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Support our high school sports coverage by becoming a digital subscriber. Subscribe now Portola and Magnolia faced rain delays and schedule changes in their respective divisions before taking on challenging opponents this week in the CIF-SS girls tennis championships. Neither of the obstacles stopped the Bulldogs or Sentinels from competing well.
Palos Verdes and Malibu were just a little better. In a clash of undefeated teams in the Open Division final, Palos Verdes defeated Portola 10-8 on Tuesday at the University of Redlands. On Monday, Malibu edged Magnolia 83-77 on games after the teams tied 9-9 in sets at Santa Monica High.
Portola coach Natasha Schottland focused on the positives after the loss, noting that the Bulldogs (22-1) will play in the CIF-USTA SoCal Regional starting on Friday. “I’m so proud of the team for their playoff run,” she said. “Our motto was ‘Road to the regionals’ so every match we played throughout the season I reminded the girls that it was one small step to our overall goal.
” Schottland said she knew top-seeded Palos Verdes (22-0) would be a “tough” match. “Their doubles are high-level,” she said. Palos Verdes won eight of nine sets in doubles en route to its first Open crown.
No. 2 seed Portola claimed seven sets in singles, including a sweep from junior Kylie Nguyen. Sophomore Payton Nguyen added two victories in singles.
Portola and Palos Verdes were scheduled to play on Nov. 15 but were rained out. On Friday, the Bulldogs open the regional against Del Norte from the San Diego Section at The Claremont Club.
“Looking forward to hopefully meeting PV this weekend in regional,” Schottland said. “Should be some top notch tennis.” In the Division 7 final, Magnolia (13-7-1) and No.
2 seeded Malibu (14-6) were rained out Friday at The Claremont Club. The teams were re-scheduled to play at El Segundo on Monday before moving to Santa Monica. “This totally affected the flow of spirit and mentality for our girls and I believe changed the outcome for our team,” Magnolia coach Anne Fumelle said.
“Overall it was a great run and a surprisingly successful season. Magnolia is super proud of the tennis culture at our school. It is a thriving, happy family of athletes.
” In singles, Magnolia seniors Jenny Pham and Le Thai both won two sets. The Sentinels captured five of the nine sets in doubles. They narrowly dropped two sets in doubles 7-6 in tie-breakers and won a set in a tie-breaker.
Corona del Mar and Santa Margarita will also compete in the regional Friday. The Sea Kings face Canyon Crest while the Eagles take on Granada Hills. The SoCal winner from Saturday’s final faces the NorCal champion in the second annual state final Nov.
30 at Sierra Sport & Racquet Club in Fresno. Related Articles.
