Pali Tennis Aces League Test

It isn’t taking long for the Palisades High boys’ varsity tennis team to dispatch its Western League opponents this season. In fact, no opposing squad has managed to win so much as one set against the Dolphins, who consider themselves rightful heirs to the City Section throne after falling half a point short last spring. “We definitely think we’ll win it this year. That’s our mindset,” senior captain Che Borja said. “We beat [defending champion] Taft up in Fresno to start the season and we didn’t even have Oliver [Thornton]. We’re going to be that much better when he comes back.” Thornton could return next week, adding more firepower to Palisades’ already potent singles lineup. So deep is the Dolphins’ roster that Coach Bud Kling can interchange positions to rest a injured players or reward one who shows marked improvement in practice. Monday was business as usual for the Dolphins, who needed barely 120 minutes to wallop Hamilton 7-0 at the Palisades Recreation Center courts. The most entertaining aspect of the match was when the teams exchanged colorful nicknames during the introductions. Once play began, though, the Dolphins let their rackets do the talking. “These [matches] are kind of boring but they give us a chance to work on our cheer and important team details like that,” senior Spencer Lewin joked shortly after pairing with Spencer Pekar to win 6-0, 6-1 at No. 2 doubles. “Luckily, we’ve had some good nonleague matches mixed in to keep us sharp.” First off the court against the Yankees was Max Licona, who won 6-0, 6-0 at No. 2 singles. Borja and fellow captain Jeremy Shore won 6-0, 6-1 at No. 1 doubles and Kyung Choi notched the clinching point moments later with his 6-1, 6-1 win at No. 1 singles?quite appropriate for someone his teammates call “The Terminator.” The rest was academic. Brandon Clark (6-0, 6-0) and Kramer Waltke (6-1, 6-2) performed the mop-up duties with easy wins at the third and fourth singles spots and the No. 3 doubles duo of Kenneth Choi and Robert Silvers kept Palisades’ slate clean with a 6-2, 6-1 victory. The Dolphins (16-3 overall, 8-0 in league) and second-place University met at Stoner Park on Wednesday to decide the league championship (results undetermined at press time) and Palisades travels to Westchester today. Palisades will head north next Thursday-Saturday for the Ojai Tournament. No. 1 singles player Justin Atlan will be in the CIF singles (18-and-under) division while Borja and Shore will play in the CIF doubles division. Kyung Choi, Licona, Thornton and Myles Rodgers-Holliday are entered in the boys’ 16s singles draw. “I’m looking forward to it,” Borja said of Ojai, where the Dolphins will vie for the Griggs Cup, awarded to the school with the most combined wins in singles and doubles. “We’re going to have to play really well to advance but we’re up for the challenge.” Palisades will enjoy a “field trip” of sorts on Friday when it goes to travels up the road to Westwood to watch USC battle UCLA for the Pac-10 men?s championship. Baseball The Dolphins’ varsity squad traveled south for the San Diego Lions Tournament over spring break and dropped three straight games to quality opponents. After suffering a 7-2 loss to perennial City power El Camino Real, it was pitching that dominated in Palisades’ next outing–a 1-0 defeat at the hands of Coronado. In the third game the Dolphins’ bats were held in check in a 4-1 loss to Spring Valley Steele Canyon. Palisades (9-8-1 overall, 8-0 in league) returns to Western League play against sixth-place Fairfax on Friday at 3 p.m. in Los Angeles, then hosts crosstown rival Santa Monica in a Redondo Tournament contest Saturday at 11 a.m. The Dolphins have won 38 of their last 39 league games and have outscored league opponents 63-10 so far this season, including three shutouts. Softball Another complete-game effort from pitcher Emily Noel kept Palisades (6-4, 4-2) in third place in the Western League with a 9-6 triumph at University on Monday. The Dolphins spotted the host Wildcats two runs in the first inning before scoring four of their own in the fourth to seize control of the game. Noel Joy had two hits, three RBIs and three runs scored and raised her batting average to a team-best .667. Mara Susser and Hannah Fagerbakke each added two hits while Noel tossed a five-hitter and blasted a two-run homer for the Dolphins, who hosted Hamilton yesterday (result undetermined at press time) and hit the road aganst second-place Venice today at 3 p.m. Swimming Palisades? girls and boys varsity squads won their meets against Western League rival LACES on Monday. The defending City champion girls remained undefeated in dual meets. Boys Volleyball Showing no signs of rust after a week off, Palisades’ varsity made short work of visiting Hamilton on Monday, winning 25-19, 25-21, 25-15. The rest came at an opportune time for the defending City champions, who were beaten in three straight games by Western League archrival Venice at the tail end of a grueling stretch that included 10 matches in seven days. Monday’s result was more decisive than the teams? first league meeting back on March 11 when the Dolphins needed a 10-2 run to pull out the first game 28-26 en route to a sweep. Going into yesterday’s second clash with University (result undetermined at press time), Palisades trailed first-place Fairfax in the race for the league title. The two teams face off next Monday in a rematch of the Lions’ surprising 3-0 victory March 18.