Lizzie Belokonnyi (left) and Maddy Prins talk about winning the City title.
The smiles on the faces of Maddy Prins and Lizzie Belokonnyi after Thursday afternoon’s City Individual doubles final said it all.
Since deciding to team up after last year’s tournament, the Palisades High juniors have been practically inseparable. They’ve spent more time with each other than with their own families. They can read each other’s thoughts, finish each other’s sentences and anticipate each other’s moves on the court. And along the way they’ve become best friends.
“Both of us have had partners for two years and placed second and third, so this was huge for us,” said Prins, who lost in the finals with Julie Takakjian the previous two years. “It’s been our goal to make it back here and win.”
Their year-long odyssey came to an end at Balboa Sports Center in Encino, where the two were crowned section doubles champions after their 6-2, 6-3 victory over Granada Hills’ Sydney Hsueh and Shalini Vijaye Kumar. In accomplishing their personal mission they also ended the West Valley League’s eight-year streak of doubles winners and became the first Palisades pair to win the Individual title since Yasmir Navas and Lauren Pugatch upset another Granada Hills tandem, Roxanne Plata and Julia D’Yanchenco, 4-6, 7-6 (5), 7-5, in 2005.
Prins and Belokonnyi led the Dolphins to their second consecutive team championship this fall, but their individual triumph was even more satisfying because of the sacrifices they had to make.
“Both of our partners graduated so we figured now’s the time — the sooner we start playing together the better,” said Belokonnyi, who finished third at Individuals last year with Katie Vincent. “Over the summer we went to camp and then after camp we went to practice together with another coach. We both wanted it a lot. Driving four hours one way to tournaments, sitting in traffic, driving back — it was exhausting, but this makes it all worth it.”
Prins and Belokonnyi did not drop a set in five matches despite twice having to play two rounds in one day and they finished the season undefeated against City opponents.
“Our chemistry is great together and having that kind of bond allows us to handle any situation and makes it more fun,” Prins said.
“She knows everything about me and I know everything about her,” Belokonnyi added.
The tournament was delayed several times due to weather and along with the pressure of being the No. 1 seed, Prins and Belokonnyi had to carry the torch for their program after the Dolphins’ other two doubles teams dropped out before the tournament even started. Nothing was going to deny Prins and Belokonnyi on Thursday, however, not even a Highlanders duo that presented a style they weren’t used to seeing.
“The conditions today weren’t easy, it was windy, it was about to rain and this team doesn’t have as much pace as the teams we normally train with, so we had to push through that mentally,” Prins said. “It comes down to a confidence thing — you want to stay aggressive but you don’t want to risk over-hitting.”
The Dolphins’ experience showed early as they built a 5-0 lead in the first set and closed it out on Prins’ service winner. After Hsueh and Vijaye Kumar went up 3-2 in the second set, Belokonnyi held serve to level the score, Prins hit a drop shot on break point and then smacked two aces and a forehand winner for a 5-3 lead. Belokonnyi’s crosscourt forehand winner brought a match point and after a double fault, she and Prins finally had reason for celebration, though even that was short and subdued because both had to get home to study for final exams.
“I can’t think of anyone more deserving of this than Maddy and Lizzie,” Pali High Coach Sean Passan said. “They’ve been outstanding team captains and leaders all season and they’ve been committed to this since last year so I’m really happy for them.”
As driven as they were to win Individuals this year, Prins and Belokonnyi are just as determined to repeat next fall.
“Two in a row is our goal,” Belokonnyi said. “So no offseason for us. We’ll be training all next semester and playing USTA events over the summer to get ready.”
In the third-place singles match, Palisades senior Diana Silvers defeated Narbonne’s Kyra DeCastro 7-5, 6-2. In the semifinals, Silvers had lost to Granada Hills senior Sarah Nuno, who captured her third singles title with a 6-1, 6-3 victory over teammate Risa Fukushige.
— Steve Galluzzo
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