Month: October 2022

Cate Wins Big on Parents’ Weekend

Cate girls’ tennis got Parents’ Weekend off to a strong start, recording a 13-4 victory over Thacher in Ojai.

Cate has now completed regular season play, finishing 6-2 in Tri-Valley League play and 6-3 overall. The team has also qualified for CIF Playoffs for the 11th consecutive year.

How it Happened

Cate jumped out to a 6-0 lead with wins from Alyna Takahashi, Frances Davis, and Claire Bianchi in singles and Ella Chang/Colette Chang, Ellie Tunnell/Sophie Alijani, and Athena Ke/Pyper Davis in doubles.

Junior Annie Chian subbed in for Pyper Davis against the Thacher #1’s, rallying from 1-5 down with Ke to take a 7-5 win. The pair cruised to a 6-1 win in the final round, collecting a Cate sweep for doubles line #3 on the day. Sisters Ella and Colette Chang also swept, with a trio of 6-1 wins at the #1 line.

Freshman Elsie Chamberlain again made the most of her opportunity as a substitute, moving to 8-3 on the season in singles play with a 6-4 win over the Thacher #3.

The match was followed by the Ojai tennis tradition of Boccali’s strawberry shortcake, with Cate coming out the 5-0 winner against the shortcakes. Numerous pizzas suffered a similar fate.

What’s Next for Cate Girls’ Tennis?

Six Cate players will compete individually this coming Tuesday in the league tournament, which will also be hosted by Cate this season. The following Monday, Cate will learn its playoff draw, with play to commence on Wednesday, November 2nd.

Cate Splits Week of League Matches

Cate Girls’ Tennis has gone 1-1 in Tri-Valley League play this week, falling 7-11 to Foothill Tech on Tuesday before rebounding with a 16-2 victory over Laguna Blanca.

Cate @ Foothill Tech: 7-11 Loss

In another very close match, Cate came up short against Foothill Tech, going 0-6 against the #1 positions in singles and doubles. Conversely, Cate went 6-0 against the #3 singles and doubles positions, suggesting that Foothill took the win with a strong upper end of the lineup, while Cate may in fact have more depth.

A bright spot for Cate, junior Sophie Alijani and freshman Claire Bianchi went 2-1 on the day and freshman Elsie Chamberlain took a win as a substitute singles player. Freshman Pyper Davis also had a win, pairing with senior Athena Ke. Three freshman accounting for 4-of-7 set-wins suggests Cate has room to grow in the future.

Cate v. Laguna Blanca: 16-2 Win

The rebound was swift and severe for Cate tennis, as they put in an absolutely dominant performance against visiting Laguna Blanca. Through the first two rounds-of-play, Cate went a perfect 12-0 before making a number of substitutions.

The win was spear-headed by seniors at the #1 singles and doubles positions, with Ellie Tunnell going 2-0 on the day and Ella Chang/Athena Ke paired for a 3-0 day in doubles. The match will be the last regular season home game for the trio, who celebrated senior day with a special recognition from the team during introductions.

Freshman Claire Bianchi continued to impress, going 3-0 in her first singles play of the season, while usual #1 player Alyna Takahashi added 6-1, 6-0 set-scores against the top-2 players from Laguna. Freshman Elsie Chamberlain has quietly moved to 7-3 on the season in singles play as a substitute after taking a tie-break set-win against Danica Damiana of Laguna Blanca.

In doubles, junior/sophomore combo Sophie Alijani and Colette Chang joined Chang/Ke with a sweep of their three rounds, while sisters Frances and Pyper Davis chipped in 2 wins on the day from the #3 doubles position.

What’s Next for Cate Girls’ Tennis?

Cate, now 5-3 overall (5-2 in league play) will close out regular season play next Thursday at Thacher School in Ojai. The following week will see Cate team-members participating in Tri-Valley League Individuals, followed by a run at the CIF Division 2 playoffs in early November.

Cate Wins 15-3 in League Match Against Providence

Cate girls’ tennis (4-2) emerged with a 15-3 victory over Providence High School (6-4), following on the heels of a 14-4 win against Thacher on Tuesday.

Cate singles put together a perfect day, with Frances Davis and Ellie Tunnell sweeping their three sets and Alyna Takahashi and Elsie Chamberlain sharing the #1-line duties for a sweep.

In doubles, Cate got three wins from sophomore Colette Chang, who partnered with sister Ella Chang in the first round and Annie Chian in the remaining two sets. First-year varsity players Athena Ke and Pyper Davis added two sets, while Sophie Alijani/Claire Bianchi chipped in another set.

The third consecutive win in league play puts Cate solidly in the playoff picture, with a chance to claim a share of the Tri-Valley league title with a win over Foothill Tech this coming Tuesday.

In the first meeting, Cate dropped three tie-break sets and ended up losing 8-10, so the match, held at Ventura City College, is likely to be very close again.