Cate Girls’ Tennis wins again, moving to 4-0 on the season (2-0 in league play) with a dominant performance at Ventura College against Foothill Tech. This marks 21 consecutive wins and 12 consecutive in league play, dating back to the 2022 season.
How it Happened
Cate got sweeps from sophomore Lisa Hasebe and freshman Jade Wang in singles, while junior captain Claire Bianchi went 2-1 on the day.
In doubles, frosh combo Claire Tang and Ivy Huang defeated the Foothill Tech #1’s 6-2. Senior captain Colette Chang partnered with freshman Elly Edwards to go 3-0 on the day, dropping just 2 games total.
Junior/freshman pairing Elsie Chamberlain and Chelsea Newlove added 6-0, 6-1 wins, while Edie Abbott and Evita Ferrone each went 1-0 on the day.
What’s Next for Cate Girls’ Tennis?
Tomorrow, Cate will host the first round of the 3rd Annual Santa Barbara Invitational, with opponent Rancho Bernardo traveling north from CIF’s San Diego District for the 3pm match. On Saturday, the winner will face the winner of SBHS v. San Dieguito, while the losing squads will play on the opposing side of the compass draw format. A final round will be played at Noon, with both match locations for Saturday TBD.
Cate Girls’ Tennis moves to 3-0 on the season (1-0 in Tri-Valley League Play) with a 17-1 win over Thacher School of Ojai.
How it happened
It was all Cate from start to finish, with the Rams dropping just a single set to the #3 singles player from Thacher. A total of 13 Cate players got involved, each recording at least one win on the day.
Sophomore Reyna Takahashi and junior Claire Bianchi led the line for Cate in singles play, each going 3-0 on the day, while freshman Ivy Huang and junior Elsie Chamberlain each added a win.
In doubles, Cate was utterly dominant, recording three 6-0 sets against the Thacher #1 team. Freshman Chelsea Newlove opened her Cate account by going 3-0 on the day in doubles, while sophomore Lisa Hasebe and freshman Elly Edwards did the same, each with various partners as the match progressed.
Coach Thorpe’s Comments:
It’s always good to see everyone able to get involved in the win. In addition to the usual suspects, we had strong performances from 6 first-year players, which bodes well for the future. We also got to try out some new doubles combinations, which I think is valuable information going forward.
What’s Next for Cate Tennis?
Cate plays at Ventura College this Thursday at 3:30pm against league opponent Foothill Tech.
Cate Girls’ Tennis defeated the Santa Ynez Pirates to remain unbeaten on the season. The non-league match was played using the CIF Central Section format, similar to that of NCAA tennis, featuring 3 doubles teams contesting an 8-game pro-set, before a round of 6 singles players hit the courts for a 2-of-3 set match. In the end, despite a strong challenge from the Pirates, particularly in doubles, Cate rolled to an 8-1 win.
How it Happened
The match began with very even doubles play from both teams, with Cate holding a slight edge at #2 and #3 doubles and Santa Ynez leading in the early-going at #1.
Sophomore Reyna Takahashi and freshman Ivy Huang came to the edge of defeat, going down 3-7, before mounting a massive comeback. The pair managed to rattle off 6 straight games for a 9-7 win at the #1 spot.
Junior/freshman combo Claire Bianchi and Elly Edwards held a one-game lead through 5-5, before winning the final 3 games to close out their match at #3 doubles.
Despite carrying a lead into the middle of the pro-set, senior/freshman combo Colette Chang and Jade Wang were unable to complete the sweep, dropping the final 3 games at the #2 spot, finishing at 7-9.
In singles, Cate came out roaring with Ivy Huang at #1, Jade Wang at #3, and Claire Bianchi at #4, who all took quick first-set wins. Huang and Bianchi continued to cruise in the second set, while Wang faced a tough challenge from her opponent, but ultimate prevailed 6-4 in the second set.
Reyna Takahashi faced an early challenge from Santa Ynez #2 Haley Townes (UTR 4.1), who held a 4-3 lead. However, Takahashi hung tough and play some strong tennis to close out the first set 6-4 and never looked back, closing out the second set 6-1.
At 5 and 6 singles, sophomore Claire Tang and junior Elsie Chamberlain entered the match with fresh legs and determination. Both players took 3-2 leads, at which point Chamberlain rattled off 9 straight games to close out the win at #6. For Tang, many 50+ ball rallies were needed to squeak out the 7-5 first set, but the effort paid off, as she then had a much easier path to a 6-0 win in the second set at the #5 spot.
What’s Next for Cate Tennis?
Cate enters league play next week, with matches against Thacher (Tuesday, home) and Foothill Tech (Thursday, away). The team will then set its sights on the 3rd Annual Santa Barbara Invitational Tournament crown, with matches scheduled for Friday and Saturday (September 20-21).
There was no shortage of suspense on Cate Mesa today, as the defending CIF D3 Champs got the season underway against D2 Quarterfinalist, Dos Pueblos High School. The match finished locked in a 9-9 tie, with games tied 73-73, triggering a round of tie-breakers to decide the winner.
How it Happened
The first round proved the two teams to be evenly matched, with DP taking 2-of-3 singles sets, while Cate School countered with 2-of-3 in doubles play.
Jade Wang opened her Cate career with a 6-0 victory at #3 singles, while sophomore Lisa Hasebe and freshman Ivy Huang were unable to overcome the deadly DP duo of junior Melisandre Mayo (UTR 6.7) and senior Ellie Triplett (UTR 5.7).
Hasebe would rally to take her next two sets, including a 6-0 win over Triplett, while Huang added a 6-0 win and battled for 3 important games against Mayo.
In doubles, lone Cate senior Colette Chang partnered with sophomore Reyna Takahashi for a clean sweep at doubles line 1 (6-3, 6-2, 6-3). Junior Pyper Davis partnered with freshman Elly Edwards for two wins on the day (1-6, 7-5, 6-3).
Upon completing the 18-set match, and after a flurry of counting and re-counting, it was determined that the two teams would return to the courts to play out a round-robin set of 18 tie-breakers to decide the match.
Dos Pueblos struck first, with upset wins at #3 singles and #1 doubles, but steady play from juniors Claire Bianchi and Elsie Chamberlain returned the favor, keeping Cate in the hunt. However, DP surged to a 9-5 lead with a pair of singles and doubles breakers remaining.
Cate got a boost from Huang against the #3 singles player, while Chang/Takahashi and Davis/Edwards battled through tight matchups to 8-6 and 11-9 wins (respectively).
With the tally standing at 8-9 and Cate up by a single point in the event of a tie, the match hung in the balance of the Mayo v. Wang matchup. In her first match at Cate, Jade Wang regained her focus after losing her first two tie-breakers to defeat the defending Channel League singles champion 7-4. The upset win sealed the match, with Cate taking victory on a 9-9 tie that ended 106-102 after the points count-back.
Coach Thorpe’s Comments:
This is my 31st season as a high school tennis coach, between boys and girls and I’ve never seen this before. The probability of a tie in sets, games, and tie-breakers is infinitesimal. It was a total playoff atmosphere even though we’ve only been in school for 4 days and this was our first match of the season.
I’m so impressed by the way both teams competed today, and would have been happy to have had the quality match-play even if we’d lost. To win, and with our freshmen starters Jade, Ivy, and Elly all playing a crucial role at the end, well, that’s something special.
We won this match as a team, with every single player in the lineup contributing key wins at key moments. To do so this early in the season suggests last year’s CIF Championship win wasn’t a one-off and I’m sure this win will serve us well as we work towards another deep November run.
What’s Next for Cate Tennis?
The Cate girls will now head out into the various wilderness areas of California for outings week, before returning to face Santa Ynez High School in another non-league match on Thursday, September 12th (away).
Now in the final week of the season, Laguna Blanca boys’ tennis has improved to 5-6 overall, despite facing strong opponents in Cate and Thacher in the first few days back from a two-week spring break.
Laguna Blanca v. Thacher: 3-15 Loss
Laguna had just one practice leading into a tough league match against visiting Thacher, and paid for it dearly in the 3-15 loss. The Owls were unable to scratch against a strong Thacher doubles lineup, with just Noah Mitev/Enzo Vinoly able to force a close tie-break loss against the Thacher #3 team. In singles, both Mason Berg and Oliver Tande had their chances against the Thacher #1 and #2 opponents but were unable to convert, with the two plus Wyatt Burt only able to secure singles wins against the Thacher #3 player.
Laguna Blanca @ Dunn: 13-5 Win
The Owls shook off the Thacher defeat and regrouped for a quality win over the Dunn School in the Santa Ynez Valley. The win was spearheaded by doubles sweeps from Lucas Ayala/Keanu Christiansen and Noah Mitev/Enzo Vinoly.
In singles play, Mason Berg came close to victory over UTR 6.8-rated Richard Bertea, but would have to settle for a 2-1 record on the day. Oliver Tande also recorded 2 wins, with Wyatt Burt adding a win in the final round-of-play.
Laguna Blanca v. Cate: 5-13 Loss
In what was billed to be a brutally difficult day for the home-team, visiting Cate was unable to dominate the match in the way they had the previous season, en-route to their CIF D3 title.
Laguna fought gamely through out the match, starting with a huge win for freshman Oliver Tande against UTR 7.3-rated senior, Ethan Bloom. Both he and Mason Berg added singles wins over Cate #3, James He, but Nate Newlove from Cate managed to stem the bleeding with a 3-0 day at #2 singles.
In doubles play, Lucas Ayala and Keanu Christiansen were competitive in all three matches (3-6, 3-6, 7-6), including a tie-break win over the #3 team. Sophomores Enzo Vinoly and Noah Mitev struggled to find their footing in the early rounds, but rallied to take a 7-5 victory in the third round against the #3 team as well.
Laguna Blanca v. Bishop Diego: 15-3 Win
This was the most complete performance of the season for Laguna Blanca tennis, with the team having come out of the trials of the last week-and-a-half battle-hardened.
Both Oliver Tande and Mason Berg swept their singles matches, taking quality victories over freshman standout, Lucas Forry. In doubles, it was a clean sweep for the Owls, a first on the season. Sophomores Connor Murphy and Changzheng Yu battled through a tough tie-break win in the first round against the Bishop #3 team, before building nicely to 6-1 and 7-5 victories against the #2 and #1 teams (respectively).
What’s next for the Owls?
Laguna will close out the season with a TVL match against St. Bonaventure High School of Ventura, to be played at Furukawa Tennis Gardens in Hope Ranch, 3:30pm. With a win, the Owls would finish the season 6-6 overall, meeting the pre-season goal laid out for the mostly freshmen and sophomore team by coaching staff.
The Owls entered spring break off the back of an 8-1 win at Santa Maria High School, led by Mason Berg and Oliver Tande at #1 doubles and Keanu Christiansen debuting at #1 singles.
The win broke a two-match slide, with Laguna suffering a tough 6-12 loss with playoffs implications against Villanova Prep. The match may have just come too early in the season, as the Owls dropped a number of 4-6 and 5-7 sets against the more experienced team from Ojai.
Prior to that match, Laguna faced Foothill Tech, a team with no weakness across their lineup, and the likely heir to Cate’s title as league champions. A bright spot in the match was senior Mason Berg’s 6-3 victory over Foothill #2 player, fellow senior James Sokoloski.
The post-spring break Tri-Valley League matches come fast and furious, with 5 scheduled in the final two weeks of the season, with the Owls looking to finish strong to secure the season goal of a .500 overall win/loss record.
It’s not just the season that’s young at Laguna Blanca: the team is compromised almost entirely of freshmen and sophomores, with just one senior and one junior added in for good measure.
Despite their youthful composition, the Owls are off to a solid start to the season, taking two-of-three matches against non-league opponents in the opening weeks of play.
Laguna Blanca @ Orcutt Academy: 7-2 Win
Laguna Blanca boys’ tennis won its first match of the season against Orcutt Academy, 7-2. The Owls traveled to Alan Hancock College in Santa Maria for the match, played using the CIF Central Section scoring format.
In singles, Laguna nearly swept, winning 5-of-6 sets, with the #1 spot a hard-fought 4-8 loss. Freshman Oliver Tande held up under pressure for an 8-6 win at the #2 position, while classmate Keanu Christiansen record an 8-0 win at the #5 position. Sophomore team captain Noah Mitev came from behind to register an 8-6 win at #3 singles, followed by an 8-4 win from his classmate Enzo Vinoly.
In doubles, the Owls top team of Tande/Vinoly lost a tight 7-9 pro-set, while Mitev and freshman Wyatt Burt picked up the 8-6 win.
Laguna Blanca @ Santa Ynez: 2-7 Loss
Despite the scoreboard, the Owls came very close to pulling off the upset in Santa Ynez, with experience seeming to make the difference in close sets.
With doubles played first, captains Mason Berg and Noah Mitev battled gamely, but were unable to overcome the tournament-level experience of the Santa Ynez #1 team of Bryce Wilczak and Lucas Doman.
The #2 and #3 doubles positions offered better opportunities for victory, but it was not to be. Freshman/sophomore combo Oliver Tande/Enzo Vinoly got off to a slow start and were not able to make up enough ground, falling 6-8. Meanwhile, on court 3, junior/sophomore combo Lucas Ayala/Connor Murphy held a 7-4 lead before Santa Ynez came charging back for a 9-7 win.
In singles play, Laguna got wins from Tande and fellow freshman Wyatt Burt at the #2 and #6 positions, respectively. Tande was particularly impressive, with a surgical performance that saw him upset a higher-rated Doman (6-3, 6-2).
Freshman Keanu Christian held a 4-1 first-set lead before succumbing 6-7, 4-6 in a very close match at #5 singles, while sophomores Noah Mitev and Enzo Vinoly both dropped competitive matches at #3 and #4 singles (5-7, 4-6; 4-6, 3-6, respectively).
Laguna Blanca v. Cabrillo/Lompoc: 13-5 Win
After falling to Santa Ynez on Tuesday, Laguna Blanca Boys’ Tennis rebounded sharply yesterday, earning a 13-5 win over visiting Cabrillo High School of Lompoc.
The match featured a near-sweep of the singles sets, with captain Mason Berg picking up his first 3 wins of the season, along with 3 from freshman Oliver Tande, who is now 5-0 on the season in singles play. Freshman Wyatt Burt added 2 set-wins, giving the Owls an 8-1 advantage.
In doubles, no team went undefeated, with Laguna Blanca pairings Keanu Christiansen/Enzo Vinoly and Noah Mitev/Lucas Ayala both finishing 2-1 on the day. Freshman Matthew McDermott saw his first action of the season, pairing with sophomore Changzheng Yu for a 1-2 result across their three sets of play.
Coach Thorpe’s Comments:
We are a young team, so of course we had a few slip-ups throughout the course of these early matches, but the effort level has been high throughout. Importantly, we’re improving at a rapid rate and still managing to be competitive so far against these CIF Central Section teams in pre-season play.
We’ve got an even bigger test ahead on Monday against Arroyo Grande, but hopefully that prepares us well for our league opener against Foothill Tech next Friday. Both games will be played at home, so that should help!
When I wrote my last year-in-review post in early 2020, I started by mentioning my mini-camp series, which had occurred 7 times in 2019 and was to occur 9 times in 2020. How could I have known that the series would be sidelined by COVID-19 and how much my life would be re-shaped.
In this next section, I used to write how many days I taught tennis during the year and my longest stretch of consecutive days taught (260 and 55 days in 2019, respectively). In 2023, I worked 365 days of the year at my new business, Casas Thorpe (have you ever been called at 3am by a guest who got drunk and locked themselves out of your Airbnb in another country?). However, I still found time to coach 36 different players between private lessons and my two high school teams at Cate and Laguna Blanca across 225 days.
Speaking of those high school teams, much has unfolded in the time since the last review. On the Laguna side, we recovered from two COVID-impacted seasons to reach the CIF D5 Semifinals in 2022 and in 2023 we finished at .500 or better for the 12th consecutive season!
On the girls side, we went just that little bit farther and took the 2023 CIF D3 Championship Title during my 15th season coaching at Cate School. This accomplishment by a very deserving group of young women is something I have hoped for and worked toward for 29 seasons of coaching high school tennis.
I take great pride in what they have achieved. It even fulfills a bit of a missed goal from my own high school career, where in 2005 I captained Palm Springs High School to a perfect 17-0 regular season record, before we suffered a devastating first round loss in the CIF D2 Playoffs. The record for Cate Girls’ Tennis this season, including playoffs? 17-0. Loop closed.
In the 2019 review, I gave a big thanks to Mark Polowczak for his help with my mini-camp series, and here again I owe him some praise. He’s now back from getting his undergrad at Texas Christian University and back in the Thorpe Tennis fold as my assistant at both schools and he played a pivotal role in our CIF Championship win this year.
In my 2019 review, I mentioned some rare personal tennis exploits, having played on clay in Argentina and Colombia for the first time and partnering with my college doubles partner, Aron Ouye, for a run to the semifinals of the Santa Barbara Open.
In 2023, we linked up again for the first time since that tournament to compete in the San Diego City Championships. While we lost to what was essentially the Estonian national team (current D1 players that were ranked 250 and 350 in the world in juniors), we were surprisingly competitive.
After that tournament, I resolved to not go 4 more years between tournaments and even entered a singles tournament for the first time since the Leslie Allen Santa Barbara Open in 2014! At the San Diego Metropolitan Open I played in the 4.5’s division and won three matches before having to default due to schedule conflict with a Cate match.
Alberto and I plan to defend our title in 2024 and Aron and I have our eyes on the Men’s 35-and-over hardcourt nationals in Arizona in April. Maybe I’ll even get the chance to play a tournament or two with Mark this year…I certainly like our chances against any other high school coaching staff!
Outside of tennis, after years of having flights cancelled and then needing to focus on my work in Merida, I finally hit my 50th country visited. Hiking hut-to-hut in Slovenia was a spectacular experience!
Also during that trip, I had the opportunity to visit Sardinia for the first time and return to Rome and Venice for the first time since childhood.
I even managed to tack on a trip to Scotland with my mom, who’d been longing to revisit that part of the world for a few decades. Can confirm, the whiskey is top-shelf, but also really enjoyed the nature!
Closer to home, I managed to survey various Mexican coastlines with my girlfriend, Maria. We spent time in Baja California Sur, Oaxaca, and Jalisco on the west coast, and took a trip up the eastern seaboard from Bacalar to Playa del Carmen.
Finally, I began to wake up from my endurance exercise slumber. Having completed 23 200-mile bike races between 2011-2019, COVID (and then building my new business in Mexico) almost completely derailed that part of my life. I realized recently that riding a bike 4,000 miles per year and doing insane 210 mile/16,500 elevation gain days (Central Coast Double Century) was a part of my identity that most of my current students didn’t even know about!
In 2023, I got back to nature and strenuous, all-day efforts, culminating in a 46.5mi/36hr backpacking effort in the Cascades from Timberline Lodge to Cascade Locks in Oregon (day 1, day 2).
Just a few weeks earlier, I’d been bitten by the bug (literally and figuratively) in the Goat Rocks Wilderness of Washington, where I and a few family members hiked a 37mi/72hr route (day 1, day 2, day 3, day 4).
My uncle Keith got to revisit his 1985 PCT Thru-Hike and pass the torch to my cousin Phil, who will attempt the same hike in 2024. I’ve signed on to do support and hike a few sections of the PCT with Phil, so I suspect we’ll revisit this topic in the 2024 year-in-review!
While my work as owner/operator of Casas Thorpe Vacation Rentals has become my primary job over the last 3 years, it’s my sincere hope that my impact on the Santa Barbara tennis community through Thorpe Tennis will continue indefinitely. I’m very grateful for the opportunity to share what I’ve learned with others through the medium of tennis. I hope to see you all on the courts in 2024!
Cate girls’ tennis has completed a perfect 17-0 run through their 2023 campaign, taking the CIF D3 title match over Culver City, 11-7.
The match, played in the playoff atmosphere of The Claremont Club, was a Cate-led event from start to finish.
How it Happened:
The match opened with a dominant performance from senior-captain Alyna Takahashi, who took a 6-1 win over the Culver City #1. Similarly impressive, senior-freshman combo Frances Davis and Lisa Hasebe recorded a 6-0 set-win at #2 doubles in under 15 minutes.
Cate also got wins from Claire Bianchi at #2 singles and Sophie Alijani/Elsie Davis at #3 doubles, with #1 doubles team Colette Chang/Reyna Takahashi recovering from 1-3 down to win a 1:15 set, 7-5.
After the first round, the score stood at 5-1, with the lone win for Culver City coming from their #3 player, who would finish 3-0 on the day.
Cate continued to pour on the pressure with a flurry of quick wins in the second round, going up 8-2 at one point. There was a sense of certainty in the air as the Rams closed in on the championship win.
The match began to even out in the transition between the second and third round, with Culver City not yet ready to yield. Sophomore Pyper Davis took her much higher-ranked #1 opponent to a tiebreaker, but Culver squeaked by to stay in the match just a bit longer.
Cate was not to be denied, though, with Chang and Takahashi clinching the match on the strength of a 6-0 win in the third round, giving Cate a 10th win and reason to celebrate early.
The final match on court featured Sophie Alijani and sub-in Caroline Batchelder, both seniors who started their careers at Cate together battling to make the last varsity spots as freshmen three years earlier.
Batchelder’s entrance into the match was particularly meaningful, having just endured emergency appendix surgery two weeks earlier. Batchelder had started in almost every regular season match, but had not yet been able to participate in Cate’s historic playoff run.
In a moment of karmic justice, it was Batchelder who struck the final shot of the match, attacking the net with a backhand poach that sailed crisply through the seam between the Culver City #2 team’s players for a clean winner.
The team stormed the court to celebrate the win and the title of top team in CIF D3. The perfect season was complete!
Coach Thorpe’s Comments:
What an incredible run this has been with such a special group of girls. We were challenged again and again this post-season, but every time we had the answer, including today.
I was particularly impressed by the way we came out firing in this finals match. This is my first championship team, so I guess it’s a new experience for me at this level, but as a coach you just know when your team is ready for the task at hand. Today, I felt that way right away and I think that really allowed us to enjoy the moment.
It’s hard to believe that after 17 matches and 17 wins, this season is finally over, but I know we’re all going to remember this for a long time to come. This is such a satisfying end to the season and I couldn’t be more proud of my girls.
The perfect season continues for Cate girls’ tennis, thanks to some late-game heroics in the face of defeat. With a 6-8 deficit to Cerritos High School in the final round-of-play, Cate rallied to sweep the last 4 sets on-court for the 10-8 win.
Cate, now 16-0 overall on the season, overcame a Cerritos 1-2 combination that featured two players who have been nationally ranked in the top-100 for their classes on multiple occasions.
How it Happened:
The match remained tight through the first two rounds, with Cerritos dominating at #1 and #2 singles as well as #1 doubles, while Cate was equally impressive at the #2 and #3 doubles positions.
Cate kept hope alive also thanks to wins from Alyna Takahashi and Pyper Davis (6-2, 6-3 respectively) over the Cerritos #3. The match was locked at 6-6 after two rounds, setting up a nail-biter finale between the #2 and #3 seeds in CIF Division 3.
In the third round, Cerritos struck first, earning a pair of 6-0 wins from their singles standouts. The winning margins stacked the 9-9 tie game-count scenario in Cerritos’ favor, meaning the only way for Cate to win would be a clean sweep of the remaining sets.
Cate doubles set about the task, resolute and upbeat. Senior/sophomore combo Sophie Alijani and Elsie Chamberlain struck first with a convincing 6-1 win. Junior/Freshman combo Colette Chang and Reyna Takahashi followed quickly with a 6-2 set over the Cerritos #3’s.
Senior/freshman duo Frances Davis and Lisa Hasebe came out of the gates hot, battling aggressively against the Cerritos #1’s, who had only dropped two games total in the previous two rounds.
It was a different story against Davis and Hasebe, who controlled the set from the net, pummeling overheads and mixing in touch volleys.
With their opponents playing “two-back,” a familiar pattern repeated over and over. Davis worked the net while Hasebe patrolled the baseline, pulling her opponents off the court with her powerful lefty forehands and setting up the Davis smash.
Both Cate girls also served aggressively, creating lots of pop-ups and free points off the serve. At 3-2, Davis managed the pressure of a break point, coming back to take the game and create separation between the two teams. Cate then broke serve and followed up with a hold to clinch the 7th doubles set-win for Cate on the day, as well as the 9-8 lead overall.
Over on the remaining singles court, sophomore Claire Bianchi was in a battle of attrition with the Cerritos #3 player. Bianchi had started slowly, going down 1-3 and facing a 40-0 deficit in the fifth game, but her will did not falter.
Bianchi settled in for the long haul, accepting that she’d need to make 15-20 shots per point to force the error from her opponent. Five points later, Bianchi had turned that game around and put the match back on serve.
The Cate sophomore extended the streak to 7 consecutive points, completely changing the momentum of the match. By 4-3, her doubles teammates had all gathered to cheer her on, adding to the intensity of the deciding match and further tilting the advantage to Cate. Bianchi emerged victorious by a 6-3 final score, lifting Cate to the 10-8 win by sheer force of will.
Coach Thorpe’s Comments:
This is such an incredibly hard-fought result. Cerritos was a very strong team. They’ve got two college-level singles players, an absolute wall #3 singles player, a very solid #1 and competent doubles farther down the line. That’s usually a winning combination, but 16 times this season we’ve had the answer to whatever our opponents throw at us.
I can’t overstate how hard Alyna, Pyper, and Claire worked in singles to give us the chance to squeak through with our doubles strength. They were so composed and ready for those long points.
Equally, our doubles girls had to really be focused throughout the match. Their was no room for error, with our team essentially starting down 0-6 in singles.
Lisa and Frances have only played together 3 times this season, but it’s clear they’re a dynamic pairing. We knew going in we’d have to get at least one win over the Cerritos #1 doubles team, and when Reyna and Colette went down 0-6 in the first round, it was clear that was going to be a big ask.
Lisa and Frances came through with the best doubles performance of the season to accomplish that for us today. They executed what we call “Cate Doubles” with a complete absence of fear, despite the high stakes.
The bottom line is that every Cate player put it all on the line today, from the first point to the last, to get that collective victory and a shot at our first CIF Championship. I couldn’t be more proud of the effort and the result is a bonus.
What’s Next for Cate Girls’ Tennis?
Cate will play in the CIF Finals for the fourth time in program history (runner-up 1996, 1998, 1999) and first in Division 3. The match will be held at The Claremont Club in Claremont, California at 11am on Friday, November 10th.
Thorpe Tennis 