For the 15th time in the last 16 years, Palisades and Granada Hills met for the City Section Open Division girls’ tennis championship Wednesday afternoon.
For the second year in a row, Palisades came out on top, winning eight of nine doubles sets (each worth one and a half points) in the round-robin format on its way to a 20-9.5 victory at Balboa Sports Center in Encino.
It was the 31st City title for the top-seeded Dolphins (21-5), who clinched the championship when their No. 1 doubles team of Remy Trepanier and Penelope Mihal beat the Highlanders’ No. 3 duo of Nicole Khachatourians and Sammi Cho 6-1 to earn Palisades’ 15th point
“We lost our top seven players from last year but these girls worked hard and improved,” Palisades coach Robert Silvers said. “I’m really proud of them.”
Palisades and Granada Hills have combined to win the last 25 upper division crowns (14 by Palisades and 11 by Granada Hills) and since the debut of the Open Division in 2017, Palisades has won the four-team bracket seven times and Granada Hills three.
Mihal and Trepanier dropped only five games in three sets, the Dolphins’ No. 2 pair of Brienne Dominguez and Nina Arasteh swept 7-5, 6-4, 6-1 and the third tandem of McKenna Adham and Sonia Shirley sandwiched a pair of 6-4 wins around a 6-3 defeat to the Highlanders’ No.1 team of Iris Huang and Christina Surmabukian.
Granada Hills High’s No. 2 singles player Ayah Vilien hits a forehand return Wednesday at Balboa Sports Center.
(Steve Galluzzo / For The Times)
The schools split the 16 singles sets (each worth one point). The Dolphins’ No. 1 player Aila Monahan and No. 2 player Charlie Roberts each won three sets before being subbed out for the last round with a second straight title already secure.
Palisades ended Granada Hills’ three-peat bid with a 25-4.5 finals win last fall.
“We expect to play Pali in the finals every year and it’s always a good match,” Granada Hills coach Troy Aiken said.