Pali Tennis Poised to Reclaim Crown

At most schools, going six years between championships is no big deal. For the Palisades High girls tennis team, however, it has seemed like an eternity. Though they have come close several times, the Dolphins have not won a City title since 1998–the longest drought in the program’s storied history. Now head coach Bud Kling and his players are determined to put an end to that drought and start a new Dolphin dynasty. “This could be the year,” Kling said before the playoffs began. “We have a strong team, a deep team and we are solid in singles and doubles. No matter what kind of lineup teams throw against us, we should be ready.” As expected, Palisades (13-0) was named the top seed in the 12-team City (championship) division and the Dolphins justified their ranking with a 7-0 shutout of Western league rival Venice in the quarterfinals last Wednesday at the Palisades Recreation Center. It was Pali’s third win over the Gondos (10-5) this season. Singles players Katy Nikolova, Krista Slocum, Lotte Kiepe and Kathryn Cullen combined to win 48 of 54 games for Palisades. “You never like to play a team three times, but in this case it worked out,” Kling said. “I still would have preferred to play someone new, but we will for sure in the semifinals.” That team was fourth-seeded Bell, which beat No. 5 El Camino Real in the quarterfinals, 5-2. Palisades was a heavy favorite to beat the Northern League champion in a match played Wednesday at Balboa Sports Center in Encino (result unavailable at press time). If victorious, the Dolphins would play Friday at 1 p.m. at the same site against the Granada Hills-Carson winner. Palisades has won a Section record 17 girls team titles, including eight in a row from 1984-91. But since their last title, a 4-3 victory over Granada Hills, the Dolphins have in the first round once, three times in the semifinals and in the finals the last two years. They hope a third straight trip to the finals will be a charm. “We’ve won our league every year and we’re always seeded in the top three, so we’ve been a consistently good team,” Kling said. “We’ve come close several times, we just haven’t gotten it done. This could be our best chance.”