Palisades Girls Tennis Defeats Granada Hills to Win City Title

Palisades Defeats Granada Hills for City Section Open Division Tennis Title

Palisades High captured its 31st City title Wednesday afternoon, defeating Granada Hills 20-9.5 at Balboa Sports Center in Encino. The top-seeded Dolphins secured their second title by winning eight of nine doubles sets in the round-robin format, as latimes.com reported.

The victory extends a long-running rivalry in Los Angeles upper division tennis. Palisades and Granada Hills have combined to win the last 25 upper division crowns, with Palisades claiming 14 and Granada Hills taking 11. Since the Open Division’s debut in 2017, Palisades has won the four-team bracket seven times, while Granada Hills has captured three titles.

How the Dolphins Clinched the Match in Encino

Palisades (21-5) secured the championship during the doubles rotation when its No. 1 team of Remy Trepanier and Penelope Mihal defeated the Highlanders’ No. 3 duo, Nicole Khachatourians and Sammi Cho, 6-1. That point marked the 15th of the match for the Dolphins, mathematically putting the contest out of reach.

The Dolphins dominated the doubles sets. Mihal and Trepanier lost just five games across their three sets. Meanwhile, the Palisades No. 2 pair of Brienne Dominguez and Nina Arasteh swept their matches 7-5, 6-4, 6-1. The third tandem of McKenna Adham and Sonia Shirley won two of three sets, sandwiching 6-4 victories around a 6-3 defeat against Granada Hills’ top team of Iris Huang and Christina Surmabukian.

Singles Split and Coach Reactions After the Final

The two programs split the 16 singles sets evenly, with each set worth one point. Palisades’ No. 1 player Aila Monahan and No. 2 player Charlie Roberts each won three sets before being subbed out for the last round with a second straight title already secure. For Granada Hills, No. 2 singles player Ayah Vilien anchored the lineup on the court during the afternoon.

We lost our top seven players from last year, but these girls worked hard and improved, Palisades coach Robert Silvers said. I’m really proud of them.

The match marked another chapter in an annual postseason matchup. Last fall, Palisades ended Granada Hills’ bid for a three-peat with a 25-4.5 victory in the finals.

We expect to play Pali in the finals every year, and it’s always a good match, Granada Hills coach Troy Aiken said.

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