Palisades Is Favored Again

The Palisades boys’ swimming team did not have the top qualifying time in any event during last week’s City Section preliminaries, but the two-time defending champion Dolphins will be favored to make it three section titles in a row today at Los Angeles Swimming Stadium.

Twelve Palisades swimmers qualified in multiple events -- all of whom could score points -- and the Dolphins had the second-fastest qualifying times in two of the three relays.

The Dolphins’ depth is especially evident in the 100-yard freestyle, where David Nonberg, Paris Hays and Gavin Jones qualified for the finals by finishing third, fourth and fifth, respectively.

“The boys’ [meet] is our meet to lose,” Palisades Coach Maggie Nance said. “If everybody can do what they’re supposed to, we should win.”

The Dolphins, however, will be challenged by San Pedro, which set a City record in the 200-yard free relay during preliminaries. The Pirates feature senior Ivan Perhat, the defending champion in the 100 and 200 free, and the top-qualifying 400 free relay team.

Palisades’ three-time defending champion girls’ team, led by three-time 50-free champion and two-time 100-free champion Cara Davidoff -- who will swim the 200 free and 100 butterfly today -- will be challenged by Reseda Cleveland.

Cleveland’s depth is superior to that of Palisades, and the Cavaliers will benefit from having three top-six finishers in last week’s diving finals, because those points are included in final swimming scores.

Deborah Hefter, the top qualifier in the 100 free, and Cheong-Nyu Rhee, the fastest qualifier in the 200 individual medley, are the Cavaliers’ best swimmers.

-- Lauren Peterson

Boys’ Volleyball

Second-seeded Westlake Village Westlake expects to face a revamped Irvine Woodbridge when the teams play at 7 tonight at Westlake Village Oaks Christian in a semifinal match of the Southern Section Division I playoffs.

Westlake (23-1) survived 44 unforced errors in a five-game victory over Santa Ana Mater Dei in the quarterfinals. Woodbridge (27-5) got 30 kills from outside hitter John Winder, a converted setter, and upset third-seeded San Clemente in four games to avenge a three-game loss to the Tritons in the finals of the Orange County championships.

In the other Division I semifinal, defending champion L.A. Loyola (20-2) plays Fountain Valley (24-5) at Huntington Beach Marina at 7 p.m.

-- Paul McLeod

Track and Field

Senior Daniel Nunn of San Luis Obispo, who won the Division III races of the state and Southern Section cross-country championships, has withdrawn from the boys’ 1,600 in the Masters Meet on Friday at Cerritos College so he can focus on the 3,200. He will be replaced by junior Alex Greenburg of Upland.

Nunn, who has signed with Georgetown, was fifth in the 3,200 in the Masters Meet last year.

-- John Ortega

Girls’ Basketball

Lynea Williams, whose game-winning basket led Los Angeles Crenshaw to the City Section championship over Harbor City Narbonne, has signed with Vermont. A 5-foot-9 guard, Williams was The Times’ Central City player of the year after averaging 16.6 points and 10 rebounds for the Cougars (28-2).

-- Martin Henderson

Obituaries

Nelson Tennis, who founded Cal-Hi Sports and began keeping and researching statewide records in the 1970s, died Sunday in Sacramento of complications from bladder cancer. He was 67.

Tennis started Cal-Hi Sports in 1978 with his nephew, Mark Tennis.

The newsletter-based publication, which had its origins in 1975 when Tennis began ranking football teams, evolved into Student Sports magazine.

Tennis graduated from Grass Valley Nevada Union High in 1954 and San Jose State in 1958. He was a chemist for the U.S. Food and Drug Administration and the U.S. Department of Agriculture in the Bay Area until 1969, when he refused a transfer to Los Angeles.

Tennis then began to notice the interest statewide in high school sports and began putting his detail-oriented, research-driven concepts of chemistry to use in collecting sports data.

The family will hold a private graveside service and a public memorial service. Details are pending.

-- Dan Loumena