When the season began, the Palisades High women’s soccer team figured to take a few games to get used to life without striker Lucy Miller, the school’s all-time scoring leader, who graduated last June. Heading down the homestretch of the season, the Dolphins’ only apparent flaw appears to be its ability to finish, as was the case Monday in a 0-0 tie at Fairfax’a game Palisades dominated from the opening whistle. ‘It’s been a strange year,’ forward Kelly Mickel said after she and her teammates peppered the Lions’ goal with shots, only to settle for a draw in the end. ‘Losing a player of Lucy’s caliber was tough but we’ve come together. We work on finishing in practice and we’re string our passes together well. Some games we score a lot and other times we struggle but we’re playing well.’ Palisades had no trouble scoring against Los Angeles Center for Enriched Studies, a magnet school new to the Western League. The Dolphins netted 12 goals and followed that win with a 6-0 shutout of Westchester last Thursday at Stadium by the Sea, in which Laura Goldsmith scored twice on shots from outside the penalty area and Erin Newman scored twice on breakaways. Kate Rosenbaum and Erika Martin each added goals. ‘It seems like sometimes we start really late,’ Goldsmith said. ‘Sometimes in the first half we’re not first to the ball. It’s frustrating because we’re working hard and not always seeing positive results.’ Despite not having lost a game, the Dolphins (7-4-4 overall, 4-0-4 in league) find themselves in second place in the tightly-grouped league standings. Palisades had a bye on Wednesday and travels to Venice next Monday before hosting Hamilton on Wednesday. The Dolphins tied both teams in the first round of league play. Boys Soccer The Dolphins fell behind in the third minute of Monday’s Western League game against Fairfax and needed a goal by Osbaldo Garcia in the 51st minute, assisted by Matt Strangeway, to salvage a 1-1 tie at Stadium by the Sea. The tie moved Palisades (7-3, 6-2) into a share of second place in league. The Dolphins defeated Westchester 2-1 last Thursday on a pair of goals by David Linares. On Sunday, Head Coach David Williams leaves for Mayorca, Spain, where he will be heavyweight boxing champion Wladimir Klitschko’s nutritionist for his upcoming fight in Manheim Germany in March. Assistant Coach Dave Suarez will coach the Dolphins in Williams’ absence.

Baxter Humby started the new year off right by winning a unanimous decision over European champion Benito Caupain of Holland to defend his International Muay Thai Council super welterweight championship January 11 at the San Manuel Casino. Humby, known as the “One-Armed Bandit,” earned Palisadian-Post Athlete of the Year honors in 2006 after fighting five times in California without a loss and adding two title belts to his collection. Humby, who lives near The Village and teaches kickboxing classes at the Palisades-Malibu YMCA and Gerry Blanck’s Martial Arts Center, currently holds four world title belts. Born without most of his right arm, Humby has risen to the top of his profession through dedicated training and the mentality that he cannot be beat. He was fighting with only one glove because the bout was full rules Muay Thai, where elbows are allowed. “A lot of my opponents underestimated me in the beginning because of my so-called handicap,” Humby said. “But I’ve won enough fights now that I’m pretty well respected. Most of the time now I’m the main event on the card. When I’m not in training I walk around at about 160 pounds but 150 to 154 is my ideal fighting weight.” That was the case in Humby’s most recent defense, which he dominated from start to finish. Humby used his quick and powerful side kicks to keep Caupain off balance and set up his powerful left hand, which he landed frequently throughout the fight. He knocked Caupain down with a side kick in the third round. With the points victory, Humby improved his professional record to 29-4 with nine knockouts. He is the IKKC Intercontinental Super Welterweight, IMTC Super Welterweight, XTMC Super Welterweight, WMTF Middleweight and Japanese Shootboxing Welterweight champion.

Good news travels fast these days. Just ask Ivan Lauzon, who came a long way to become the new Director of Tennis at the Palisades Tennis Center. Formerly the Head Pro and Director of Tennis at the Greenwin Tennis Club in downtown Toronto, the 30-year old New Brunswick native has been at his new job all of four days and cannot contain his enthusiasm. ‘When they offered me the job I just about jumped out of my chair,’ he admitted. ‘I’d heard about Live Ball and the Palisades Tennis Center at various conferences over the years and the programming in place here is great.’ Lauzon’s teaching skills are what most impressed Palisades Tennis Center founder Steve Bellamy. ‘We had resumes coming in from all over the world and we interviewed a lot of people,’ Bellamy said. ‘Most teaching pros with his credentials have big egos but Ivan is so down to earth, so humble. He’s a perfect fit for the Palisades.’ Lauzon’s first love was hockey. He didn’t begin playing tennis year-round until he was 14 but took to the sport quickly. He started teaching full-time when he was 21, mostly on green clay, his favorite surface. At Greenwin he started the Topspin Tennis Academy’a high-performance junior program. He even organized a league with regular tournaments. Because of the cold weather, many of the tennis facilities in Eastern Canada are indoors. ‘It was minus 10 degrees when I left the airport in Toronto,’ said Lauzon, whose wife Harmony and their children Aidan, Max and Thea will relocate to L.A. at the end of the school year. ‘I stepped off the plane here and it was warm and sunny. I knew right then and there that I did the right thing.’ Warmer weather is merely a bonus for Lauzon, who can’t wait to get on the court and do what he loves best’teaching. ‘As long as I’m in between those white lines with a racquet in my hand I’m a happy camper,’ he said. Hiring Lauzon is but one of several changes Bellamy and his staff have made. They have also remodeled the pro shop and restructured the workouts. ‘Because our kids have worked so hard and done so well, we want to give them the best possible training and provide all the tools they will need to be successful,’ Bellamy said. ‘So we’re starting an academy for our top juniors.’ Running the academy will be Francisco Franceschini, who has been teaching tennis for 18 years’the last six at the PTC. The academy presently consists of 60 players from six to 16 years of age. ‘Before, our workouts were a little more recreational,’ said Franceschini, who is from Santiago, Chile, and worked with, among others, ATP Tour pros Marcelo Rios and Nicholas Massu when they were juniors. ‘Now there is going to be more emphasis on conditioning and competition.’ Handling the fitness aspect of the workouts will be Adam Brewer, who will help younger players improve their coordination and balance while working with more advanced players on footwork, stamina and stroke consistency. The academy offers three levels of Tournament workouts five days a week. For a schedule, visit the Web site at www.palitenniscenter.com or call 573-1331.

Palisades Highlands resident Anna Rasmussen took first place in her age division last week at the Hermosa Beach Triathlon. Racing in the 14-17 age group, the 16-year-old finished in 1:11.58, good enough for 30th overall out of 232 female competitors. The triathlon consisted of a quarter-mile ocean swim, a 10-mile bike ride and a three-mile run. Formerly an L.A. County Junior Lifeguard, Rasmussen ended the swim phase of the event ninth out of all female competitors, placing her in the top four percent. She was also strong on the bike, placing in the top 10 percent overall. Rasmussen, a junior at Marlborough High, is also a rower. She is a member of the California Yacht Club’s junior rowing team in Marina del Rey. “As a rower, Anna has made remarkable progress because of strong cross training,’ said CYC Junior Rowing Coach Guillermo Lemas. ‘At the same time, rowing has improved her performance in other sports. I am proud of her extra efforts and determination.’

U-10 Girls Win Pony Express

Pali Rox!, a local U-10 AYSO girls all-star team, dominated its competition on the way to winning the Pony Express Invitational at Santana Regional Park in Corona over the Martin Luther King holiday weekend. The Rox, under the leadership of Head Coach Phil Pecsok, braved cold weather and 40-mile-per-hour winds to outscore their five opponents 29-4. ‘I’m most proud of the fact that of the 29 goals we scored, there were assists on 22 of them,’ Pecsok said. ‘We had phenomenal passing the whole tournament and our defense was also incredible. We were only giving up two or three shots a game.’ In pool play, Pali Rox! shut out Encino Balboa 10-0, blanked Van Nuys 4-0 and beat Culver City 7-1 to finish first. In the semifinals, they faced host Corona and won 5-1, with Taylor Pecsok bending in a corner kick for the winning goal late in the first half. Monday’s championship game pitted the Rox against a determined Riverside squad. In the first half, with the wind at their backs, Pali stormed to a 2-0 lead. Riverside answered with two goals of its own in the second half when Pali was against the wind. Regulation ended in a tie and neither team scored in the first five-minute overtime period. Moments before the final whistle, which would have sent the game into a penalty-kick shootout, Cassie Jernigan dribbled through three defenders, broke in alone on the Riverside goalie and scored to give Pali Rox! the championship. The U-10 division is seven versus seven and Jernigan scored seven goals in the tournament and was named most valuable player. Taylor Pecsok and Elizabeth Seaman each scored five goals, Emma Seaman and Laila Touran each added four goals and Kaitlyn Nyman had two. Defenders Julia Barlow, Caitlin Bremner and Carmen Flood were solid throughout the tournament and goalie Gillian Ondaatje made several key saves to preserve shutouts in Pali’s first two games. U-10 Boys Lars Ekstrom’s ‘A’ team, called FC Pali, tied Corona 3-3, defeated Hollywood Wilshire 3-0 and beat Diamond Bar 8-0 to finish first in pool play. In the semifinals, FC beat Long Beach 3-0 on goals by Ian Ekstrom, Quinn McGinley and Reece Pascoe. ‘In the opening game, we were up 3-1 bounced back strong next three games In the finals, Palisades lost 4-1 to Chino Hills. Kieran Kerwin scored in the first quarter to give FC a 1-0 lead but Pali was unable to score again. Pascoe, Ekstrom and Leo Kaplan were FC’s leading scorers, but nine of the 10 players on the roster netted goals during the tournament. Defenders Evan Clark, John Thomas, Lucas Gregory and goalie Josh Lettiere were consistent all the way through the tournament. FC Pali will represent Region 69 at the Area P playoffs this weekend in Culver City. In the ‘B’ flight, Pali Storm, coached by Eric Pfahler went 2-0-1 in pool play and just missed advancing to the elimination round. Dave Sanderson’s Pulverizers, Palisades’ developmental team, also played in the tournament and tied its first game. In the medal round, Pali lost to Woodland Hills U-14 Girls Palisades, coached by Mollie Milligan, won its pool in the Corona Flight with 13 points, one more than Camarillo, Menifee and Jurupa. Pali ended up finishing fourth behind teams from Long Beach, Woodland Hills and Menifee. Milligan’s squad, consisting of players from Pacific Palisades, Brentwood and Topanga, tied its first game, 1-1, won its second game 3-2 and narrowly lost its third game 1-0 in Pool D. In the semifinal round, Palisades lost to Pool E runner-up Woodland Hills. Then, in the third place game, Pali fell to the Menifee Mavericks. Long Beach beat Woodland Hills to win the Corona Flight. Palisades’ U-12 boys ‘A’ team competed in Pool B of the Corona Flight while the ‘B’ all-stars played in the Norco Flight. Two local girls teams were entered in the U-12 division. The Pali-Cats won their final game to finish third in Pool A of the Norco Flight while Pali TNT played in Pool B. The Pali Tigers competed in the Corona Flight and tied their first game.

Boys Hoops Rebound From Loss

Any worries Palisades High boys varsity basketball coach James Paleno might have had that his team would suffer a hangover after last Tuesday’s lopsided loss to Westchester in its Western League opener dissipated quickly when the Dolphins built an early lead and cruised to a 62-41 victory at Los Angeles Center for Enriched Studies on Thursday. Senior guard Brian Barner led the way with 13 points and junior forward Irvin Kintaudi added 12 as Palisades raced to a 14-10 lead in the first quarter and increased its advantage to 26-17 by halftime. The Dolphins outscored LACES 17-10 in the third quarter to build an insurmountable lead and improve their league record to 1-1. On Saturday, the Dolphins (11-6 overall) hosted a nonleague game against Lake Balboa Birmingham and won 55-37. Junior guard Taylor Shipley had 10 points, eight steals and five assists and senior forward Paul Davis-Mitchell added nine points for Palisades, which hosted league leading Fairfax on Wednesday and travels to L.A. Hamilton for a game at 4 p.m. today Through Tuesday, Barner was the Dolphins’ leading scorer this season with 152 points and 35 assists, including 34 three-pointers. Davis-Mitchell and senior forward Kris Mehdipour each had 14 points. Kintaudi leads the squad with 79 rebounds and junior guard Brandon Greer had a team-best 53 steals. Girls Basketball Like the boys, Palisades’ girls varsity team rebounded from its league-opening loss with a strong effort last Thursday against LACES. Under the guidance of Head Coach Ronda Crowley the Dolphins jumped ahead 24-9 in the first quarter and breezed to a 73-45 win. Junior Tuekeha Huntley led the way with 18 points and 12 rebounds, sophomore Dominique Scott had 14 points and junior Mariah Lyons added 12 points and six assists or the Dolphins (5-11, 1-1), who played at Fairfax Tuesday and host L.A. Hamilton today at 4 p.m. In its Western League opener last Wednesday at Westchester, Palisades led by 10 at halftime, 29-19, but was outscored 17-3 in the third quarter. The Comets slowed the tempo down in the final eight minutes and won 45-36. Heading into Tuesday’s game, Lyons was leading the Dolphins with 209 points, including 19 three-point baskets, 40 steals and 32 assists. Huntley led the team with 119 rebounds and 33 blocks. Boys Soccer The Dolphins fell behind early and lost 1-0 loss to defending Western League champion Hamilton last Monday at Stadium by the Sea, ending the points streak of Palisades senior striker Osbaldo Garcia. He resumed his scoring spree two days later, however, at L.A. University. In the 11th minute, he converted a penalty kick to give Palisades a 1-0 lead. The Wildcats tied the game in the 27th minute and the game remained tied at halftime. After Palisades Head Coach Dave Williams received his second yellow card and was ejected, Davis Lau scored off of an assist from Ben Malisoff in the 63rd minute to give Palisades a 2-1 lead. Garcia deked two defenders and slid the ball past the Uni goalie to add an insurance goal in the 68th minute. Palisades (4-3, 3-2) hosted LACES Tuesday at 2:30 p.m. and travels to Westchester for a league game today at 2:30 p.m. The LACES win moved Palisades into third place in the Western League standings. Garcia has 10 goals and two assists in seven games. Girls Soccer The Palisades High women’s soccer team tied its third consecutive game 1-1 last Wednesday, this time against L.A. University. Strangely, the Dolphins have more ties in Western League play (three) than wins (two). Last Tuesday, Palisades tied Hamilton and in their last game before Winter Break the Dolphins tied Venice. The Uni draw made Palisades 5-4-3 overall and 2-0-3 in league. The Dolphins begin the second round of league play against Westchester at 2:30 p.m. today at Stadium by the Sea and travel to Fairfax next Tuesday.

‘Fearless’ might be the best word to describe local surfing sensation Chantal Miller. Whether she’s hanging 10 at Topanga or tube riding at Point Dume, the 11-year-old Palisadian surfs every swell like it’s the last one she’ll see. Miller is currently ranked fourth in the United States in the girls’ 13-and-under division and, despite being only 4-11 and 75 pounds and two to three years younger than most of the surfers in her age group, she has a poise and confidence well beyond her years. Last summer, Miller took first place in the short board division at the Western Surfing Association’s Huntington Beach competition, where she faced the sport’s best on the California coast. By virtue of that performance, she was invited to the USA championships in July at the north jetty in Oceanside. Braving 10-to 12-foot waves, Miller advanced through two qualification rounds and was one of six finalists and is the first Palisades resident to earn a spot on Alan Sarlo’s Zuma J surf team. Zuma J consists of pros and amateurs. Chantal’s father, Mike, was on its first team back in 1977 when he was 13. Following in his footsteps, Chantal now has a sponsorship and she has the Zuma J logo on her high performance board. Miller first started surfing with her father when she was 4. Two years later she had mastered the whitewater at Santa Monica and a few years after that she started shortboarding. A sixth-grader at Paul Revere Middle School, Miller also plays JV volleyball and she practices her balance by skateboarding. She even enrolled in Will Rogers’ Junior Lifeguards program last summer to strengthen her paddling and water skills At a WSA competition at C Street in Ventura in December, Miller came in fourth place while competing against 12- and 13-year-olds. While Topanga is her favorite break, she also surfs Point Dume, where she has earned the respect of the locals’not an easy thing to do. Chantal’s older sister, Chelsea, is a junior on Palisades High’s surf team. Surf competitions are grueling affairs. Heats usually consist of four to five riders, who earn points based on the size of the wave, the length of the ride and the maneuvers they perform. Each surfer has only 20 minutes to score as many points as possible. Always in tune with the tides, Miller surfs before and after school every day she can. Hours and hours of practice have paid off. She surfed the north and south shores of Oahu in May and her next test will come at South Carlsbad in San Diego on February 4, followed by a contest at Topanga February 17-18.