Still Best in the West

PaliHi Girls Tennis Dominates League

Winning never gets old for the Palisades High girls tennis team. In fact, it has become a mere formality in the Western League. The Dolphins have won six league championships in a row and are undefeated in Western League matches since a 5-2 loss at Westchester in November 2000. This season was supposed to be one of rebuilding for a squad that lost most of its starters to graduation and yet, whenever the Dolphins take the court for a league match, the question isn’t whether they will win, rather by how much. Palisades (11-2 overall, 6-0 in league) continued its domination last week with shutout victories over University, Westchester and Fairfax, then dispatched host Los Angeles Hamilton on Monday, 6-1, despite the absence of No. 1 player Katy Nikolova. The Yankees, however, became the first league opponent to win a set against the Dolphins this season when top player Amira Massi beat Palisades freshman Samantha Kogan 8-7 in a tiebreaker at No. 1 singles. The other singles sets were also close, but Palisades won them all. Kathryn Cullen beat Hami’s Emma Esrock, 8-6, at No. 2 singles to avenge a loss to Esrock last year. Pali’s Audrey Ashraf defeated Mirana Malina, 8-6, at No. 3 singles and Pali’s Genna Rochlin beat Emily Pompan, 8-6, at No. 4 singles. A key to the Dolphins’ success this fall has been its depth at doubles and that strength was evident against Hamilton. No matter who Head Coach Bud Kling pairs together, the result is always a win. On Monday, Phoebe Driscoll and Yasmin Ghiasi played No. 1 and beat Hami sisters Eliya and Savanna Levine, 8-3. Erika Lee teamed with Rose Schlaff to win 8-5 over Hami’s No. 2 duo of Ashanti McMillan and Ayanna Harris and Pali’s Liz Silvers and Marina Sterngold beat Zoe Bain and Samantha Nehls 8-2. Through one round of league play, Palisades leads second place Venice by two matches and holds the added advantage of having already beaten the Gondos, 7-0, head-to-head. Gunning for their third consecutive Section title, the Dolphins know finishing undefeated in league will increase their chances of nabbing the No. 1 seed when the City playoffs begin in November. Palisades’ only two losses have been to highly-ranked Southern Section teams–Beverly Hills and Manhattan Beach Mira Costa–in the Bay Area Invitational.