English teacher Rose Gilbert, age 90, is ready to dig with the help of (left to right) City Councilman Bill Rosendahl, American Legion Commander Lee Barkesdale, PaliHi facilities director Chaz Yench, swim coach Maggie Nance, executive director Amy Held, principal Martin Griffin and chief business officer Greg Wood.
When Palisades High English teacher Rose Gilbert donated another $900,000 for the school’s state-of-the-art aquatic center on July 15, she did so with one stipulation’that the groundbreaking ceremony be held August 1, one day before her 90th birthday. So Gilbert was glowing last Friday when, just as she had requested, officials pool broke ground on the blacktop playground south of the gym’the very spot where she expects students to be swimming by fall 2009. ‘The next goal I have is to ensure that every student at PaliHi is going to be a certified swimmer by the time they graduate,’ said Gilbert, who has been teaching at the school since it opened in 1961. ‘When it’s done I want to be the first person to jump into that pool!’ Gilbert has worked with 14 principals at PaliHi and she recognized four of them — Merle Price, Don Savarese, Linda Hosford and Gloria Martinez (all of whom were on hand) — as part of the lifeblood of PaliHi. New principal Martin Griffin also attended, along with PaliHi facilities director Chaz Yench, athletic director Rich McKeon, chief business officer Greg Wood and parent Jeanne Goldsmith, whose consulting firm was hired to fundraise. ‘Rose is one of the oldest teachers in America,’ PaliHi Executive Director Amy Dresser Held said in her opening statement. ‘She’s amazing, she’s inspiring and her generosity is the reason we’re here today.’ Gilbert’s most recent donation brings her total contribution to $2 million’more than half the estimated $3.5 million needed for the project. Still, as she pointed out, ‘As we dig into the ground, we need people in the community to dig into their pockets to raise the rest of the money.’ The facility, called the Maggie Gilbert Aquatic Center in memory of the teacher’s late daughter and swimmer, will consist of a 12-lane competitive pool and a shallower two-lane instructional pool. ‘Next month will be 20 years since I sat in her class and Rose was 15 years past retirement then,’ said Maggie Nance, PaliHi swim coach and chairman of the pool committee. ‘Thanks to her, today we cross the line from theoretical to practical. In a little over a year, where you sit now will be deep water.’ In October, a party will be held for past PaliHi swimmers to raise money for the project. Carol Pfannkuche, executive director of the Palisades-Malibu YMCA, has donated two lifeguard towers. ‘The secret to a long life is to do things that matter and keep doing them,’ local City Councilman Bill Rosendahl said. ‘I asked Rose once what keeps her going and she told me ‘I’m teaching today, and I will teach tomorrow.” Also addressing the audience were Lee Barkesdale, commander of American Legion Post 283, which made a $50,000 donation to the pool fund; and Jay Flood, parent of three PaliHi graduates and one of the chief architects for the project. When the speeches were over, Yench passed out hard hats and handed Gilbert a golden shovel, which she used to dig up the first pile of dirt. Pictures were snapped, then Held and Nance presented Gilbert with her birthday cake and joined the audience in singing her ‘Happy Birthday.’
A perfect antidote to a stressful week of driving, expensive restaurants and long movie lines is Movies in the Park, now underway once again every Saturday evening in August. This week’s free screening is ‘Ghostbusters,’ rated PG, which starts at dusk on the Field of Dreams at the Recreation Center on Alma Real Drive. ‘Ghostbusters’ is a 1984 sci-fi/comedy/action film about three New York City parapsychologist professors who are fired from the university after their research grants expire. The trio decides to start a ghost exterminating company, and business abounds as ghosts run amok in the Big Apple. Eventually the ‘ghostbusters’ are faced with a supernatural power, an ancient Sumerian goddess named Gozer, who will destroy the world unless they can exterminate her first. The film was directed by Ivan Reitman and stars Bill Murray, Dan Aykroyd, Harold Ramis, Rick Moranis, Sigourney Weaver and Annie Potts. It was the top grossing film of 1984. Last Saturday at 5 p.m., when Movies in the Park board members set up the screen, sound and video systems for ‘Spiderman,’ the field was mostly empty. But by showtime, there were close to 600 people for the fifth year of this community event. Eagle Scout candidates Hank Adelman and Charlie Stilger from Troop 23 sold soda, candy, water and Pringles to help fund their Eagle projects. Black fleece blankets that are embroidered with the Movie in the Park logo were available for $35. A limited number are still left and can be purchased before this week’s movie.. ‘We started coming last year,’ said Palisadian Rob Prins, who viewed the film with his wife Mayumi and daughters Madeline and Ansley. ‘We have to come next week for ‘Ghostbusters.” ‘I miss the hot dogs,’ said Tom Hofer, who has been attending the series every year. He wasn’t the only one who voiced pangs of loss over the dogs. Adam Besserman, who was helping PopStar-Popcorn owner Elana Schwarzman sell varying sized bags of popcorn, said ‘I was looking forward to the hot dogs. I’m not going to lie.’ The first three years, L.A. Recreation and Parks, through Palisades park director David Gadelha, donated the frankfurters and manpower. ‘That was David’s way of giving back to the community, but he was transferred,’ said David Williams, a Movies in the Park board member along with John Wirth, Andy Frew and Brad Lusk. Last year, former Citizen of the Year Mike Skinner donated the hot dogs and manpower, but an additional problem arose this year. ‘I think we can find sponsors to pay for the hot dogs,’ Williams said, ‘but now we’re required to have park employees to man the stand.’ Another roadblock is securing the necessary permits. Norman Kulla, senior counsel for local City Councilman Bill Rosendahl, was contacted about the hot dog situation. ‘If this is a bureaucratic problem, we’ll see what we can do to fix it,’ Kulla told the Palisadian-Post on Wednesday. In order to defray annual costs of about $7,500 (including film rentals, insurance, security, permits and clean-up), Movies in the Park’Pacific Palisades, an incorporated nonprofit organization, must rely on community donations. The 2008 series is supported by funding from the Junior Women’s Club, Rotary Club, Affinity Bank, American Legion Post 283, Brad and Sharon Lusk, Laura McNevin/Coldwell Banker, Technology for You!, Dan Urbach/Prudential California Realty and residents Lee Calvert and Cheryel Kanan. The park opens at 6 p.m. for picnics. Moviegoers are reminded that no stick-leg chairs, alcohol, smoking or dogs are permitted.
Three-year-old Paige MacDougall aims her bow and arrow with help from her father Tom at the archery location. They almost hit the bull’s-eye. Photo by Rich Schmitt, Staff Photographer
Opening ceremonies for the Beijing Olympics are tomorrow, but here in Pacific Palisades the summer games were held last Friday evening at Simon Meadow near the entrance to Temescal Gateway Park. Speakers blaring the theme songs from ‘Rocky’ and ‘Superman’ heralded the Palisades-Malibu YMCA’s first ‘Olympics Night’ from 6 to 8 p.m., as children of all ages got a taste of what it might be like to one day compete in the world’s most prestigious athletic event. ‘This is part of our Family Fun Nights and since this is an Olympic year and it’s starting next week we thought it would be fun to make that the theme,’ YMCA Program Director Ray Cruz said. ‘It’s a lot of fun and everyone gets a little gold medal.’ The latest edition of this summer series, sponsored by the Rotary Club of Pacific Palisades, included games and activities for children of all ages, including archery, croquet, rock climbing, balance beam, tether ball, zip lines, moon bounce, basketball and the always-popular dunk tank. Kids also enjoyed face-painting and numerous arts and crafts. ’We’re also encouraging guests to bring their recyclables (paper, plastic and aluminum) because we’re collecting them,’ Cruz said. Some families brought picnic lunches while others consumed slices of Palisades Pizza in between events. Bryce Lozinski, a 10-year-old going into fifth grade at Palisades Elementary, threw a mean fastball and was the first to dunk Aleksa Maglich, an incoming senior at Palisades High and a member of the Y’s youth and government team. ‘This is my fifth year coming to the summer camps,’ said Lozinski, who tried his hand at every activity. ‘I like the dunk tank the best!’ Five-year-old Jaden Trinder, a first grader at Marquez Elementary, had her face painted, Nicholas Catalan showed skill on the rock climbing wall and brothers Zack and Parker May took turns throwing brightly colored balls through a humongous hoop. Three-year-old Paige MacDougall and her five-year-old brother Joseph each showed skill at the archery pit. With assistance from their father, they shot arrows at the target with surprising accuracy. ‘This is our second time coming to Fun Night,’ said their dad Tom, who lives with his wife Grace in the El Medio bluffs neighborhood. ‘It gives us a chance to feel part of the community.’
By SUE PASCOE Staff Writer ‘Dainty Mabel & the Spiteful Child from Saskatoon,’ an original musical melodrama, opened on Friday at the Pierson Playhouse on Haverford Avenue. This production is brimming with the ‘cute factor,’ leaving audience members with a perpetual smile because so many of the talented youth are endearing, appealing and just plain sweet. The play, written by Nancy Casaro Fracchiolla and Randall Thropp, is divided into two parts. Each half of the play has a melodrama surrounded by three vaudeville acts. A comedy trio, comprised of Snoops (Eric Jackson, Jr.), Durant (Bryson Rawn) and Higgins (A. Warner Hiatt), was a crowd-pleaser with their antics, card tricks and stage presence. As a bonus, before the show started, the three boys mingled with theatergoers and demonstrated several tricks. A word to the wise: if one of them offers to show you how to make money disappear”the trick works. In the first act, the audience is shown large flash cards that help with the appropriate cues: ‘hiss,’ ‘boo,’ ‘applaud,’ etc. An evil realtor kidnaps the father of the motherless Dainty Mabel (Katherine Reinhold) in an effort to get the deed to their Klondike property. A special mention goes to ‘Papa,’ Alex Pohill, 14, who, with a fake moustache, was entirely credible as an adult actor. It took a quick check of the program to realize that he wasn’t one of the three adult actors (Andrew Zimmer, Dorothy Dillingham Blue and Randall Thropp) who provided a stable base during the many transitions that this musical requires. The second half of the play featured the melodrama ‘The Spiteful Child from Saskatoon.’ As Precious O’Brien, Danika Masi lights up the stage with her moxie, as she makes the transition from winning a Saskatoon contest to trying to make it on Broadway. Stealing the show was Izzy Kalichman, who, as a gypsy, promises Precious that she will become ‘big.’ Actor Stefan Mudlo also does a nice turn as the has-been boxer Tug Puxley. Fracchiolla directs 20 youth in the production with aplomb. The pacing is good, and the audience was filled with enthusiastic young people. The fun costumes include parkas with fur, showgirl dance outfits, and jackets and hats straight from the ’20s. Special credit should be given to wardrobe crew for fitting the cast in various costumes, all of which reflected the different stories and eras presented. Aiden Greenwald, who was in charge of lighting and sound, also did a Herculean job. In addition to the stage performance, the vaudeville motif has been expanded to include costumed youth selling refreshments before the show and during intermission. The treats included ‘penny candy,’ popcorn and ice-cream. Final performances are tonight, Friday and Saturday at 7:30 p.m., and Sunday at 2.p.m. Tickets: $12. For reservations, call (310) 454-1970.
Last month, when author Audrey Lavin read her children’s book ‘How I Survived My Parents’ Big Scary Divorce’ to a roomful of kids, she asked the crowd how many of them came from a separated household. ‘Half the room raised their hand,’ Lavin tells the Palisadian-Post. ‘A lot of adults said, ‘I could use your book.” In ‘Big Scary Divorce,’ illustrated by Bonnie Lemaire (‘Too Many Zucchini for Zachary Beany’), first grader Maggie McFatcha and her brother experience some serious divorce anxiety. Lavin’s light-yet-firm debut tale comes from a real place. ‘It’s based on my own divorce and my daughter’s feelings on the divorce,’ says Lavin, 45. ‘I’ve basically channeled Zoey.’ If Lavin’s name seems familiar, it could be because the Post once wrote about her pig, Arnold, which is named after Hooterville’s most famous porcine citizen. In 1996, Lavin moved to the Palisades, where she lived for 12 years. Despite the divorce and a relocation last September from Rustic Canyon to Santa Monica Canyon, Lavin’s children still attend Seven Arrows Elementary and Lavin feels very much the Palisadian. ‘I come all the time,’ she says. ‘It’s my town.’ Long before she lived here, Lavin grew up ‘in the slums of Beverly Hills’ and studied journalism at San Francisco State. She transitioned from working as a freelance writer for various Rupert Murdoch publications to learning on the job as a writer/director on syndicated news magazines ‘A Current Affair’ (1988) and ‘Hard Copy’ (1994) after Murdoch bought out Metromedia and formed Fox Television. ‘I was raised by a pack of wild Australian journalists,’ she says. ‘I can drink any of them under the table.’ Lavin went on to work on ‘Unsolved Mysteries’ and create such shows as ‘Amazing Tales’ for Animal Planet in 1997, and ‘Power of Attorney,’ which ran for two seasons on Fox. ‘My ex-husband created ‘Judge Joe Brown,” she says. ‘I actually found Judge Joe Brown for him,’ and she adds that she also discovered K-Earth radio personality Lisa Stanley. Today, says Lavin with a laugh, ‘I’m done with entertainment. After so many years of making really [crappy] television, I want to contribute something positive to society.’ Hence, ‘Big Scary Divorce.’ When she decided to publish a children’s book, Lavin eschewed the publishing house channels, hired Montreal-based illustrator Lemaire, and printed it herself. She hopes that seven-year-old protagonist Maggie’s travails will reach ‘other children in the same boat.’ Today, Lavin’s children, Charlie, 11, and Zoey, 9, are doing fine, but they were aged 8 and 6 respectively during her 2005 split, and they underwent counseling, despite their parents’ amicable divorce. ‘They have survived it with amazing grace,’ she says, adding that relations with her ex are good under the circumstances. ‘We’re great co-parents. We have 50/50 custody and we get along great.’ Next up for Lavin: sequels and an October 5 Orange County Book Fair signing. Lavin already has a title for the next Maggie McFatcha installment: ‘It’s called, ‘I Have Two Houses and You Don’t.”
Palisadian Kelsey Clark carries her 11-month-old son, Vance, in a baby carrier featuring a slipcover from her new business, My Little Roo. The covers slip easily on and off the carrier with an overlay opening on the chenille backside, similar to a pillow sham. Photo by Rich Schmitt, Staff Photographer
By ALYSSA BRICKLIN Palisadian-Post Intern Kelsey Clark, a Palisadian mother of three, has a new business called My Little Roo’a company that makes slipcovers for front baby carriers, adding function as well as style. The covers are easily machine washable and feature a front pocket. ‘The pocket is ideal for me,’ says Clark, who has an 11-month-old son, Vance. ‘I walk everywhere, and now I don’t have to carry a baby and a bag, I can just slip my phone and keys in there.’ My Little Roo covers fit most baby carriers, including Baby Bjorn, Snugli, Jeep, Infantino, and Lascal, and prolongs their usable life by reducing the need for washing. The idea for My Little Roo was born in 2001 along with Clark’s first son, Aidan. Two children later, she decided to get the ball rolling. ‘I thought, if I’m going to do it I need to do it now while I have a baby of my own to promote it,’ she tells the Palisadian-Post. She began working on the business three months ago, and her self-created Web site debuted last week. Clark and her mother sewed a makeshift model of what they wanted the slipcover to look like, and then took it to a small design company in Redondo Beach. Now the company manufactures nine versions of the product for Clark’three unisex fabrics, three girls’ fabrics and three boys’ fabrics. ‘I wanted to go with a vintage feel,’ explains Clark, who handpicks the material with an eye on the environment: the inside of the cover is made with chenille recycled from vintage bedspreads she finds at estate sales and on eBay. It also creates a soft surface that is comfortable for the baby. My Little Roo products have already reached celebrity hands, thanks to helpful contacts Clark made while working as an assistant to movie director Robert Zemeckis for seven years. She was able to send two custom My Little Roo covers in a gift package from a producer to Angelina Jolie’s twins. Tory Spelling and Matthew McConaughey also own the custom covers, and Clark personally delivered a sample of her product to big-wave surfer Laird Hamilton. Starting a family-centered business has been a fun and meaningful project for Clark who, after her fast-paced Hollywood job, had to make a major transition into stay-at-home motherhood. ‘You have to sort of reinvent yourself,’ explains Clark, who has channeled her creativity into My Little Roo. ‘It was something I needed to do for me. Plus it helps with the insanity of having three kids!’ Clark clarifies that although she is enjoying being busy with work, family always comes first. Through the process of starting her business, Clark was surprised to find many other mothers running similar small operations from home. In fact, she created her Web site under the Web host ‘merchant moms.’ She says she would like to eventually take her budding business to stores, but for now she’s focusing on testing the market. ‘The idea right now is to get My Little Roo into the public eye and into as many hands as possible,’ says Clark, who hopes the product will catch on with the many celebrity moms, and that the word will spread throughout the local community. A native of Southern California, Clark attended college in Utah. She and her husband Aaron, a land-use consultant in Westwood, have been residents of Pacific Palisades for three years. They have three sons: Aidan, 7; Brennan, 3; and Vance, whom Clark carries in her own baby carrier’covered with a My Little Roo slipcover, of course. To view and purchase a My Little Roo cover ($59.99) visit mylittleroo.com. The site also features sleek gift-wrapping in recycled packaging.
The centerpiece of the Getty Villa garden is the large peristyle garden, laid out in patterns seen in frescos and architectural relics and planted with material that would have been grown in Roman gardens. Photo by Rich Schmitt, Staff Photographer
For those of us in Pacific Palisades who enjoy the benevolence of a Mediterranean climate, the influence of Roman garden design on our residential landscapes may be elusive. But looking around at our familiar trees and plants, we may not realize their origins. Pines and bays, boxwood and ivy and a whole salad of herbs’fennel, parsley, and mustard’were indigenous to the ancient Roman world. To understand the history of Roman gardens, a visit to the Getty Villa is an incomparable resource. Louise du Pont made a gesture toward antiquity by creating a ruined garden in Pennsylvania partly modeled on Roman antecedents, and William Randolph Heart’s gardens at San Simeon incorporated partial reconstructions of Roman garden features. But nowhere in the United States can you find a more complete recreation of Roman villa and garden than at the Villa. J. Paul Getty’s ambitious undertaking in the 70s drew upon the historical plan of the Villa dei Papiri, a large suburban villa just outside of Herculaneum on the Bay of Naples that was buried by the eruption of Mt. Vesuvius in A.D. 79. Papirwas rediscovered in 175, and at that time a plan was drawn of the house and the peristyle gardens and pools, which have been faithfully recreated on a hillside in Pacific Palisades overlooking the sea. Getty chose a setting for his villa that the Romans would have approved. While it lies adjacent to the small ranch house the oil magnate used to store his extensive antiquities collection, the Villa takes full advantage of its ocean vista and breezes, and its location on a natural spring. Water was a distinguishing feature in Roman gardens and accounted for the main difference from their Greek antecedents, says Lynn Lynne Tjomsland, manager of grounds and gardens for the J. Paul Getty Trust. The gardens in Roman villas only had fountains and other water features if a villa was situated near a natural water source, such as a spring, stream or river. Urban gardens were nourished by collected rainwater or by water supplied by aqueducts. Common to all Roman gardens, whether in the cities or country villas, was the balance between rich and diverse plantings and strong architectural decoration. As visitors enter the Getty Villa, they make a symbolic walk through history’the walls are layered as if exposing geological strata’and emerge through time until landing at Papir. This march through time, Tomland says, reminds us that Roman gardens were influenced by previous civilizations. They borrowed the symmetrical layout, painted pavilions, terraces, and avenues of trees from Egypt; from Greece they not only copied classical sculpture to place in their gardens, but also the idea of the peristyle (covered colonnades) that formed an intermediary between the house and garden. Roman gardens served several functions. They provided a suitable space for leisure and the arts’the display of sculpture or painted murals. They were also the ancient version of the modern spa, where health and exercise were enjoyed, and they provided space for growing fruits and vegetables, especially new varieties that had been collected from the lands that fell under Rome’s conquest. The gardens at the Getty Villa illustrate basic Roman design principles in both the enclosed garden in which the buildings surround the garden, and the open garden, which surrounds a building. The inner peristyle provides a tranquil setting between the atrium, where visitors enter the museum, and the courtyard garden. The outer peristyle encloses the large garden surrounding the pool. The centerpiece of this garden is the long, narrow reflecting pool, whose water is gently agitated by three low-level jets of water. Statues occupy the niches placed along the pool’s length. Sculpted low evergreen hedges, including boxwood and rosemary, line the walkway alongside the pool, while bay laurel, acanthus and ivy topiary are planted symmetrically on both sides of the pool. The courtyard garden encapsulates a Roman garden on a small scale’water, symmetry and a quiet palette of green and gray-green plants and trees. The showstopper at the Getty Villa is the outer peristyle garden, dominated by the azure pool that runs the length of the surrounding colonnade. In Roman times, pools such as these were customarily painted blue or lined with blue tiles and provided the cooling effects of the breezes floating over the water. Romans also enjoyed the reflections that played over the surface of the water. The garden is laid out symmetrically, interrupted by intermittent benches placed under pergolas, draped with grapevines. Garden sculpture, both in the pool and stationed along the paths, was intended to evoke a mood set by the owner, be it a sacred theme with figures of gods and goddesses, a sense of reflection with ancient philosophers, or just a rustic atmosphere depicting fauns, satyrs and nymphs. While the Romans enjoyed the luxuries of art and culture, they never lost sight of the fact that the true object of the garden was to display the joys of nature as seen in its plants. And Tjomsland never loses sight of the intention for this garden as it was originally laid out 30 years ago. ‘All the gardens are scripted following the standards of the original landscape design team,’ she says. ‘The garden is an extension of the collection.’ While Tomland acknowledges the advantages of our Mediterranean climate in achieving horticultural authenticity, she has taken some liberties with plant material. ‘So we can present a meaningful picture and feel, it has been necessary to substitute certain varieties for others that are more suitable to our climate,’ she says. ‘The boxwood is the Japanese version, not the English variety, the rosemary and thymes in the herb garden are those that are available on the market.’ Tomland, who also oversees the Getty Center garden, visits the Villa at least three times a week. Her crew of between 45 and 60 groundsmen manage and maintain the garden ‘at a high level all the time,’ she says. ‘The gardens are very stand-alone and part of the regular docent tour.’
Pros Thrill Palisades Tennis Center Crowd at Inaugural Unisex Tourney
Phillip King (left) shakes hands with Sam Querrey after winning their semifinal match, 21-20, during Sunday’s Shotgun 21 World Championships at the Palisades Tennis Center. Photo: Jared Rosen
For more than 10 years now the Palisades Tennis Center has served as our beloved local tennis facility and has turned Pacific Palisades into one of the world’s foremost tennis communities, serving as a breeding ground for many of the top junior players in the country. Last Sunday, however, it was the pros who took center stage for the inaugural Shotgun 21 World Championships, a unique drop-hit format pitting men and women against each other in a single-elimination unisex tournament orchestrated by PTC founder Steve Bellamy. “Every year we want to do something special for the community that says thanks for supporting the tennis center,” Bellamy said. “But this was by far the best collection of tennis talent we’ve ever had on these courts.” The rules were designed to create better, longer, more strategic points to give men and women a more even playing field and to finish in a few hours, instead of an entire week. Players had to serve underhanded, switching sides and rotating servers every five points like in ping pong. There were no second serves or lets. Revolutionizing the sport and making it more accessible to the public has been Bellamy’s mission ever since he took over the public facility on Alma Real in 1997. This time, though, he even exceeded his own expectations. “With the power in the game now you don’t see too many long rallies like there were today,” Bellamy said. “There were some phenomenal points.” The lone survivor at the end of the 32-player main draw was Alex Bogomolov, who shrugged off a furious comeback by fellow former USTA Junior No. 1 player, Phillip King, to win the final match, 21-20, in front of a packed late afternoon crowd at the public courts off Alma real. Bogomolov had to come from behind to knock off another ATP Tour pro, John Isner, 21-20, in the semifinals while King upset top-seeded Sam Querrey by an identical score in the second semifinal. “It’s a lot of fun–they should have more of these,” said Querrey, who eliminated “Bush” lead singer Gavin Rossdale in the round of 16. “I’d definitely like to come back and do this again.” Querrey is currently the third-ranked American player and left for Beijing on Tuesday with the United States Olympic team. “At this level, everyone is so good and the level of play was extremely high,” said Rossdale, who trains at the PTC when he’s not touring with his band. “When you’re a musician, you’re used to being on stage and being loose and this is the same type of thing except a different setting.” Jill Craybas, ranked No. 50 on the WTA Tour as recently as May, advanced the furthest among the women, falling to Querrey in the quarterfinals. A qualifying draw was held earlier in the afternoon and there were three celebrities who received wildcards into the main draw. All other players were either ATP or WTA players. Craybas beat actress Melissa Rivers in the first round while Querrey eliminated “Bush” lead singer Gavin Rossdale in the round of 16. “The fact that I actually won a few points is a miracle to me,” said Rivers, a 10-year Palisades resident who plays in the PTC’s 3.5 workouts two or three times a week. “Just being on the same court with a pro like Jill was a blast.” Bogomolov blitzed to a 8-0 lead in the finals and built a 20-13 advantage before King reeled off seven straight to force a winner-take-all 41st point, which Bogomolov won when King’s approach shot landed inches long. “Alex came out blazing but he finally cooled off a bit,” said King, a four-time All-American at Duke, where he was coached his senior year by PTC teaching pro Jon Neeter. “I hung in there and gave it a good fight.” The draw was a who’s who of tennis talent and included active pros Zack Fleishman, JP Fruttero, Eric Taino and Cecil Mamiit. ATP pros Tommy Haas and Vince Spadea and WTA star Ashley Harkleroad, intended to play but were nursing injuries, yet all three showed up to watch. “I would love to have played but I was unsure about playing five matches right before the Countrywide,” said Haas, who lost his opening match at the Countrywide Classic at UCLA two days later. “But I wanted to come out and support Steve [Bellamy] and [Director of Tennis] Andy McDonnell.” Former pros Scott Davis and Derrick Rostagno squared off in a thrilling round of 16 match on Court 2. Davis starred at Palisades High and was ranked No. 2 in the world in doubles and No. 11 in singles. Rostagno is now a practicing attorney and a regular at the PTC’s Saturday morning workouts. Bogomolov, who has risen as high as No. 97 in the world rankings, took home the $10,000 winner’s check and a $2,000 limited edition Fender Stratocaster electric guitar. “I love this format because it plays to my strengths,” the 5′ 10″ baseliner said. “It’s more of a disadvantage for the taller guys with big serves.” Approximately 650 people visited the PTC throughout the day and those that did were treated to three and a half hours of world class tennis’for free. “The last three matches epitomized the drama of sports,” Bellamy said. “For all of them to be decided by one point–which never happens in tennis–was amazing. We couldn’t have scripted it any better.” By the end of the day, the tournament’s first-ever champion proved to be its biggest endorser. “I’ve played World Team Tennis too and I think exhibitions like this that introduce new rules are good,” Bogomolov said. “Anything that attracts more people to the game is only going to help our sport.”
Amy LePeilbet was named MVP after scoring the first goal in the Pali Blues’ 2-1 victory in the W-League championship game. Photo: Kenzo Bergeron
Heading into last week’s W-League playoffs, Pali Blues Coach Charlie Naimo had but one concern: how well his team would respond to adversity. The answer finally came in the waning moments of Saturday’s championship game, when the Blues rallied for two goals in eight minutes to edge FC Indiana, 2-1, at the Virginia Beach Sportsplex. The win capped a perfect season for the Blues (14-0-0) and the second league title for Naimo, who admitted being worried as the seconds ticked away late in the game. “Their coach Shek [Borkowski] did an excellent job tonight,” Naimo said. “He was able to take away our athleticism and we were really in trouble.” FC Indiana celebrated after appearing to score in the 30th minute when Lauren Sesselmann headed in a cross from Laura Del Rio, but the play was ruled offside and the goal disallowed. Pali goalie Val Henderson deflected a shot by Del Rio just before halftime to keep the game scoreless. Early in the second half, the Lionesses struck first when Jessica O?Rourke headed home a bending corner kick from Mexican international Fatima Leyva. It was the first deficit the Blues had faced since falling behind 1-0 to Cal State Northridge in their final exhibition game April 23. “We really struggled to make anything happen at the start of the second half so I switched from a 4-4-2 to a 3-4-3 formation to try and get some energy up top,” Naimo said. The Blues began applying more pressure and their aggression was rewarded in the 83rd minute when Rosie Tantillo sent a corner kick into the goal mouth. Amy LePeilbet outjumped two defenders for the ball and re-directed it past FC Indiana keeper Kristen Luckenbill for the tying goal. Suddenly, the momentum had swung to the Blues and it took just five minutes for them to tally the go-ahead goal. Kandace Wilson, a defender moved up for attack, crossed to Italian international Ilaria Pasqui, whose diving header found the back of the net. Naimo credited his team’s depth: “Our depth was a huge reason why we won this game,” said Naimo. “Our bench gave us the energy we needed and helped put us on top.” Though the Lionesses pressed for the equalizing goal they were unable to score. Amy LePeilbet, who anchored Pali’s defense all season, was named Most Valuable Player. Many Blues players will likely try to play for an emerging women’s pro league, making next year’s roster uncertain. For now, though, Naimo and his players are savoring sweet victory. “We’re very proud to bring a championship back home to the Palisades,” Naimo said. “That was our goal right from the start and it feels good to have accomplished what we set out to do.”
Will Rogers instructor Jonathan Wheeler (center) urges on paddler Max Babcock (left) as he tags swimmer Sara Thorson during B competition at last week’s Taplin Relays at Dockweiler Beach. Photo by Rich Schmitt, Staff Photographer
Will Rogers Junior Lifeguards sent seven teams to the Taplin Relay competition held at Dockweiler Beach in Playa del Rey last Friday. Junior Lifeguard programs from L.A. County’s southern-most beaches (Avalon in Catalina to Zuma Beach in Malibu) competed, with each team consisting of six runners, six paddlers and six swimmers. Of the 21 teams in the C category (ages 9-11), Will Rogers sent two, one of which finished third behind Torrance and Hermosa. “It’s such a team thing where both teams cheered each other on,” said Will Rogers’ C team instructor Cheri Ellington, who has completed her sixth year as an instructor. “I love the Taplins, they’re such high energy.” The C’s started at 9 a.m. and when they finished at 10:30 a.m., the B team competition began. Will Rogers’ two B teams (ages 12-13) competed against 25 others and placed fifth and 18th, respectively. That age group battled some of the largest waves of the day as five- and six-foot swells made entry into the water a challenge. The public address announcer described the action as paddlers took the tag from the runners, trying to enter the water to paddle out to buoys bobbing up and down in the ocean. “That paddler just did a turtle roll, which means they turn their board and roll, preventing them from getting smashed [by the waves],” said announcer Jim Kim, who is also a county lifeguard. He then continued his play-by-play. “Oh, carnage!” Kim said, “That was rad, that wave just had its way with him.” Kim described to the gathered spectators how guards first entered the water by high-stepping, then used a dolphin technique to skirt through the breakers until they were able to swim past the waves. “Any wave can push you into first or chop you into last,” Kim said. Manhattan Beach continued its 10-year domination in A’s (ages 14-16), with Will Rogers’ squads taking fifth and 10th in the co-ed division. In the all-girls division, locals Tessa Chandler, Bonnie Wirth, Emily Newman, Mara and Ana Silka and Hayley Hacker, took third behind Manhattan Beach and Venice. The relays are the culmination of five weeks of lifeguard training that is patterned after adult training and includes long distance running, sprints, paddling and buoy swims. “The Guards program gives the kids discipline,” Will Rogers’ A instructor Eldin Onsgard said.
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