Cate Completes TVL Season Sweep

Cate defeated visiting Laguna Blanca 17-1 to earn a third-consecutive season sweep of Tri-Valley League play. The Rams finished regular season play 13-1 and secured a 14th-consecutive CIF Playoffs berth.

How it Happened:

Cate received a trio of singles wins from sophomore Ivy Huang (6-0, 6-3, 6-0) and junior Reyna Takahashi (6-3, 6-4, 6-0). Lisa Hasebe got the call-up from doubles and dutifully performed against the Laguna #2 player (6-2) before giving way to JV call-up Riya Mitera, who went 1-1 on the day.

It was all Rams in a complete sweep of the doubles action. Senior captains Elsie Chamberlain and Claire Bianchi held down the top line. This marks the last regular season match of their time at Cate, with Chamberlain finishing 19-0 and Bianchi finishing 15-0 in league play.

Elsewhere in doubles, Claire Tang paired with Edie Abbott for a 6-3, 6-0, 6-0 performance. The juniors finished league play 17-0 and 14-2, respectively. Chelsea Newlove finished league play 12-0, partnering with Elly Edwards (13-0) for two wins and completing the match with Evita Ferrone (6-5) for a 6-0 win.

Coach Thorpe’s Comments:

What a way to cap the regular season off, in front of friendly faces on family weekend at Cate!

I have to say, the Laguna line 1 and line 2 singles players were excellent today, which made the sweeps from Ivy and Reyna all the more impressive.

We’ve been dealing with a lot of illness on campus recently, but this team just keeps rolling. We missed Jade Wang out there today, but Lisa stepped up for us in singles and we also got a great effort out of Riya in that lineup spot.

Edie also settled right in with Claire to make quick work of her doubles matches and Evita did a great job in the third round to get Elly some much needed rest.

As a coach, I continue to feel spoiled with options for lineups due to our depth and the willingness of our players to take on different roles, as needed. Our seniors Claire and Elsie, and Reyna (who we’re celebrating as a senior this year) have all played a mix of singles and doubles throughout their careers at Cate. All three are undefeated in league play this season, with Reyna likely to be the #2 seed in our singles TVL Individuals tournament after twice previously competing in the doubles draw.

Now the team is united under the common objective of extending our season 5 more matches for our departing teammates. If you’re going to go to playoffs, why not go all the way?

What’s Next for Cate Girls’ Tennis?

Cate will compete in the TVL Individuals tournament next Tuesday on Cate Mesa, beginning at 2pm, with final rounds to be played on Thursday. School Girls’ Tennis has not lost a TVL match since October of 2022, running up a total of 25 consecutive wins in league play since that time.

Across the last three seasons, Cate is now 47-3 overall, with the CIF D3 title in 2023, a CIF D2 Semifinal run in 2024, and a likely second shot at the D2 title in the coming weeks. Team playoffs begin Wednesday, November 5th.

First though, Cate will compete in the TVL Individuals tournament next Tuesday on Cate Mesa, beginning at 2pm, with final rounds to be played on Thursday. The winner and runner-up of both singles and doubles will qualify for CIF Regionals, also to be held at Cate, on November 24th.