Pali High Duos Make City Semifinals

One duo's performance was a microcosm of it's entire season, the other's was unpredictable, but the results were positive for 's two remaining doubles teams in the quarterfinals of the City Individual tournament Monday at . 

Second-seeded Perri Zaret and Julie Takakjian kept their ledger perfect with a 6-1, 6-1 victory over Zalena Rojas and Estefania Valois of Bell, who upset No. 7 Megan Gin and Deborah Chen of Eagle Rock in the second round. Two games is the most any team has taken off the Dolphins' No. 1 tandem, which appears to be on a collision course with reigning champions Analyssa Tallas and Samantha Nuno of Granada Hills.

"We had a pretty easy time of it," said Zaret, a senior co-captain who would like to end her final season on a winning note. "Playing with Julie has been great. I never thought of myself as a doubles player so to do this well has been nice."

Zaret and Takakjian next take on third-seeded Michelle Nguyen and Angelica Ramos of Carson in the semifinals Wednesday. The Colts' duo won 6-4, 6-3 against fifth-seeded Meena Janerkrabuanhad and Dianne Sarmiento of Granada Hills, who eliminated Palisades' Emily Wettleson and Melody Wilkenfeld in three sets in the second round.

If Tallas and Nuno are to meet Zaret and Takajian in Friday's final they will first have to get past the Dolphins' No. 2 team of Katie Pfannkuche and Jesse Zand, which upended fourth-seeded Melissa Garibay and Rebecca Rodriguez, 6-0, 6-1.

Seeded sixth out of 24 teams, Zand and Pfannkuche had to climb out of a 5-2 hole in the second set of their second-round victory but had no such trouble Monday, even though line judges again had to be summoned to their court. If Zand and Pfannkuche manage to upset top-seeded Tallas and Nuno on Wednesday it could potentially set up an all-Palisades final.

"This team hit the ball very soft, not hard at all," Pfannkuche said, adding she would love to play her teammates in the final. "Of course, Peri and Julie are my close friends but the team wins no matter what, so I'm okay with that."

The Dolphins also had three singles players in the Elite Eight, but none of them were able to advance. Senior Jessie Corneli lost to top-seeded Shayla Fulton of Dorsey, 6-1, 6-2, bringing an abrupt end to her high school career. Afterwards, an upbeat Corneli received hugs from her teammates and Coach Sean Passan.

"It didn't really hit me until after we shook hands and I went over to pick up the balls," said Corneli, a four-year varsity singles starter and four-time Individual qualifier. "I knew this would be the last week no matter what. It wasn't something to be upset about today. The team playoffs were more important to me. Here, you don't have to worry about letting anyone down."

After an abundance of baseline rallies in the first set, the No. 8-seeded Corneli attacked the net more in the second, knowing she needed to take her chances.

"I'm really bad at volleying, but I had a volley winner," Corneli said. "Sometimes I get too excited and worry I'm going to hit a dumb shot. The Lord shined upon me. I never notice rankings but there's less pressure when you play someone better than you."    

Sophomore Katie Vincent, seeded seventh, played on the court next to Corneli and lost 6-0, 6-0 to No. 2-seeded Sarah Nuno, a freshman from Granada Hills.

"Points-wise it was really close, games-wise it was a joke," said Vincent, who didn't play Individuals as a freshman. "Every game in the second set went to deuce. She was a good player, very nice and made good line calls."

Vincent played primarily No. 2 singles this season after playng No. 4 last fall.

"Last year was way different because No. 4 is not a competitive spot," she said. "Individuals is a bigger deal because it's all the best players. I think my serve's improved a lot, it's become a big weapon along with my inside-out forehand."

Freshman Diana Silvers faced a more experienced opponent in Granada Hills' Cassandra Fisbeck, who finished third at last year's Individual tournament. Seeded sixth out of 24 players, Silvers was coming off an impressive win in the second-round and although she lost 6-0, 6-1 Monday, Passan was pleased with her competitiveness.

"I thought Diana hung tough and there were a lot of good rallies," Passan said. "She made the other player earn her points on winners. I liked the matchup."

CITY INDIVIDUAL TOURNAMENT

Quarterfinals

SINGLES

(1) Shayla Fulton, Dorsey d. (8) Jessie Corneli, Palisades, 6-1, 6-2

(4) Cassandra Fisbeck, Granada Hills d. (6) Diana Silvers, Palisades, 6-0, 6-1

(3) Yvonne Likomanova, LACES d. (5) Abby Esrock, Hamilton, 6-3, 6-2

(2) Sarah Nuno, Granada Hills d. (7) Katie Vincent, Palisades, 6-0, 6-0

DOUBLES

(1) Analyssa Tallas-Samantha Nuno, Granada Hills d. (8) Kelsey Macapagal-Diana Shin, Van Nuys, 6-0, 6-0

(6) Jesse Zand-Katie Pfannkuche, Palisades d. (4) Melissa Garibay-Rebecca Rodriguez, Banning, 6-0, 6-1

(3) Michelle Nguyen-Angelica Ramos, Carson d. (5) Meena Janerkrabuanhad-Dianne Sarmiento, Granada Hills, 6-4, 6-3

(2) Perri Zaret-Julie Takakjian, Palisades d. Zalena Rojas-Estefania Valois, Bell, 6-1, 6-1

(Note: Semifinals are Wednesday at 1 p.m.; finals and third-place matches are Friday at 1 p.m.)