Racquet Resolve

Pali High Boys and Girls Teams Sweep City Tennis Championships

By STEVE GALLUZZO | Sports Editor

There was high drama at the Balboa Sports Center in Encino last Friday afternoon, where the Palisades High boys tennis team pulled several rabbits out of the hat to stun Granada Hills in one of the biggest comebacks in City Section finals history.

Pali High pilot Bud Kling thought he had seen it all in well over 40 years of coaching but after witnessing his team fight back from a 14-11 deficit to claim its 12th consecutive title with a 15 1/2 to 14 triumph, even he was at a loss for words.

“This is about as improbable as it gets,” said Kling, who had all but conceded defeat when No. 2 singles player Noah Zaret suffered severe cramping and had to default his last two sets in the round robin format.  “This certainly wasn’t our finest match but it was certainly our gutsiest. Everything that could go wrong, did go wrong. I thought we’d lost. There have been a few finals that were closer in terms of the score, but I’ve never seen a scenario like this where a team had to win its last four sets to pull it out. Our guys really showed nerves of steel.” 

The win gave Kling his 48th City title (he earned his 47th with the girls the day before) and marked the 38th boys tennis crown in school history and the third straight in the new Open Division.

The Dolphins’ comeback started with sophomores Connor Wootten and Peter Garff overcoming a 4-1 deficit to upset Granada Hills’ top tandem, 6-4.

That pulled Palisades to within 14 to 12 1/2 , but it still had to win the remaining three singles sets to eke out the win—and in two of those the Highlanders’ player was favored. Sophomore Jex Frankel did his job by beating Granada Hills’ No. 4 player, 6-1.

“The biggest thing was just to be there for each other,” said Frankel, who swept his four singles sets, dropping only eight games in the process. “I think it was more about winning than keeping our [City title] streak alive. Before the last round we told each other if we all do our part, we can win.”

Palisades’ No. 4 player Todd Valkov shook off three earlier losses to take Granada Hills’ No. 3 player Dylan Brown into a tiebreaker after trailing for most of the set. He fell behind 4-2 in the tiebreaker, but reeled off five straight points to prevail and inch the Dolphins in front, 14 1/2 to 14.

“I was a bit on the lower side of my confidence level after losing my first three sets 6-4 but you have to find the shining light in it and I had to push myself,” the sophomore said. “I kept telling myself to just hold my serve and hopefully the pressure gets to him before it gets to me.”

On the next court over, No. 3 player Luke Shuman  was in a dogfight of his own against the Highlanders’ No. 2 player David Tinajero. The scenario was simple: whoever won would notch the clinching point for his school. Using no-ad scoring (no deuces) Shuman had set points at 5-3 and 5-4, but missed easy put-aways both times. It looked like he had blown his chance to be the hero after he fell behind 4-0 in the tiebreaker, but remarkably he won the next seven points and his teammates stormed onto the court to congratulate him.       

“I tried to play like my idol [Rafael Nadal],” said Shuman, a junior who earlier beat the Highlanders’ No. 4 player, 7-5. “He’s mentally strong because he takes  every point as it comes. If he hits a bad shot he forgets and mentally resets. I could tell my opponent was nervous so I had to be more aggressive in the tiebreaker. Before the last [singles] round, we all got together and said losing is NOT an option. We did it for Coach Kling and his legacy.”

Kling, the winningest coach in state history, has led the boys to 28 City titles since 1979 and the girls to another 20 since he took over that program in 1984. The girls and boys titles were the first awarded by the City in any sport since February 2020 just prior to the coronavirus outbreak.

“These teams were as even as can be… this could just as easily have turned out the other way,” said a relieved, sticky and soaked Kling, whose players gave him a surprise Gatorade shower during the post-match trophy presentation. “I almost had a heart attack!”

The boys final lasted over four hours and was a physical and emotional roller coaster for both sides. When all was said and done the teams tied 8-8 in singles and the Dolphins held a 5-4 edge in doubles (each set being worth 1 1/2 points). Garff and Wootten won all three of their sets at No. 2, seniors Alex Brous and Jeremy Nelson won one at No. 1 and sophomore Jack Coven paired with junior Lucas Dickman to win one at the No. 3 spot.   

Zaret, playing No. 2 singles, won his first set 6-4 but started cramping in the late stages of his second set and had to retire with the score at 5-5. By rule, he was not allowed to play his remaining sets nor were the Dolphins permitted an injury substitution. They dug themselves an even deeper hole as Shuman lost to Brown and Brous and Nelson fell to Granada Hills’ No. 3 doubles team.

“They were a much better team than anyone thought—I could tell during warmups,” Kling said. “It all worked out in the end.”  

For the first time in his career, Kling celebrated girls and boys championships back-to-back. That is because less than 24 hours earlier the girls regained the crown with a surprisingly one-sided 6-1 victory over the top-seeded Highlanders.    

“Granada Hills was missing its two best singles players and with them in the lineup we’re probably the underdogs,” said Kling, who owns more titles by himself than all but eight schools in the City. “However, we got this done despite three of our returning doubles players not coming back this year.”

It was the ninth finals meeting in 10 years between the programs.  Either Granada Hills or Palisades has won every upper division girls title since 2002. Pali

Unlike the boys, the girls use a head-to-head, best-of-seven format in the playoffs and No. 1 player Iris Berman notched the Dolphins’ first point with a 6-0, 6-0 win.

“I hadn’t played her before but I just focused on my game,” Berman said. “I noticed her movement wasn’t great so I did lots of slicing and drop shots to draw her into the net. It feels really good to win. I’m grateful we got to have a season.”

Halsey Hulse won 6-0, 6-3 at No. 3 singles shortly thereafter and  fellow senior Kalea Martin took her singles match, 6-3, 6-1, at No. 4.

An equipment change aided Anaya Ayanbadejo in her match at No. 1 doubles with fellow sophomore Jade Finestone. The Dolphins duo won easily, 6-1, 6-0, after Finestone dug into her bag and gave her partner a visor in between games.

“We broke them right away, but the sun was so crazy and got in my eyes while I was serving, so I had to adjust my toss and we lost that game,” Ayanbadejo said. “Once I got the visor we didn’t lose another game. I enjoy playing with Jade… we’ve only lost twice in the two years we’ve played together.”

Finestone agreed: “We bring each other’s game up. Both of us served really well today. We wanted to get this win for Coach Kling and the seniors.”

Senior Ciara Kenney partnered with ninth-grader Sophie Szeder to win 6-3, 6-2 at No. 2 and freshmen Yulia Klokova and Marlena Dobrowolski completed the doubles sweep with a 6-2, 6-0 win at No. 3.

The only match with any drama was at No. 2 singles, where Noe Winter battled Granada Hills’ Anisa Londhe for over two hours before falling 10-8 in a super tiebreaker.   

Incredibly, Palisades’ girls and boys teams have combined to win 19 of the City’s last 23 upper division tennis championships.