Palisades, Gardena Maintain Hold on City Girls’ Tennis

Palisades and Gardena high schools continued their dominance in girls’ tennis by winning City Section championships Tuesday at the Racquet Centre in North Hollywood.

Palisades won its seventh consecutive 4-A title by defeating Taft, 6-1.

Gardena won its third consecutive 3-A title and fifth in the last seven years, defeating South Gate, 5-2.

Palisades cruised behind straight-set singles victories by Torrey Miller, Karen Manson, Sirsa Shekim and Birdie Gessford, all of whom are ranked among the top five in the City.

Taft’s Stephanie Fontaine and Pam Klosterman, the No. 2-ranked doubles team in the City, defeated top-ranked Yael Allswang and Karly Lemen, 7-6 (9-7), 7-5, for Taft’s only point.

“It’s like having the second-best hand in poker,” Taft Coach Marvin Jones said, referring to his team’s inability to beat Palisades.

Gardena had a tougher time with South Gate, which took an early lead when freshman Aide Orejel defeated Mindy Watanabe, 6-1, 6-3, in the No. 1 singles match.

Four of Gardena’s five points, including all three doubles victories, were achieved in three sets.

The City Section individual singles and doubles championships will begin Thursday at the Racquet Centre.