PALISADES HIGH ROUNDUP

Tennis Takes Aim at League Title

Once again, the Palisades High girls varsity tennis team is poised to win the Western League. Standing in the way of the Dolphins’ 19th league title in head coach Bud Kling’s 20 seasons is second-place Venice, which will try to gain a share of first place with a victory today at Palisades Recreation Center. The first meeting between the teams was no contest, as Palisades defeated the host Gondoliers, 6-1, on October 11. ‘I’m very happy that we’ve done as well as we have in league,’ said Palisades’ co-captain Krista Slocum. ‘We were expecting to win it, but I’m not sure we thought it would be this easy.’ Slocum said the loss of No. 1 singles player Olivia Colman (who dropped out of Palisades to enroll in an independent study program just before the start of the season) motivated the team to practice harder. ‘That forced the rest of us, especially our younger players, to work more on their strokes and improve because we knew it was going to be much tougher.’ Palisades (9-2 overall, 8-0 in league) remained undefeated in league with a 7-0 shutout of University on Monday. Slocum and Yasmir Navas won, 8-1, at No. 1 doubles while Lauren Pugatch teamed with Masha Elakovic to win 8-0 at No. 2 doubles and the duo of Brittany O’Neal-Eleylka Salamipour won 8-3 at No. 3. In singles, Contessa Brown won, 8-1, at No. 1, Sara Yankelevitz won, 8-2, at No. 2, Mary Logan won, 8-1, at No. 3 and Lotte Kiepe won, 8-0, at the No. 4 spot. Palisades hosts Fairfax in the season finale next Monday. Girls Volleyball The Dolphins will have revenge on their minds when they travel to Venice today for a rematch that could determine the Western League champion. The Gondoliers dealt Palisades (9-2, 7-1) its only league defeat but the Dolphins have since beaten Venice in a tournament and another win over their archrivals would gain the Dolphins a share of first-place and a higher seed in the playoffs. ‘We’ve matured a lot in our skills and that’s allowed us to change our strategy to a little more of an advanced offense,’ Dolphins’ first-year coach Cheri Stuart said. ‘The girls are demanding more of themselves and I think they feel if they play their best they can beat anybody in the City.’ Despite missing several players, including senior setter Diana Grubb, Palisades reached the semifionals of the Sylmar Tournament last Saturday. With their starting lineup back on the floor, the Dolphins swept visiting University, 25-18, 25-17, 25-20, on Monday. Natasha Vokhshoori had 11 kills to lead Pali while Alex Lunder added 10 kills and three blocks. Football In the varsity game last Friday night, Palisades was simply unable to stop the Venice running game, which amassed 278 yards en route to a 35-0 victory. It was the Dolphins’ fourth loss in a row and the fourth time in seven games that the Pali offense failed to score a touchdown. Known for its vaunted passing attack, the Gondoliers (4-2, 2-0) hardly needed to throw against the Dolphins (1-6, 0-2), as Ken Ashley averaged 10 yards a carry and rushed for four scores. Senior Robert Ambers, who was the Dolphins’ starting quarterback as a sophomore, completed six of 12 passes for 101 yards for Venice. Palisades quarterback Dylan Cohen completed nine of 15 passes for 81 yards and one interception and he punted four times for 165 yards. The Dolphins were held to 41 yards rushing.