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Pairings Set for City Individual Tennis Draws

Three Palisades High singles players and two doubles teams get first-round byes.

The Los Angeles City Section Individual singles and doubles tournaments are scheduled to begin Tuesday at Balboa Sports Center in Encino and will be well-represented in both draws.

The Dolphins' top duo of Perri Zaret and Julie Takakjian is seeded No. 2 out of 24 teams and was awarded a first-round bye. They will play the winner of Tuesday's match between Cleveland's Vivian Huynh and Katherine Chavez and Luisa Martin and Angel Noriega of L.A. Banning in the second round Thursday. Zaret and Takakjian beat Huynh and Chavez, 6-0, 6-0, in the semifinals of team competition last week. 

The top-seeded team is Granada Hills' Analyssa Tallas and Samantha Nuno, who captured the Individual doubles crown last year. They also have a first-round bye and would not meet Zaret and Takakjian until the finals.

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Also receiving a first-round bye was Palisades' No. 2 team of Jesse Zand and Katie Pfannkuche. They will play the winner of Tuesday's match between Chatsworth's Victoria Kellikidis and Danielle Kim and Rebecca Uber and Brittany Barmaper of North Hollywood in the second round Thursday.

Palisades' No. 3 duo of Emily Wettleson and Melody Wilkenfeld also qualifed but will have one tough turnaround, having to play at 12:30 p.m. Tuesday, scarcely 24 hours after the City team final against Granada Hills, which was pushed back to Monday because of rain. Wettleson and Wilkenfeld take on Monroe's Genine Cumba and Manny Jacob, with the winners meeting Meena Janerkrabuanhad and Dianne Sarmiento of Granada Hills on Thursday.

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Regarding Monday's team finals, Coach Sean Passan thinks only time will tell if the postponement works to Palisades' advantage.

"It could be viewed either way," he said. "My doubles team and five guys from the [Pali High] boys team came out to practice so the girls could work on their timing against more pace. Hopefully that lesson can last through Monday's match."

The Dolphins also have three players in the Individual singles field. All of them are seeded among the top 8 and therefore have first-round byes. Senior Jessie Corneli, making her fourth appearance in the singles tournament, was honored with the after reaching the quarterfinals last fall. She will play the winner of Tuesday's match between Nora Landes of Cleveland and Nichole Kim of Van Nuys in the second round at 11 a.m. on Thursday. A potential quarterfinal matchup would pit Corneli against top-seeded Shayla Fulton of Dorsey, who lost to singles champion Alexandra Tallas of Granada Hills in the semifinals last year.

Dolphins freshman Diana Silvers will play either Sheri Jong of Eagle Rock or Esther Moreno of Santee in the second round Thursday. If seedings hold, Silvers would meet Cassandra Fisbeck of Granada Hills in the quarterfinals. Fisbeck was third at last year's tournament. 

In the bottom half of the bracket is Palisades sophomore Katie Vincent, who will take on the winner of Tuesday's match between Narbonne's Patty Ramos and Madison Varias of Verdugo Hills on Thursday. Vincent defeated Ramos, 6-0, 6-1, at No. 2 singles in the team quarterfinals. Should she prevail in her second-round match, Vincent is likely to face Granada Hills freshman Sarah Nuno, the No. 2 seed, in the quarterfinals. 

As for Monday's City team championship, it's a clash of tennis titans. Granada Hills is in pursuit of its fourth consecutive crown and 10th overall while Palisades is after its 21st title and first since 2007. On paper, the first-to-seven-points matchup looks too close to call, but coaches from two of Palisades' opponents offered their opinions last week.

"I'd favor Granada Hills because of the experience factor and their singles lineup, but they can't just show up and expect to win it, that's for sure," said Cleveland Coach Derek Lowe, whose Cavaliers lost to the Highlanders 7-0 and 6-1 in West Valley League play and fell to Palisades 7-0 last Tuesday in the semifinals. "Granada Hills is singles heavy but their doubles are by no means weak."

"I think Pali will win, but I haven't seen Granada Hills yet this year and I've been wrong before," said Venice Coach Mike Finegold, whose Gondos won 10 of their last 13 matches and captured the City Invitational title last Thursday. "Pali had some huge preseason wins and they're really, really deep. If they win it makes us look better, so I'm rooting for Pali."

Weather permitting, the City Championship team final will start at noon at .

Below are Tuesday's first-round City Individual matchups:

SINGLES

(1) Shayla Fulton, Dorsey, bye

Berenice Meza, Bell vs. Jacqueline Alayvilla, Narbonne

(8) Jessie Corneli, Palisades, bye

Nora Landes, Cleveland vs. Nichole Kim, Van Nuys

(6) Diana Silvers, Palisades, bye

Sheri Jong, Eagle Rock vs. Esther Moreno, Santee

(4) Cassandra Fisbeck, Granada Hills, bye

Josephine Ho, Verdugo Hills vs. Leslie Vasquez, South East

Jessica Goldbeck, Taft vs. Michelle Ngo, Reseda

(3) Yvonne Likomanova, LACES, bye

Nicole Kim, Eagle Rock vs. Andrea Mosqueda, Gardena

(5) Abby Esrock, Hamilton, bye

Patty Ramos, Narbonne vs. Madison Varias, Verdugo Hills

(7) Katie Vincent, Palisades, bye

Youjata Phonsapan, North Hollywood vs. Lilit Oganessian, Marshall

(2) Sarah Nuno, Granada Hills, bye

DOUBLES

(1) Analyssa Tallas-Samantha Nuno, Granada Hills, bye

Lizbeth Medina-Jamie Vasquez, Banning vs. Sarah Barambangan-Rosette Perez, Eagle Rock

(8) Kelsey Macapagal-Diana Shin, Van Nuys, bye

April Kim-Julia Nguyen, Cleveland vs. Mary Gawaran-Megan Mercado, Narbonne

(6) Jesse Zand-Katie Pfannkuche, Palisades, bye

Victoria Kellikidis-Danielle Nguyen, Chatsworth vs. Rebecca Uber-Brittany Barmaper, North Hollywood

(4) Melissa Garibay-Rebecca Rodriguez, Banning, bye

Denisha Selma-Bari Scott, LACES vs. Paulina Morato-Melissa Saluta, Eagle Rock

Cindy Nguyen-Catherine Olguin, Birmingham vs. Gaby Macias-Delia Macedo, Contreras

(3) Michelle Nguyen-Angelica Ramos, Carson, bye

Emily Wettleson-Melody Wilkenfeld, Palisades vs. Genine Cumba-Manny Jacob, Monroe

(5) Meena Janerkrabuanhad-Dianne Sarmiento, Granada Hills, bye

Zalena Rojas-Estefania Valois, Bell vs. Cindy Luo-Tiffany Phong, Verdugo Hills

(7) Megan Gin-Deborah Chen, Eagle Rock, bye

Luisa Martin-Angel Noriega, Banning vs. Vivian Huynh-Katherine Chavez, Cleveland

(2) Perri Zaret-Julie Takakjian, Palisades, bye 

(Note: Quarterfinals are Nov. 14 at 1 p.m.; semifinals are Nov. 16 at 1 p.m.; finals and third-place matches are Friday, Nov. 18.)

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