Granada Hills’ Portnoy Falls in Tennis Final

Heather Willens of Palisades High, the top-seeded player in the City Section tennis championships, defeated Alisha Portnoy of Granada Hills, 6-2, 6-1, to win the 4-A individual title Monday at the Racquet Centre in Studio City.

Although Willens defeated Portnoy in the team finals 2 weeks ago and again in a tournament at Industry Hills on Saturday, Portnoy, seeded third in the tournament, said she was not intimidated before the match.

“I just wanted to go out and try as hard as I could,” said Portnoy, who had cruised through the tournament, losing just 1 game heading into the final. “I really had nothing to lose.”

Down 3-0 in the first set, Portnoy mounted a rally and narrowed the deficit to 3-2. But she could not sustain the momentum and Willens won the next 3 games to close out the set.

Willens wasn’t overpowering, relying instead on a steady attack and capitalizing on Portnoy’s errors.

“I was too streaky,” Portnoy said. “I just couldn’t keep the ball in play. She gets the key points. That’s basically the difference right there.”