Peninsula on Own Island

It’s getting a little repetitive and a little maddening for the rest of Division I, but Palos Verdes Peninsula won another Southern Section girls’ tennis title Monday at the Claremont Club. The victim this time was second-seeded Dana Hills, which lost, 13-5, but closed the gap from an earlier meeting.

Peninsula (28-1) won its ninth Division I title in 10 years, and for the second consecutive year, Colby Comstock was the Panthers’ giant killer. Comstock, a slightly built junior, knocked off Dana Hills’ best player, Kady Pooler, 7-6 (4), to give the top-seeded Panthers a 4-2 first-round lead and all the momentum they needed. Last year, Comstock took down Newport Harbor’s top player, Natalie Braverman, to turn the match around.

“My coach told me we were down 3-2, I guess to fire me up,� Comstock said. “So I knew I had to win it.�

Pooler, a big hitter like Braverman, attacked Comstock’s passive baseline game and she was effective for much of the set. She served at 5-4 to win the set. But Pooler lost her serve and had to hold serve at 5-6 to force a tiebreaker. Pooler kept up the pressure in the tiebreaker, but she over-hit a few forehands and rushed a few returns, giving Comstock the edge.

“I like to frustrate them,� Comstock said. “That really seems to work well against the hard hitters. Kady really played well though. I was lucky to win it.�

Pooler was the only Dana Hills player to win a set in the next round as Peninsula all but clinched the victory at 9-3. Chelsy Thompson won two of three sets at No. 1 singles, but Pooler won only once at No. 1 singles.

“To win, we were all going to have to play our very best,� Thompson said. “Kady and I knew we’d probably have to sweep.�

Dana Hills (22-5), which starts only two seniors, thought it was pretty deep too. But its usually dependable doubles lineup picked up only two sets, both by Kristin Bronowicki and Catie Reames at No. 3 doubles.

“When you play a team like Peninsula, they expose your weaknesses,� Dana Hills Coach Jim Wilson said. “They dominated us in doubles. Our second and third doubles teams played better than they have all year in places, but that’s not going to get it against them.�

It hardly ever does. The only team to beat Peninsula in a final was Corona del Mar in 1997.

“It gets kind of annoying, with them winning every year,� Thompson said. “But that’s the way it is. Some things never change.�