NOTEBOOK / SEAN WATERS : After 8 City Tennis Titles, Palisades’ Reign Ends

On Friday, Taft High ended Palisades’ eight-year reign as City Section girls’ tennis champion. The Toreadors had been runner-up to Palisades during five of those championships.

Dolphin Coach Bud Kling was not surprised that his team’s title rein ended. Five players graduated from Palisades’ 1991 team and three other projected starters left the squad for personal reasons.

“The third piece of the puzzle was that not one new player entered the program,” Kling said. “No transfers or ninth-graders made the team.”

The Dolphins maintained their winning tradition by winning a 20th straight league title and extending their unbeaten streak to 116 matches.

But it ended at the Racquet Centre in Studio City when Taft won the first four matches and finished with a 6-1 victory over Palisades.

Torri Ellman and Melissa Cherin, the City’s top-ranked doubles team, helped the Dolphins avoid a shutout by defeating Astra Ramyead and Alicia Whelan, 6-2, 7-5.

Ellman, Cherin and Heather Zand, the Dolphins’ top singles player, are favored to reach the finals during this week’s individual championships.

“This team covered more ground and improved so much to get where we were even competitive with Taft,” Kling said. “We did everything we could to maintain the winning tradition at Palisades. I think we did a great job to come in second.”

Signings--Hamilton High guard Marlon Garnett has signed a letter of intent to play basketball at Santa Clara.

Garnett, a 6-foot-1 senior, averaged 17 points and seven rebounds a game last season. He also considered UC Davis and North Carolina-Charlotte.

“I made my decision based on academics,” Garnett said. “I felt like I fit better there than at the other schools.”

Signings II--St. Bernard High guard Joi Turner, a two-time member of The Times’ All-Westside girls’ basketball team, received a scholarship to play next year at San Jose State.

Turner was The Times’ Westside Player of the Year in 1991 when she led the Vikings to the Southern Section Division III championship. She averaged 13.3 points, 3.1 steals and 1.9 assists as a junior.

Turner also considered attending USC and the University of San Diego.

Cross-country--Genevieve DeBose became the first runner from Hamilton High to qualify for the state cross-country championships Nov. 28 at Fresno.

DeBose covered the three-mile course in 20:11 to finish seventh Saturday at the City Section final at Pierce College. It was her second-fastest time.

Belmont won the girls’ team title for a fourth straight year and Hamilton placed ninth.

Writing on the wall--The St. Monica football team received inspiration from a Times’ story that was published midway through the season.

The story read: “Easiest path to the league title: Serra. They might as well clear a space in the trophy case for the Cavaliers’ sixth consecutive Camino Real League title.”

The Cavaliers did follow the path to the title, but they will have to share the trophy with St. Monica. Serra tied Pius X, 28-28, and Verbum Dei, 8-8, in its final two games to finish in a tie with the Mariners.

St. Monica, meanwhile, won its final two games.

“That story made great bulletin board material,” St. Monica Coach Norm Lacy said. “I made sure I read the story before every game.”