Tardy Fairfax Starts 0-2, Can’t Catch Granada Hills

When the Fairfax High girls’ tennis team didn’t show up until a half-hour after its scheduled time for its City Championship semifinal match against Granada Hills on Friday afternoon at Meridan’s Tennis L.A., Highlander Coach Ron Wood thought his team had won by forfeit.

Instead, City Section officials ruled only to penalize Fairfax two games at the start of each of their matches. Forced to play out the match, the Highlanders won, 4-3.

With the victory, the second-seeded Highlanders (15-0) advanced to the City Championship final Wednesday against defending-champion and top-seeded Palisades.

“There was supposed to be a 20-minute default time,” Wood said. “That rule is in writing, so if we had lost, I definitely would have filed a protest.”

Though they lost their first three singles matches, the Highlanders advanced by virtue of Michal Zeituni’s 6-0, 6-2 victory over Fairfax’s Marie Kim at No. 4 singles.

The Highlanders, who had lost in the semifinals in each of the lastfour years, swept all three doubles matches. Valerie Ramirez and Shannon Slotnick (15-1), the No. 2-seeded doubles team in the City Section, won easily, 6-1, 6-1, at No. 1 doubles.