Cate Opens 2024 CIF Playoff Account with 10-8 Win

The Rams defeated CIF D2 #10-seed Arcadia High School 10-8 in a close first round playoff match.

How it Happened

Cate’s top singles player, freshman Ivy Huang, vaulted Cate to an early lead with a 6-1 win against Arcadia senior Anastasia Jorniak (UTR 5.5). Fellow freshman Jade Wang followed suit with a 6-0 win over a UTR 4.2 player, while Reyna Takahashi re-entered the singles lineup for a 6-1 victory at #3.

Cate’s singles lineup was dominant through the day, winning 7-of-9 sets, and setting the table for a Cate victory.

Arcadia fielded a stronger, more experienced doubles lineup, taking 5-0 leads at lines 1 and 2 before eventually closing those sets out 6-3 and 6-1, respectively. Junior Elsie Chamberlain and freshman Chelsea Newlove briefly led at #3 doubles but were unable to put Cate doubles on the board in the first round, eventually falling 4-6.

In round two, Cate mounted a comeback, taking strong leads at #1 and #2 doubles, with senior/sophomore combo Colette Chang/Lisa Hasebe taking a 6-1 win and freshman/sophomore combo Elly Edwards/Claire Tang defeating the Arcadia #3 team 6-2.

Chang and Hasebe took a 6-1 set-win in the third round, which clinched the match for Cate with a 9th set-win. That was followed shortly after by a singles win from Takahashi to reach 10 and confirm the clear win without counting games.

Coach Thorpe’s Comments:

We have a young team, so facing a strong Arcadia squad away, fighting through traffic and arriving with little time to warm up, the message was clear: this is going to be a battle.

We had to fight for every point like it’s the only point; that’s what we agreed to in the huddle before taking the courts, and that’s the performance I got from the team today.

I’m so proud of this largely underclassmen team, which continues to perform well in high-pressure situations. Ivy was dominant today and showed why she’s our #1 singles player with that big win in the first round, but everyone chipped in. Though the first round was a 3-3 tie, we started to accumulate a significant lead in games right away, which took some of the pressure off in case of a 9-9 tie.

What’s Next for Cate Girls’ Tennis?

The Rams return to Cate Mesa to host Xavier Prep of Palm Desert at 2pm on Friday, November 8th in the 2nd Round of CIF D2 Playoffs.