Granada Hills and Palisades Clash in City Tennis Finals, Highlanders Emerge Victorious
By defeating Palisades 17 to 12.5 on Wednesday, the Granada Hills girls' tennis team won the Open Division City Section title for the second time in a row. The Highlanders, led by coach Troy Aiken, achieved another noteworthy victory in the game, which took place at the Balboa Sports Center in Encino.
The Highlanders' top doubles duo and two-time City individual doubles winners, Georgia Brown and Priscilla Grinner, won the match handily. In the tournament's round-robin format, the pair ensured a clean sweep of their three sets by defeating Palisades' second doubles combination, Sashi Gancheva and Penelope Mihal, 6-4, after falling behind 4-3.
In the No. 2 doubles spot, Amy Nghiem and America Fragoso of Granada Hills again played faultlessly, winning all of their matches. Sayuri Parandian also won all four of her sets and dominated in the No. 1 singles position, which significantly boosted Granada Hills' overall performance. The club had a solid 13-1 record at the end of the season.
Despite suffering from a painful labrum rupture in her hip, Grinner said she was determined to compete. "You can bet I wasn't going to miss the team finals or individual with Georgia, even though I have surgery in December," she stated. Brown considered the emotional impact of the victory, highlighting the senior players' camaraderie and shared aspirations.
Both teams replaced their key players once the title was assured, but Parandian and Palisades' sophomore Shaya Jovanovic decided to play their match and put on an exciting display. Despite never having played against Jovanovic before, Parandian defeated her 8–6 in a tiebreaker.
With 13 meetings over the previous 14 years, the two institutions have a lengthy finals history. Both schools have a long history in the competition; since 1973, Palisades has won 29 section crowns.
Palisades defeated El Camino Real to go to the championship match, while Granada Hills defeated Marshall handily in the semifinals to advance to the final. The rivalry and intense competition highlighted how important Granada Hills' win was in securing their place at the top of the local tennis scene.
