Undefeated Taft Team Reaches Doubles Final

Keeping their season record unblemished, Dawn Young and Pam Klosterman of Taft High on Friday eased by Rebecca Perry and Jennifer Galvez of Chatsworth, 6-1, 6-1, to advance to the City Section individual tennis championships at the Racquet Centre of Universal City.

Young and Klosterman (17-0), will play Palisades’ Karen Manson and Birdie Gessford--the tournament’s top-seeded team--who defeated Winnie Tan and Huong Thai of Van Nuys, 6-1, 6-3.

No Valley-area singles player advanced beyond the quarterfinal round. The doubles final will be held at 2 p.m. Tuesday.

“We came out really aggressive and eager to win,” Young said. “We were just determined to make it to the championship.”

It might take more than determination to knock off the Palisades team, which had lost just four games in the tournament before losing four more to Tan and Thai.

“They were definitely a step up in competition,” Gessford said of the Van Nuys pair, which defeated fourth-seeded Yael Allswang and Courtney Lennard of Palisades in the quarterfinals.

The performance of Tan and Thai, both seniors, was particularly impressive considering that Tan took up the sport only two years ago and that this is Thai’s first year on the team. Both also are guards on Van Nuys’ basketball team.

Unlike some of the doubles entrants, Tan and Thai took a quiet approach to their match.

“I would talk to her (Thai) and wait for an answer and get none,” Tan said. “Once (during the match) I served and hit her in the head and I’m like, ‘You OK?’ And she didn’t say anything.”

Things should be a bit more vocal in the championship match. Young’s assessment of Manson and Gessford seems appropriate.

“They are not a normal team,” she said.