Rivals Set Up Title Match

Before point totals were tallied Tuesday in the City Championship semifinals, players on the Granada Hills High and El Camino Real boys’ tennis teams were already looking ahead to the final.

The West Valley League rivals, who have been on a collision course all season, each posted impressive victories to set up a rematch of last year’s final on Thursday at the Balboa Tennis Center in Encino.

No. 2-seeded Granada Hills (14-2) defeated previously unbeaten Van Nuys, 22 1/2-7, to advance to its third consecutive City final.

Top-seeded El Camino Real (16-0) routed Marshall, 27-2 1/2.

The defending-champion Conquistadores defeated Granada Hills, 17-12 1/2, in last year’s final.

This time, El Camino Real is the favorite, having already defeated the Highlanders twice in league play by 5-2 and 4-3 scores.

Those matches were played under regular-season rules using a head-to-head format. Playoff matches are round robin (16 singles sets and nine doubles sets), making it more difficult for coaches to stack their lineups.

“I think the round-robin format could favor El Camino Real because they have six ranked players,” said Van Nuys Coach Randy Chew, whose team reached the upper-division semifinals for the first time in school history.

“If Granada has a really good day, they have a chance. I hope they win because I’d like to be able to say we lost to the City champs.”

The Highlanders swept all nine doubles sets against Van Nuys, with the No. 1 team of Brad Steinberg and Anand Murthy winning 6-2, 6-0, 6-0, and the No. 2 team of Dustin Sorotsky and Alex Tokar winning 6-2, 6-4, 6-2, to improve to 23-0 this season.

In singles, No. 1 player Nima Roshan of Granada Hills lost one game in four sets and No. 2 player Vlad Kinevsky won three of four sets.

Marshall Coach Jerry Arbogast expects a competitive final.

“I wouldn’t be surprised if it goes right down to the wire,” Arbogast said. “We lost to Granada Hills, 6-1, in the preseason and we weren’t really competitive against them.

“Obviously, El Camino Real has a lot of firepower, but I think Granada is the one team that matches up well against them.”

While Granada Hills’ strength is doubles, El Camino Real boasts four singles players ranked in the top 150 in Southern California by the U.S. Tennis Assn.

Seniors Matt Jones and James Magsino swept at No. 1 and No. 2 singles against the No. 5-seeded Barristers (13-3) to remain undefeated. Jones said depth will be the key to the Conquistadores winning a second consecutive City title.

“The Granada guys still think they can beat us, I just don’t see how,” Jones said. “We have a strong lineup all the way through.

“I mean, we have two ranked players at No. 1 doubles and our No. 4 singles player, Bruce Aiken, would be a No. 1 player anywhere else. I wish they had state playoffs in tennis because I think we’re good enough this year.”

On paper, El Camino Real may look unbeatable. But Granada Hills Coach Ron Wood isn’t counting his team out.

“Our doubles have to dominate and our singles have to hold their own,” Wood said. “If either doesn’t bring their ‘A’ game, it could be a landslide.

“We’ll find out if they are beatable or not on Thursday, but my team has battled hard all year. We suspected this is what would happen, and we have a legitimate chance.”

Steinberg echoed his coach and predicted an upset.

“Our team plays with a lot of heart,” Steinberg said. “[El Camino Real] may have more practice than us. They may have more talent. But we’ll come home with that trophy.”

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CITY SECTION BOYS TENNIS FINAL

THURSDAY: at Balboa Tennis Center, Eninco

El Camino Real vs. Granada Hills, 1 p.m.