Pali High Tennis Takes Aim at Threepeat

When it comes to tennis at Palisades High, the expectation is always the same: win the City championship.

The Dolphins’ girls team has done that 22 times, more than any program in section history, and will try to make it 23 — including three in a row — in November.

The scary thing for upcoming opponents is that despite losing five players from last year’s City finals lineup, Palisades might be even stronger this season. One reason is an influx of talented freshmen, including Caroline Goldberg, Caroline Ross, twins Ireland and Sophia Amato, along with the transfer of ranked junior Calypso Peraticos, who was playing at a tennis academy in Florida.      

“Positions aren’t set yet, but since we started the first day of school practices have been really intense,” said senior Madeline Prins, who won the City Individual doubles title last year with fellow captain Lizzie Belokonnyi. “There’s a lot of talent and I think we’re deeper, but it’s still too early too tell just how good we are.”

Although Prins and Belokonnyi want to defend their City title, Prins enjoyed success at USTA tournaments over the summer with senior Morgan Swan, who is happy playing either singles or doubles.

“Whatever is best for the team,” she said. “Nothing is guaranteed.”   

Bud Kling, who is returning to coach the girls this season, has seen his share of threepeats over the years and wants nothing more than for the Dolphins to secure another on his watch. He guided the boys to their record seventh straight City title in the spring and piloted the girls every year but one from 1984-2007, winning 22 of 23 league titles and 15 City crowns.

“I’m proud of the way the girls bought into the summer program,” said Kling, grabbing the reins from Sean Passan, who decided to take a voluntarily leave of absence with he and his wife expecting their first child. “My practices are very structured and we do a lot of drilling, but everyone has been receptive. I’m excited to be back and the team has really come together.”

Kling also beefed up Pali High’s schedule, which includes nonleague matches against Southern Section schools Marymount, Beverly Hills, Santa Monica, Calabasas, Windward and Mira Costa. The Dolphins will also travel to Newport Beach for the Coastal Cup tournament at Sage Hill High in October.

“He definitely has a different coaching style, but Bud’s had such great success with the boys,” said junior Abby Schleichkorn, who played singles last season and will likely be in the singles rotation once again along with Swan, Peraticos, Goldberg and sophomore Caroline Vincent, who is expected t0 play No. 1 when fully recovered from a foot injury. “I’d like to get far in the Individuals this year and win a round in the state playoffs because we’ve come close the last two years.”

Rounding out this year’s squad are senior Selin Sindel, sophomores Alicia Abraham, Taylor Barfield, Madeline Goore, Alex Hart, Mercedeh Khazaieli, Lauren Neman, Sarah Silvers and Olivia Welch and freshmen Giovanni Feingold, Michaela Koski, Alexandra  Miller and Jackie Schwartz.   

Palisades routed Granada Hills in the finals last fall, but Kling is wary of a potential rematch.

“Granada Hills is very strong and could make it very difficult for us,” he said. “Our goal right now is just to improve and to get healthy. I’d like to see our doubles teams play more aggressively.”

Kling plans to give everyone a chance to play a varsity match at some point in the season, but he’ll put his best lineup on the court for  the City playoffs.

Passan’s wife Julie gave birth to a baby girl, Cora, on Aug. 19–giving Prins and Belokonnyi  extra motivation to end their prep careers on top.

“We were the first people Sean told [that he wasn’t coming back] and we miss him a lot,” Belokonnyi said. “So we want to win it this year for him and Cora.”

— Steve Galluzzo