Pali High Tennis Defends City Title

Dolphins Beat Granada Hills 5-2 in Finals to Capture 28th Section Crown

By STEVE GALLUZZO | Sports Editor

Facing a familiar foe in the City Section Open Division finals last Thursday, the Palisades High girls tennis team called upon past experience to win its eighth title in nine years at Balboa Sports Center in Encino.            

The Dolphins earned three out of four singles points and two out of three in doubles to take down Granada Hills 5-2—their second victory over the Highlanders in five months. For the 10th time in 11 seasons the City’s two winningest programs clashed in the finals and, as usual, you could cut the tension with a knife.

“Granada Hills always pushes us to be our best,” Pali High Coach Bud Kling said  during the postmatch medal ceremony.   “We graduated four girls and basically our singles players this season were last year’s doubles players. We always play a tough schedule to prepare us for this match and it bears fruit at the end.”

Kling has piloted Palisades’ girls team for nearly four decades and knew this would be a tighter match than the Dolphins’ 6-1 title-winning triumph in the spring when the Highlanders were without their top two singles players. “We’re not quite as deep in doubles as we usually are, but the girls came through today,” Kling added. “Even though we’re seeded No. 1 and they’re No. 2, I thought it could go either way.”

The two schools have combined to win every upper division championship since 2002. Palisades has won a City-record 28 titles (including four out of five in the Open Division) since 1973.

Granada Hills is second on the list with 12 City titles—the most recent a 5-2 triumph in 2019 that snapped the Dolphins’ six-y

ear streak. The last time either Palisades or Granada Hills failed to reach the final was in 2017 when the Highlanders were upset by West Valley League rival Cleveland in the inaugural Open Division semifinals. The last time Palisades missed the finals was in 2010 when it fell in the Division I semifinals to El Camino Real.  

Senior Iris Berman, the reigning City individual singles champion, got the Dolphins off to a good start last Thursday with her 6-0, 6-1 win at No. 1 singles. Several minutes after that junior Anaya Ayanbadejo wrapped up her 6-1, 6-3 victory at No. 3 singles, moving Palisades to within two points of victory in the best-of-seven match format.      

“I was a little nervous at first but I tried to get to net, which is one of my strengths,” Berman said. “It was nice to get mine over quick so I could go watch and support my teammates. We expected it to be a battle and it was.”

Ayanbadejo, who played No. 1 doubles with Jade Finestone in last year’s final (delayed until spring because of the pandemic), enjoyed being captain this season along with Finestone.

“Jade and I planned that from the beginning,” she joked. “We make a good team. I do the hard labor, she does the paperwork. I’d never played this girl before and when I’m winning it’s actually harder for me. Our strategy against Granada is always to win the first three singles and steal a point in doubles. Last year was unique because we had the boys out there too. I’ve known Noe [Winter] and Halsey [Hulse] since 6th grade and not having them this season was bittersweet, but it still feels nice to pull it off.”     

Finestone notched the clinching fourth point with a 6-0, 6-4 victory over Granada Hills’ No. 2 player Katie Cheng and moments later Reese Trepanier and Sophie Szeder  finished off a 6-4, 6-3 win at No. 2 doubles.

“I knew Iris was doing well but  I had no idea about the team score,” Finestone said. “The key game was at 3-4 in the second set. She raised her game and I’d lost my focus but I knew I couldn’t let it get to 3-5.”

Not to be overlooked were Simone McClary and Becca Rosenblatt, who rallied from a service break down in the second set to prevail 6-3, 6-4 at No. 3 doubles to move Palisades within a point of victory.