Cate girls’ tennis has now fully settled back into the tennis groove after the annual school “outings week.” Last week, they picked up a 9-0 win over visiting Santa Ynez High School and today have registered a 15-3 win over visiting Thacher School to open Tri-Valley League play.
How it Happened:
Cate was led today by senior captain Claire Bianchi, who swept her singles sets (6-1, 6-0, 6-3). Fellow senior captain Elsie Chamberlain partnered with junior Claire Tang to sweep their three sets of play in doubles (7-5, 7-6, 6-1).
Perhaps the most dominant performance of the day came from junior Reyna Takahashi, who beat the Thacher line #1 and #2 players without dropping a game, and seemingly without a sweat either (6-0, 6-0).
On the doubles side, sophomore Elly Edwards recorded a trio of 6-1 victories. In the first round, she partnered with junior Gwendi Rogers, and then in the following rounds with sophomore Chelsea Newlove.
Cate also received wins from their top three players, who filled different roles in this match: Jade Wang subbed in to defeat Thacher’s top two girls (6-0, 6-1), while Ivy Huang and Lisa Hasebe paired for a 6-1 victory at #1 doubles in the first round before being subbed out.
Coach Thorpe’s Comments:
Thacher brought a team that, although not loaded with tournament players, was steady in singles and aggressive in doubles. These are things we at Cate are always trying to do, so it made the match fun and productive, despite the score.
As for our girls today, we won a few tight sets in doubles after coming back from behind, and I could not be more impressed by the way Reyna took her opponents apart in the singles. She was great against Santa Ynez in that way, too, using her flatter cross-court drives to the corners to create space to finish points, without ever taking many big risks.
What’s Next for Cate Girls’ Tennis?
The Rams take to the courts against Providence High School on Thursday at the Santa Barbara Municipal Courts in another TVL league match.
Thorpe Tennis 