Palisades High School boys tennis team took the City Championship titles for team, individual and doubles under coach Bud Kling (left).
In Boys Tennis and Boys and Girls Lacrosse
BOYS TENNIS WINS THREE CITY TITLES
Palisades High tennis coach Bud Kling, who was inducted into the CIF City Section Hall of Fame in 2017, continued piling up championships on April 30 when his boys team captured their 11th straight City title at the Balboa Sports Center.
The top-seeded Dolphins defeated North Hollywood in the semi-finals, then swamped second-seeded Granada Hills, 23 to 6.5, to add another title.
Kling, who started coaching boys tennis at PaliHi in 1979, has won 26 boys titles. He coached the girls from 1984 to 2008 and from 2015 through 2018, winning 19 titles. Kling leads all coaches in City Section history.
Additionally, Kling is four wins away from national record of 1244, with 1240.
DOUBLES MATCHES
Once Palisades captured the City team title, it was onto doubles. Freshmen Noah Zaret and Michael Kaplan were seeded first and went straight through, with their biggest competition coming in the semi-finals from Pali teammates junior Adam Glickman and freshman Lucas Shuman (seeded fifth). Zaret/Kaplan won 7-5, 6-0 to gain the finals.
In the lower bracket, freshman Landon Crondin and sophomore Souma Hayakawa (third seeded), upset the second-seeded Granada Hills duo, Shaan Londhe and Samuel Blumkin, in the semis by a 6-2, 6-4 score.
For the doubles title it was Zaret/Kaplan against Crondin/Hayakawa, with Zaret/Kaplan prevailing 6-3, 6-3.
Glickman and Shuman won the consolation match defeating Londhe/Blumkin 1-6, 7-5, 6-0.
INDIVIDUAL MATCHES
Palisades took first, second and fourth place in the individual tournament, led by seniors Henry Lovett, Danilo Milic and junior Lincoln Bellamy, respectively.
Sophomore Atticus Parker was seeded fifth, and won his first matches, but then lost to fourth-seeded Maximus Catabona from Sylmar, 6-1, 6-3.
Bellamy won his first three rounds before losing to teammate Milic, 6-0, 6-0, in the semis.
Lovett’s most difficult challenge came against Milic in the finals, where he prevailed 6-4, 6-4.
Catabona defeated Bellamy for third place.
Palisades High School boys lacrosse team won the City Championship.
Photo: Courtesy Palisades High School
LACROSSE: BOTH TEAMS CAPTURE TITLES
Many City schools have only recently added lacrosse as a spring sport, given that it didn’t become an official City Section sport until 2014. This year was the first time that Palisades High triumphed in the championship games, taking both boys and girls titles.
BOYS LACROSSE:
Palisades boys have won the title every year, except in 2015, and it came easy on April 27 as they routed El Camino 19-3 for their fifth championship. Coach Kevin Donovan took over the program four years ago and this year’s team finished 6-2 in league and 11-8 overall.
Then it was a question of whether the team would be seeded in the L.A. Championship bracket or would play in the lower bracket.
In the lacrosse coaches poll, Palos Verdes was voted number one and Loyola was seeded second in the Championship bracket.
Palisades was seeded number two in the lower division bracket, behind Brentwood. Early in the season, the Dolphins had lost to the Eagles 14-10.
Palisades won its opening match against Culver City, 15-11, and then beat third-seeded Redondo Union, 11-5.
In the championship game at Mira Costa on May 10, the Dolphins got their revenge on neighboring Brentwood, beating them 15-11 for the trophy.
Loyola won the Championship bracket by defeating West Ranch, Mira Costa, Oaks Christian and Palos Verdes (by a 12-6 score).
GIRLS LACROSSE:
The PaliHi girls had reached the City finals five years in a row, only to lose to Birmingham every time. This year the curse was broken, and the Dolphins won the school’s first girls City lacrosse title.
They beat the Patriots 10-6, leaving no room for doubt that this was a different team than in previous years, and that the game they played against their archrivals on April 22 and won 12-7 was not a fluke.
The new coach this year, Katlyne Duffer, saw her team win league with an 8-0 record and finish 15-3-1 overall.
After winning the City title, the Dolphins were seeded 13th in the L.A. Girls Lacrosse Championship tournament. Redondo Union earned the top seed. Pali had to face fourth-seeded Glendale in the opening round, and the teams were tied 7-7 at halftime, but Glendale eaked out a 12-11 win. Early in the season the Dolphins lost to Glendale 10-4.
Glendale lost to Redondo in the semi-finals, 19-14, and Palos Verdes won the championship match, 13-9.
GOLF: BOYS ARE SECOND TO GRANADA HILLS
Palisades took second in the City behind Granada Hills on May 15 at the Wilson Golf Course in Griffith Park. Granada won the tournament with 370 shots, versus 379 by the Dolphins.
Individually, David Wong and Leo Cheng of Granada Hills shot 69 and 71 respectively. Pali’s Charlie Lovett tied for third with a 72 that featured three birdies.
Lovett’s teammate Bilguudei Enkhbold shot a 73 and finished seventh. Teammates Noah Mirza (12th) had a 77, Jaden Vann (15th) a 78 and Ali Zafar-Khan and Jackson Nettleships had 79, which was good enough for 17th and 18th in a 61-man field.
The team qualified for the Southern California Regional Finals in Pasadena on May 23. The Dolphins took tenth – La Costa Mavericks won the team tournament. The top individual qualifier for state was Tyler Guo of Crean Lutheran, who was four under par. The best score for Palisades was Noah Mirza’s 76, which was four above par.
For those who do well at regionals, the next step is the State Championship, a one-day event, with teams and individuals competing in 18 holes of stroke play. The top six individuals and top three teams of each region advance to the championship.