After Long Courtship, Taft Girls Ready for Big Day

After four seasons as bridesmaid, the Taft High girls’ tennis team believes its turn to wear the ring as City Section 4-A Division champion has finally arrived.

Taft has reached the City final four years in a row, only to be beaten by Palisades, winner of 13 consecutive titles. The Toreadors will try to advance to their fifth consecutive City final when they meet Grant today at 1 p.m. at the Racquet Centre in Studio City.

But this is the first time Taft, seeded No. 1 in the tournament, is favored to win.

“It’s a special feeling,” Coach Marvin Jones said of the No. 1 rating. “This is the strongest singles ladder I’ve ever had and the doubles have been solid.”

Taft is two steps from that coveted title. Step one is beating Grant, an 11-1 team that lost its only match, 6-1, to the Toreadors in September. And looming on the horizon again is Palisades (11-0), which can advance to Friday’s final with a victory today over Birmingham (9-5).

“It’s a little frustrating,” Jones said. “Each year you go to the final and each year you face the same team with the same result.

“We say it every year and we’ve been saying it for four years, maybe this is our year.”

This time he might be right. The Toreadors narrowed the gap on Palisades in last year’s final, losing, 5-2, the tightest margin in the four-year stretch.

“Last year was the first year I felt we gave Palisades a scare,” Jones said.

The Toreadors--winners of six consecutive Northwest Valley Conference titles--have been even stronger this season, going 14-0 with a lineup that includes junior Brahna Pastorini, the City’s top-ranked player.

Pastorini, the daughter of former NFL quarterback Dan Pastorini and actress June Wilkinson, last year finished third in the City individual championships and beat top-ranked Sirsa Shekim of Palisades, 2-6, 6-1, 6-4, in the team final.

Pastorini is one of three singles players who have cruised through the season undefeated. Joining her with 14-0 records are sophomore Julie Feldman and junior Kimberly Shapiro. Senior Krista Ramyead (10-4) has been steady at No. 4 singles.

Feldman, a sophomore, has given Taft depth since transferring from Notre Dame this fall. She is one of the top 30 players in the 16-year-old-and-under division in Southern California.

“We really have two No. 1 players, with Brahna and Julia,” Jones said.

At No. 1 doubles, sophomore Alicia Whelan has joined junior Astra Ramyead to post a 13-1 record. Keri Borzelo and Rose Lopez (12-2), a pair of seniors at No. 2, and freshman Lydia Daniller and sophomore Marissa Parker (11-1) at No. 3 also have impressive records.