Joe Silvers, whose match turned out to be the decisive one when Palisades High won their fourth consecutive City title over El Camino Real on May 14, defeated Jaime Barajas of ECR last Tuesday in the City Individual finals, 6-2, 7-6 (2). Silvers did not break much of a sweat in reaching the final, defeating two ECR opponents before disposing of Nick Koretsky in straight sets in the semifinals, 6-1, 6-3. No. 2 Dolphins singles player Sam Catanzaro, a senior, reached the quarterfinals before falling to Barajas in three sets, 3-6, 7-5, 6-1. Meanwhile, seniors Spencer Pekar and Robert Silvers rallied in their doubles finals over Granada Hills’ Roger Carnow and Ardi Safi to win, 7-6 (6), 6-4 victory. They trailed 5-2 in the first set before forcing the tiebreaker, then trailed 5-1 in the tiebreaker before rattling off seven of the next eight points. Pekar and Silvers had been downright dominant in reaching the finals, winning their first two matches after a first-round bye, 6-0, 6-0. They also had little trouble in the semifinals, defeating their PaliHi teammates, sophomore Ryan Schindler and senior Brendal Palumbo, 6-1, 6-3. Schindler and Palumbo also had a first-round bye, then defeated an Eagle Rock duo in three sets, 3-6, 6-3, 6-1, to advance to play Pekar and Silvers. Also winning a match, against Banning, was junior Alex Mack and senior Austin Gingold, 6-1, 6-3, before falling to Carnow and Safi in round two, 6-4, 6-1. Freshman Bailey Joseph and senior Alex Nam lost in the second round following a first-round bye.
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