Cate moved to 2-0 on the season and 1-0 in league play with a dominant performance against Providence High School.
The win was headlined by singles sweeps from Cate sophomore Claire Bianchi and freshman Lisa Hasebe and a doubles sweep by the senior duo of Sophie Alijani/Frances Davis.
How it Happened
In singles play, Alyna Takahashi played just the first round, recording a 6-0 victory before giving way to freshman Sophie Blank, who finished 1-1 on the day. Hasebe moves to 5-1, while Bianchi remains a perfect 6-0 on the season between singles and doubles play.
In doubles, Davis moves to 6-0, while Alijani is now 4-2. The Rams also got a pair of wins from senior/sophomore combo Caroline Batchelder/Elsie Chamberlain, who partnered together for the first time. Sophomore Pyper Davis and her freshman partner Gwendi Rogers added a win in three sets-of-play.
Coach Thorpe’s Comments:
I was pleased with the progress our doubles has made in playing more aggressively, although I know we’ve still got room for improvement there. The energy was good and the effort level was high!
In singles, we got some very steady play from all four girls and I think each of them found opportunities to work on parts of their game that will benefit them later in the season. It’s especially exciting to see some of our youngest players succeeding in important roles on the team at this early stage.
We also got a visit from key members of the Cate graduating classes of 2015 and 2017, who helped bring Cate girls’ tennis to prominence as the first team in school history to play in Division 1. Victoria and Eva Herman are also cousins of current player Claire Bianchi, and one of 5 sets of sisters I’ve had the privilege to coach at Cate in the last 15 years!
What’s next for Cate Tennis?
Cate will see a flurry of activity next week, with matches scheduled for Tuesday (@Laguna Blanca), Wednesday (Foothill Tech), and Friday (Camarillo). Until then, it’s practice and heal up for the Rams.
Thorpe Tennis 