay at Sotheby’s International Realty.

For three quarters of last Friday night’s game the Palisades High varsity football team stood toe-to-toe with host Granada Hills and seemed poised to end its three-game losing streak. Then the ghost of John Elway seemingly took over the body of Highlanders’ quarterback Joshua Szin, who started running and passing like the 1979 alum after whom the campus stadium is named. Szin rolled out of the pocket and threw a 26-yard strike to Robert Dorman on the first play of the fourth quarter, then scrambled for a first down to set up the clinching touchdown six minutes later and Granada Hills held on to defeat the Dolphins, 28-21, and reclaim the Charter Bowl trophy–its reward for winning the annual grudge game between the City Section’s two charter high schools. “No one should be hanging their heads,” Palisades Coach Kelly Loftus told his players during his post-game speech. “Those guys in green [Granada Hills] didn’t beat us, we beat ourselves by making a few mistakes. Those are things we can correct. We did some good things in this game and we can build on those.” The Dolphins played hard for 48 minutes, they simply ran out of time. After Lawrence Villasenor returned a kick-off 25 yards to the 46-yard-line Palisades marched 54 yards in eight plays, scoring on Malcom Creer’s 4-yard run and adding the two-point conversion on Preon Morgan’s quarterback keeper to pull within a touchdown with 35 ticks left. Alex Anastasi’s line drive onside kick was smothered at midfield by cornerback Christian Johnson and, on the next play, Szin took a knee to run the final seconds off the clock. “Penalties hurt us, we had some incomplete passes, but to win you need the whole team,” said Palisades fullback Joe Brandon, who rumbled for 65 yards in just 10 carries, all of it on hand-offs between the tackles. “At halftime we were told to pound it inside more and we did. Every game we’re getting closer and closer.” Palisades (0-4) forced a three-and-out on the Highlanders’ first possession and took over at Granada Hills’ 24-yard-line following a shanked punt by Josh Goldman. The Dolphins couldn’t capitalize, however, as Alex Anastasi was wide left on his 32-yard field goal try. Undaunted, Palisades drove 45 yards in six plays on its next possession for the first score of the game–a 5-yard run by Brandon. Anastasi added the extra point and the Dolphins led in a game for the first time since a short-lived 3-0 advantage in their season opener against Hollywood. After Creer’s weaving 63-yard touchdown run was negated by a holding penalty, Granada Hills (2-2) scored on a 12-yard run by Jonathan Powell, who would finish with 116 yards in 20 carries. Jesus Rubio’s extra-point try hit the right upright, leaving the host Highlanders behind by one point. Dorman pounced on Kemonta Reed’s fumble at Palisades’ 48-yard-line on the next series and Granada Hills scored five plays later on a 1-yard plunge by Oscar Ortiz. Szin hit Dorman on a crossing rout for the two-point conversion and the Highlanders led 14-7 with 5:10 remaining in the first half. “We showed vast improvement tonight,” Loftus said afterward. “Our ability to run the ball was real encouraging. The kids came together as a group and played a very emotional game. It’s disappointing that we came up a little short but I was pleased with our effort.” Palisades answered the Highlanders’ score by putting together its best drive of the game. Morgan found Creer over the middle for a 30-yard gain and escaped the pocket to pick up a key first down at the Highlanders’ 6-yard-line on third and long. Brandon capped the drive by dragging four defenders with him into the end zone 35 seconds before halftime. Defensive lineman Andrew Hardin shot through the line and blocked Anastasi’s extra-point attempt and Granada Hills took a 14-13 lead to the locker room. “I really thought we had them,” Brandon said. “We had just scored and we knew we were getting the ball first in the second half so we felt pretty good about our situation.” The teams traded punts to open the third quarter. Palisades moved into field goal range on its next possession but Hardin reached up and deflected Anastasi’s 44-yard attempt. Dorman scooped up the bouncing ball and returned it to the Dolphins’ 49-yard-line, setting up Granada Hills’ nine-play go-ahead touchdown drive. Morgan completed 5 of 9 passes for 91 yards and rushed eight times for 58 yards. Creer ran for 42 yards in 13 carries and had three receptions for 79 yards. Kevin Mann added two catches for 12 yards. Brandon, Juan Climaco and Hakeem Jawanza each had seven tackles on defense and Samuel Robertson and Christopher Walker had two apiece and Morgan, Ryan Harris and Georgi Chukhbazob each added five. Palisades shut out the Highlanders, 21-0, last season at Stadium by the Sea for its lone victory in four Charter Bowl games. Frosh/Soph In a tight defensive struggle that one might expect between two undefeated teams, Palisades’ frosh/soph squad played hard but lost to host Granada Hills, 14-7, last Friday afternoon at John Elway Stadium. The host Highlanders (4-0) took a 7-0 lead in the first quarter on a 1-yard touchdown run and point-after kick by quarterback Patrick Cassilly. Granada Hills threatened to score again late in the second quarter but Dolphins’ freshman linebacker Spencer Sawai intercepted a Cassilly pass and returned it 95 yards for a touchdown. Ricky Lynch made the point-after kick to tie the score 7-7. Both defenses dominated in the third quarter. Palisades thought it had scored when Lynch boomed a punt from midfield that touched a Granada Hills player at the 3-yard line and bounced into the end zone, where it was recovered by freshman Jack Jordan. The officials huddled and, after a lengthy discussion, ruled a touchback. “That was a bad break for us because we thought we’d scored,” Palisades Head Coach Ray Marsden said. “We knew it was going to be tough coming here and our bus was late so we only had a few minutes to warm up. We just couldn’t get clicking on offense. We fumbled twice in the first half and couldn’t complete a pass, yet we were in it right to the end.” Late in the fourth quarter Cassilly surprised the Dolphins’ defense with a 62-yard pass to Brandon Arnold for the go-ahead touchdown and Cassilly’s extra-point gave the Highlanders a 14-7 lead. Palisades (3-1) was unable to convert on fourth down with 1:32 left and the Highlanders took possession and ran out the clock.