Palisades Tennis Is Back on Top

Dolphins Down Carson 6-1 to Win City Section Title for First Time Since 1998

Having lost in the finals the previous two years, Palisades High’s girls varsity tennis team began its season with one clear objective: win the City Section championship. The Dolphins did just that Friday, reclaiming the title that once belonged exclusively to them by soundly defeating Carson, 6-1, at Balboa Sports Center in Encino. It was Palisades’ 18th team crown and first since 1998. After falling short against Granada Hills by 6-1 and 5-2 scores in 2003 and 2004, Friday’s win was most satisfying for the six seniors who made the best of their last chance at a title. “One one hand, I would have liked to have beaten Granada [Hills] in the finals to pay them back for the last two years,” said Pali’s senior co-captain Brittany O’Neil, who celebrated her 17th birthday by teaming with Lauren Pugatch to win at No. 2 doubles. “On the other hand, Carson deserved to be here and gave us a great match. Everything just came together this season. Like a jigsaw puzzle, we finally got all of the pieces to fit.” Palisades (15-0) needed less than an hour and a half to clinch the victory. Katy Nikolova, a sophomore transfer from Burbank, was first off the court. Two days after her 16th birthday she won 6-1, 6-0 at No. 1 singles and finished the season undefeated, not losing a set since joining the team just before the second round of league play. Though the Dolphins might have won even without her, Nikolova was the missing ingredient to the championship mixture. “My goal coming here was just to have fun and to give it my best,” said Nikolova, who was among the top 20 juniors in Southern California in the 14s last year. “The rest of the team has really embraced me and we’ve worked hard for this. I think the secret of our success has been that we all get along so well.” O’Neil offered high praise for her younger teammate. “Katy is such a nice, wonderful girl,” O’Neil said. “She became part of our family right away and having her has really boosted our confidence even more. It gave Krista a better player to practice with and it made our lineup that much stronger. She’s definitely made a difference.” After Carson’s Teresa Macias won 6-2, 6-2 at No. 3 singles to level the match, Palisades’ senior co-captain Krista Slocum won 6-2, 6-2 at No. 2 singles, then teammate Kathryn Cullen won 7-5, 6-0, at No. 4 singles, meaning the Dolphins needed only one of three available doubles points to end the longest stretch between City titles in the program’s storied history. “This is one of the best, hardest working groups I’ve had,” said Palisades coach Bud Kling, who could not contain his elation upon winning his 12th City title with the girls since he took over the program in 1985. “These girls had no egos They were very unselfish and they stayed motivated all the way through the season.” Kling, who led the boys’ team to its 25th City title in May, deemed the Dolphins’ fast start as critical to the outcome of the match. “We have a lot of respect for Carson and after the first few games it looked like it would be closer. Once we got over the nerves and got in a groove we just kept rolling,” he said. “I’m happy for our seniors and for our whole program. Now we have both titles back where they belong.” The second-seeded Colts (15-1), who lost to Palisades in the semifinals last year, were hoping to pull off an upset in doubles. Instead, the Dolphins’ top duo of Yasmir Navas (the Dolphins’ third senior captain) and fellow senior Mary Logan won, 6-4, 6-2, O’Neil and Pugatch won, 6-4, 6-2, and Pali’s No. 3 team of senior Sarah Jurick and sophomore Sarah Yankelevitz won 5-7, 6-1, 6-0. “Our strategy was to try to win two in singles and two in doubles,” Macias said. “We knew their top two players are really strong, so we concentrated on three and four [singles] and also two and three doubles. They were just too good for us today.” In a way it was fitting that Cullen, the only player to post a win in each of the Dolphins’ 15 victories this season, earned the decisive fourth point. After the final ball was struck and Cullen had completed her post-match handshake, she was mobbed on the court by her teammates. Nikolova and Slocum arrived first to give her a hug. “That made me feel real good,” Cullen admitted. “I’m just happy I was able to contribute.” Another celebration ensued after Jurick and Yankelevitz wrapped up their come-from-behind victory to provide the final margin. In a classy display of sportsmanship, Carson players recited a “Who do we appreciate?” cheer for Palisades. The Dolphins huddled and responded by shouting “Carson rocks!” Palisades won a record eight consecutive City titles from 1984-91 and had never gone more than two years without winning a section title before its recent drought. Slocum is happy just to have won once. “It would’ve been really disappointing to lose in the finals again,” she said. “We seniors are proud to be able to say we won our last high school match.” Knowing full well that success at any level is cyclical, Kling would not entertain thoughts of a dynasty, though he predicted the Dolphins will have a strong chance to repeat with two juniors and five underclassmen returning next season. “One of the real challenges is finding good competition,” Kling said. “Our league has been down the last few years so I really have to be tough on the girls in practice to get them to stop their bad habits. When you’re winning all the time it’s easy to slack on fundamentals but I keep telling them that’s not going to work when it really counts.” Slocum said overconfidence was not a problem heading into the finals because Kling addressed the issue in a team meeting before the playoffs started. “He definitely was concerned about that when he found out we got the No. 1 seed. He warned us not to get complacent. So we were prepared for that.” In its three playoff matches, Palisades notched 19 of a possible 21 points. The semifinals last Wednesday were as one-sided as the finals, with Nikolova and Slocum each winning 6-0, 6-0 in a 6-1 rout of fourth-seeded Bell.