On Monday, our season ended with a 3-15 loss to Redlands High. Since last season’s match with Redlands, they managed to pick up one of the top freshmen players in California, last year’s #1 got bumped down to #2, and their #3 player returned after a season off. Basically, they were ridiculously strong in singles, and doubles was solid, too.

All that is to say that I couldn’t be more proud of my Cate girls and the way they battled out there after the long drive. Sometimes the fact that our team gets over losing so quickly confuses me, but after this match it came in handy. Everybody gave their best and sometimes that’s all there is to it. There’s no shame in losing to a team that’s just plain better as long as heads stay held high.

In a few bright spots of the match, Summer Christensen and Kate Dehlendorf picked up two wins at #1 doubles and Victoria Herman and Pharibe Pope added another win at #2. McKenna Madden also played the Redlands #1 (top 100 in the country for her age-group) to a close 6-3 set and was encouraged by the result. For Julia Gan, previously undefeated, it was a frustrating day, but I’m convinced the experience will only serve as motivation for CIF Individuals this year and in the off-season.

As we move into the winter season, for many it will be a time to put the racquets down for a while, but for Julia Gan, McKenna Madden, and the pairing of Summer Christensen/Victoria Herman the CIF Individuals tournament is still ahead. I hope to see other members of the team out hitting at the Cate courts throughout the rest of the school year as well.

Julia was thinking about playing her matches with two righty shoes, but we thought maybe she’d better have a left shoe, too…just for looks.

Chowing down at Blaze Wood-Fired Pizza in Pasadena helped to pick up the mood.