El Camino Real Secures Fifth Tennis Title in a Row

Ten years, two tennis champions.

That became official on Friday, when top-seeded Woodland Hills El Camino Real (16-0) won its fifth consecutive City Section Championship Division title by defeating third-seeded Granada Hills, 21 1/2-8, at Balboa Sports Center in Encino.

The Conquistadores tied a record set by Palisades, which won team titles from 1995 to 1999.

“I don’t know how much longer I’ll be able to say this, but for now we’re the only team to win the championship this decade,” El Camino Real Coach Marvin Jones told his team after the match.

UC Riverside-bound Phil Gegenheimer lost only one game in his four sets -- that one coming in a 6-1 victory over Granada Hills’ Phil Weisburd in a showdown at No. 1 singles. Weisburd won the Highlanders’ only two singles sets as he split four on the day.

Granada Hills (11-5), which took seven of nine doubles sets against Palisades in Wednesday’s semifinals, lost the doubles battle, 5-4, to the Conquistadores.

Elia Powers

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Winning a championship is never easy and defending it is supposed to be harder, but Chatsworth had little trouble sweeping Los Angeles University, 25-17, 25-19, 25-23, Friday night at Pierce College to become the fourth school to win three consecutive City Section boys’ volleyball titles.

With the score tied, 23-23, in Game 3, Robert Pate and Juno Ramos combined to block Bat Altankhuwag to give the top-seeded Chancellors (17-0) a match point. When Sean Freeark pounded a kill through a block on the next point, Chatsworth could begin to celebrate its sixth City title since 1974.

“I think our experience is what pulled us through that last game,” Chatsworth senior setter Collin Parker said. “Most of us are seniors and when we are down we don’t look to our coach, we look to each other. It’s hard when you haven’t played a team before, but we told each other there’s no way we are losing.”

Parker finished with 32 assists. Freeark had 11 kills and four blocks and Pate added 10 kills and five blocks for Chatsworth, which is ranked No. 6 in the Southland by The Times and has compiled a 58-6 record the last four seasons.

The second-seeded Wildcats (14-2) committed six service errors in the second game, the last by Jose Vera on game point that capped an 8-3 Chancellor run.

Ralph Johnson had 12 kills and Altankhuwag added 10 for University, which was attempting to become the first school from outside the San Fernando Valley to win the title since Palisades in 1998.

Steve Galluzzo

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Sprinter Jamere Holland of Woodland Hills Taft continued his superb sophomore season in the West Valley League finals at Lake Balboa Birmingham.

Holland, who was academically ineligible last year, won the boys’ 100 meters in a wind-aided 10.50 seconds, the 200 in a wind-aided 21.32 and ran anchor legs on teams that won the 400 relay in 41.68 and the 1,600 relay in 3:21.05.

Holland’s time in the 100 was the fastest in the state this year under any conditions and Taft’s time in the 400 relay was the second-fastest in the state this year behind Long Beach Poly (41.12).

Junior David Gettis of Dorsey, the defending state 400-meter champion, won that event in a state-best 46.72 and won the 200 in 21.51 at the Coliseum League finals at East L.A. College. Gettis also anchored the Dons’ 1,600-meter relay team to a nation-leading time of 3:12.46.

-- John Ortega