TENNIS PLAYOFFS : Bell Loses; South Gate Advances

Hamilton High’s boys’ singles teams dominated a second-round match of the City Section 3-A playoffs Wednesday, winning 12 of 16 sets to easily defeat Bell, 16 1/2-13, at Harbor College.

Bell’s second doubles team, Fernando Jimenez and Leo Machado, won three matches. Bell finished the season at 13-2.

Teams get 1 1/2 points for each doubles victory and one point for a singles win. A match consists of 16 sets in singles and nine in doubles.

In other City 3-A playoff action, South Gate defeated Venice, 15-14 1/2, Wednesday at South Gate. After taking an early lead, South Gate needed a win in singles from Roberto Villatoro to clinch a second-round victory. Villatoro beat Hong Ku of Venice, 6-0, in his fourth and final singles set.

South Gate (14-1) plays Marshall, a 26 1/2-3 winner over Kennedy, in the semifinals Monday at the Racquet Centre in Studio City. Venice ended its season at 9-3.