trevorthorpetravels

Cate Finishes Regular Season Play Undefeated, Seeded #4 in CIF

Cate girls’ tennis has finished regular season play this week with a trio of wins, moving to a perfect 12-0 on the season. After hosting cross-town rival Carpinteria High School on Monday (16-2 win), Cate was on the road against Royal High School (16-2 win) on Tuesday and then finished TVL play at Villanova High School in Ojai (18-0 win).

How it happened:

Senior team captain, Alyna Takahashi, went 8-0 at singles #1 for Cate, pushing her season record to 14-0 in league play and 24-1 overall. Takahashi will enter next week’s TVL Individuals tournament as the top seed, after finishing runner-up in the tournament last year.

Lisa Hasebe went 7-0 at singles #2, extending a 28-set singles win-streak that traces back to the second match of the season. The freshman is 30-1 in singles and 2-1 in doubles. Hasebe will enter next week’s TVL Individuals tournament as the #2-seeded player after going a perfect 19-0 in league singles play.

Reyna Takahashi had a late start to the season due to injury, but has wasted no time having an impact in both singles and doubles. The freshman registered 5 wins in doubles and 2 in singles, going 7-0 this week, and moving her season tally to 13-1 in singles and 10-2 in doubles. The younger Takahashi sister will partner with Colette Chang as one of the top-seeded doubles team in TVL Individuals.

Colette Chang, a two-time all-league doubles player, made her season debut on Thursday after a successful recovery from injury. The junior is 3-0 on the season and will partner with Reyna Takahashi for a third attempt at the TVL Doubles league title.

Frances Davis went 8-0 in doubles play this week, partnering with Reyna Takahashi against Carpinteria, before returning to usual partner Sophie Alijani in the final two matches of the season. The Cate senior moves to 25-3 overall in doubles play this season, and a flawless 13-0 when partnered with Alijani.

Senior team captain, Sophie Alijani, went 9-0 playing with Frances Davis and her sister Pyper Davis this week. Alijani is the winningest Cate player in the doubles lineup, achieving a 29-5 overall record this season. Alijani and Davis will try to continue their 13-set win-streak next week as one of the top-seeded teams in TVL Individuals.

After a 2-7 start to the season, sophomore Pyper Davis has been on an absolute tear in recent weeks. The younger Davis went 4-0 in doubles and 2-0 in singles this week and has now won 17 consecutive matches (9-0 singles, 8-0 doubles) since that early rough patch.

Claire Bianchi, the unofficial utility player of the team, went 6-0 in singles this week, and 13-4 overall this season. The sophomore has played a mix of singles and doubles this season, partnering with 5 different teammates for a 10-6 mark in doubles.

Elsie Chamberlain entered the season as a singles specialist, but recorded a 7-1 showing in doubles in this finals week. This caps a 22-9 overall record in doubles this season, partnering mostly with senior Caroline Batchelder.

Completing her first full season as a varsity starter, senior Caroline Batchelder has undoubtedly come into her own in recent weeks, including a 7-1 mark this week with Chamberlain. Batchelder posted a 23-12 overall record at the #3 doubles position for Cate.

The freshman trio of Gwendi Rogers, Claire Tang, and Sophie Blank combined for 4 set-wins this week, adding to 6 set-wins in earlier matches this season. The trio will undoubtedly take on an increasingly important role for the team in their sophomore season, with 4 starters set to graduate at the end of the year.

Coach Thorpe’s Comments:

Amongst many moments worth highlighting this week, Claire Bianchi’s battle back from down 3-5 against the Carpinteria #2 player comes to mind. That’s the sort of tenacious, never-say-die effort we need to take into the playoffs, where matches are likely to be more competitive. It was also awesome to see Colette Chang finally back in the lineup after missing the entire season until now, due to injury. She has worked so diligently to get back and now she gets the reward of finishing the regular season undefeated (3-0)!

Speaking of undefeated, I am beyond proud of this team for going undefeated all season, which is only the second time we’ve accomplished that in my 15-year tenure at Cate. The early season was fraught with injury and some illness as well, but the girls banded together to fill the gaps whenever someone went down. The collective strength of this team is unreal!

I’ve also seen so much growth in the level of tennis across both our singles and doubles lineup. There is a clear upward trend across the season in match results, but also in confidence of our abilities as a team. That will have a huge impact on our attempt to hunt down a CIF D3 title in the coming weeks.

What’s next for Cate Girls’ Tennis?

Cate will have a week off from dual-matches, with TVL Individuals taking the stage on Tuesday, October 24th. Cate will host the event, to begin at 2pm, with the finals likely to follow on Thursday, October 26th.

Cate Clinches Tri-Valley League Title with Pair of Big Wins

Cate girls’ tennis has now ensured ownership of the Tri-Valley League title, defeating last year’s champs, Foothill Tech, and CIF D4 #4-seeded Laguna Blanca, each by a score of 14-4.

How it Happened:

Alyna Takahashi, senior team captain #1 for the last three seasons, went 5-0 between the two matches. She clinched her spot as top-seed for the TVL Individuals tournament for the second year by defeating all of her main rivals in convincing fashion. Younger sister Reyna Takahashi also had a big week, going undefeated and dropping just 10 games across the 6 sets she won.

It was also a big week for Pyper Davis, who found her best tennis to go 3-0 in singles against Foothill Tech on Tuesday, before partnering with senior Sophie Alijani to be the only sweep in doubles for Cate today against Laguna Blanca. The sophomore had a slow start to the season, but has been steadily improving and showing her readiness to grab the Davis baton, with sister Frances Davis set to graduate this year. Frances has held down the #1 doubles position for most of the season, and battled through illness to add 3 wins between the two matches this week for Cate.

Lisa Hasebe remained undefeated in singles this season, clinching her place as the #2-seed in the TVL Individuals tournament with a sweep today. The freshman had partnered with Frances Davis in a 2-and-1 showing against Foothill Tech on Tuesday, including a very tight 5-7 loss to the defending league champion doubles team of Lola Tennyson/Julia Geib.

Coach Thorpe’s Comments:

This week, I think the big story is that Alyna Takahashi went from being just a good player to owning her position as the #1 player, both on our team at Cate, and in the Tri-Valley League. She battled through adversity after having been out-of-practice and starting slow against Foothill’s #1 and then shot out the other side with the best play of her high school career against Laguna today. She was serving big, dictating points, and showed her growth in composure and mental fortitude. That’s going to make all the difference for us going into CIF Playoffs and we’re lucky to have such a strong player holding down that lead position, particularly since we have two young guns lining up next to her.

Of course, I’ve got to say something about Pyper Davis. That girl is on a ROLL! What a difference a few weeks and a few adjustments make, and we’ve now got yet another asset that we can deploy in both singles and doubles.

What’s next for Cate Girls’ Tennis?

Cate, now 9-0, will face two non-league opponents (Carpinteria, Royal) in the early part of the week, followed by an away match to end TVL regular-season play against Villanova on Thursday.

Santa Barbara City Championships Open Doubles Win!

It’s been 9 years since my last post about a tournament as a player. Since then, I’ve managed to distinguish myself with quite a lot more gray hair and I’ve also had the pleasure of working with hundreds more players on their own games, while mostly ignoring my own.

To be honest, I thought I was done with open-level tennis. Tournament tennis can be brutal and at 36, I’m now well-past the average competitor age for the open division. However, I’m very proud to report that my awesome doubles partner Alberto Hernandez and I have just won the Santa Barbara City Championships.

I got some great practice matches and hits in with Barbarian Tennis teammates Alberto, Petar Jivkov, my Cate assistant coach Mark Polowczak (also a former student!), and my old college doubles partner Aron Ouye. Further, I have had a lot of encouragement from my Cate girls as I wandered back into the wilderness of tournament tennis in recent months. I also received a number of congratulations from parents of current and former students, who saw the result through local media. My cup runneth over.

The Thorpe Tennis Community continues to enrich my experience in more ways than I could have hoped when I started more than 14 years ago. It has given me so many opportunities to share what I’ve learned about tennis and life, and to feel valued and supported. Thanks to everyone who participated and cheered me on…couldn’t have done it without you!

Trevor

Cate Girls Tennis Rams Through Two More Tri-Valley League Opponents

Cate moves to 7-0 on the season with wins over visiting Villanova Prep and Providence. Having now played everyone in league once, Cate is nearly assured the top spot in the league and continues to be ranked 5th in CIF Division 3 polling.

Cate v. Villanova: 17-1 Win

Cate won handily despite playing without senior captain Alyna Takahashi, who is unbeaten in league so far this season. Lisa Hasebe, also unbeaten, moved into the #1 spot in the lineup and duly produced a 6-0 win against the Villanova senior Monica Munoz before subbing out. Fellow freshman Reyna Takahashi finished the day 3-0 without dropping a single game, while sophomore Pyper Davis had a similar 3-0 sweep in her singles season debut.

In doubles, freshman Sophie Blank partnered with junior JV player Addie Bracher to record a 6-3, 6-1, 6-0 result. The pair were incredibly consistent and worked well together in their first outing together. Frances Davis paired with Sophie Alijani for a 6-0 win at #1 before Alijani was replaced by freshman Claire Tang, making her season debut and going 2-0. Senior Caroline Batchelder partnered with sophomore Claire Bianchi for a 7-5 set-win in the first round, before pairing with sophomore Elsie Chamberlain for 6-2 and 6-0 wins.

Cate v. Providence: 15-3 Win

Caroline Batchelder and Elsie Chamberlain picked up where they left off in the previous match, partnering for 7-5, 6-0, 6-0 set-wins and moving to 8-3 on the season. The pair over-turned a 2-6 loss to Providence #1’s Aza Elwood and Amber Regan from a few weeks prior, showing their progression. Senior Frances Davis continued to thrive with multiple partners, playing with Reyna Takahashi, Sophie Blank, and Ani Van Lynde for three set-wins, dropping just 1 game. Sophie Alijani and Pyper Davis partnered for the second time this season, going 2-0 before Claire Tang replaced Davis in the third set for another win.

In singles play, Lisa Hasebe turned in another 6-0 win at the #1 position before subbing out. Hasebe is now 13-1 on the season (8-0 in league play). Claire Bianchi returned to the singles lineup, where she split sets in a similar fashion to freshman Gwendi Rogers, who played the #3 position. JV call-up Betsy Peters battled gamely to a 5-7 in her first varsity match, while facing the Providence #2 player.

Coach Thorpe’s Comments:

I’m proud of the way the girls executed our gameplan for this week, which was to take every opportunity to improve, regardless of who they were playing. We had some less experienced opponents this week, but I feel that we managed to improve on movement at the net, composure in baseline rallies, and also in serve accuracy. We’ve got our top two rivals for the league title to play next Tuesday and Thursday, so the work we put in this week should be put to good use in the coming week!

Cate Defeats Visiting D1 Opponent Camarillo High

Cate girls’ tennis continues the season’s unbeaten streak, making it 5-0 overall with a resounding 14-4 win over visiting Camarillo High School. The CIF D3 5th-seeded Cate squad was facing it’s second CIF Division 1 opponent of the week, after the win over Foothill Tech on Wednesday.

How it happened

Cate got off to a stellar start, taking the first round-of-play 6-0 and never looked back. Cate also took both the second and third rounds 4-2.

Lisa Hasebe, moves to 14-1 on the season at #2 singles, sweeping her three sets 6-1, 6-4, 6-2. Alyna and Reyna Takahashi added two convincing set-wins each in what was the first match of the season that both sisters featured in the singles lineup.

In doubles, senior duo Frances Davis and Sophie Alijani swept their doubles sets, including a hard-fought 7-5 set-win over the #1 doubles team from Camarillo. Senior Caroline Batchelder partnered for the first time with usual singles player Claire Bianchi for two wins, while sophomore Elsie Chamberlain partnered with freshmen Gwendi Rogers and Sophie Blank to add one set each.

Coach Thorpe’s Comments:

This was a big win, capping off a week of big wins and I’m very proud of my girls for the way they’ve been stepping up throughout the week. We were pretty short-handed against an improved Laguna Blanca team on Tuesday but got through it. Wednesday, we defeated Foothill, a D1 opponent and our main league rival in recent years. Then today, we followed it up with a second D1 victory of the week against Camarillo.

I want to give a lot of credit to our new assistant coach, Mark Polowczak. He’s been such an asset at practice, but it’s also been so valuable having him to split coaching responsibilities during matches. I don’t know that we’d be making the quick progress and overcoming some injuries the way we have without his help this season.

What’s next for Cate Tennis?

Next week, Cate will face Villanova on Tuesday, followed by a second match with Providence on Thursday, both at home.

Cate Adds Pair of Wins, Remains Undefeated

Cate Girls’ Tennis moves to 4-0 overall (3-0 in Tri-Valley League play) with back-to-back wins over league rivals Laguna Blanca and Foothill Tech.

Cate @ Laguna Blanca: 10-8 Win

Cate got nearly flawless performances from its formidable top two singles lines, with sweeps from Alyna Takahashi (6-0, 6-1, 6-2) and Lisa Hasebe (6-1, 6-0, 6-1). Claire Bianchi helped with the singles result by recording a 6-4 set-win over the Laguna #2 player Danica Damiani and battling mightily with 6-7 and 5-7 sets in her other two rounds.

In doubles, freshman Reyna Takahashi made her season debut, partnering with senior Sophie Alijani to win 2-of-3 sets at the #1 position. Caroline Batchelder and Elsie Chamberlain added the lone additional set with a win over Laguna’s #2 team in the first round.

Cate v. Foothill Tech: 13-5 Win

In singles play, Cate continued to get strong performances from its top singles players. Alyna Takahashi and Lisa Hasebe swept while dropping just 3 games total between them in 6 sets-of-play. Claire Bianchi added 2 sets, giving Cate 8-of-9 in singles.

Senior Captain Alyna Takahashi goes airborne for the forehand winner over Foothill Tech #1, Kira Branson

In doubles, Foothill returned their two-time defending league champion doubles team and Cate was unable to break their unbeaten streak. Cate fared better at the other two doubles positions, with Reyna Takahashi/Sophie Alijani and Caroline Batchelder/Elsie Chamberlain both taking two wins. New freshman combo Gwendi Rogers and Sophie Blank added a win and battled to a 4-6 set against the Foothill Tech #2 team.

Coach Thorpe’s Comments:

I was pleased to see how strong Laguna’s team is this year, particularly in singles. It’s always good to have solid opponents in league play, and they gave us a chance for our singles players to show what they can do! Alyna, Lisa, and Claire all got a lot of quality match-play in the week, with more still to come on Friday.

We’ve also started to find some good doubles combinations, although we’ve still not played a match with all players available yet. Caroline and Elsie were a bit of a revelation, playing quite well together despite never having played together before.

What’s next for Cate Girls’ Tennis?

Cate returns to action on Friday at home, facing a formidable D1 opponent in Camarillo High School.

Cate Opens Tri-Valley League Play with 14-4 Win over Providence

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.

Cate Opens Season with 10-8 Win at Dos Pueblos

Cate girls’ tennis got the season off to a flying start with a narrow victory over CIF Division 2 opponent Dos Pueblos High School of Goleta.

How it happened

Senior Alyna Takahashi led the line for the lady Rams with a dominant 6-2 performance over UTR 5-rated Ellie Triplett. Freshman Lisa Hasebe made her debut at #2 singles with a gutsy 6-3 victory, while sophomore Elsie Chamberlain added a 6-2 win at #3 singles.

In doubles, the Chargers struck back with a 6-0 win at #3 doubles and a narrow 6-4 win at #2. However, the senior/sophomore combination of Frances Davis and Claire Bianchi came through with a 6-4 set-win at the top doubles position.

The Cate #1 doubles team went on to finish 3-0 on the day, with a second senior/sophomore combo Sophie Alijani/Pyper Davis adding a set to the doubles tally.

In singles, Takahashi finished the day 3-0, while Hasebe added a second set-win to finish 2-1 on the day.

Coach Thorpe’s Comments:

I will extremely impressed with the way we responded to an early-season challenge. Despite minimal time to prepare and putting some doubles combos together without a single practice set, we managed to bring a high level against a strong opponent.

Alyna was firing on all cylinders and Lisa stepped up to the challenge of getting thrown into the singles lineup right away. We also got some clutch play from our senior/sophomore combos in doubles, which was so great to see without the chance yet to establish longer-term partnerships.

I see it as the first step forward in what we’re hoping will be a long and fruitful season in CIF Division 3.

What’s Next for Cate Girls’ Tennis?

Cate will return from outings week to open Tri-Valley League play against Providence High School at the Municipal Courts of Santa Barbara.

Laguna Blanca Enters Final Phase of Season 6-2 with a Chance of Playoffs Berth

The Owls have just two matches remaining in the Spring 2023 season, with Foothill Tech visiting Hope Ranch today and a rescheduled away match this coming Tuesday against Cate School.

In league play, the Owls are 3-2, with the top four teams in the Tri-Valley League receiving an auto-bid into the CIF Playoffs. However, the two remaining teams are some of the stronger squads in the TVL, meaning an upset win in one of those final two matches of the season will be necessary to pick up that auto-bid. Laguna is guaranteed a winning record on the season, and consequently, an at-large bid for a playoff wildcard spot should they fail to produce an upset today or next Tuesday.

Recent Match Recaps

Laguna Blanca v. Carpinteria: 9-9 (71-65) Win

Carpinteria High ceded the #3 doubles position, giving Laguna a 3-0 start to the match, which ended up being critical in the tie-break win. Carpinteria’s #1 singles player, Max Stone, was dominant in dropping just 1 game across three sets and Laguna was also unable to scratch against the #1 doubles line.

Davis Ohanian went 2-1 on the day in singles, while senior captains Aden Meisel and Kent Dunn each chipped in a win over the Carpinteria #2 singles player. In doubles, the pairings of Mason Berg/Robbie Dunn and Cody Busch-Weiss/Connor Murphy each picked up wins over the Carp High #2’s to bring the total to 9 set-wins. The Owls then nervously counted games within each set to reveal a win by a margin of just 6 games.

Laguna Blanca @ Thacher: 3-15 Loss

The Owls faced a very strong Thacher squad in a match that had very few close sets. One bright spot was a 12-10 tie-beak win from junior Mason Berg in his first singles match of the season, playing at the #3 position. Sophomore Davis Ohanian added a 6-2 win against the Thacher #3 in the final round of play, with the sole doubles set-win coming from seniors Aden Meisel and Cody Busch-Weiss against the Thacher #2 line.

Laguna Blanca v. Dunn: 14-4 Win

Twin brothers Kent and Robbie Dunn went 3-0 in singles play against the school that coincidentally bears their name. Davis Ohanian slotted into the doubles lineup for the first time on the season, pairing with Mason Berg for a blemishly sweep at #1 doubles. Freshmen Connor Murphy and Noah Mitev partnered to go 3-0 on the day as well, while Cody Busch-Weiss and Lucas Ayala finished 2-1 on the day.

Laguna Blanca v. Bishop Diego: 14-4 Win

The Owls nearly completed a sweep of the Bishop Diego singles lineup, with Davis Ohanian and Mason Berg dropping just 6 games between them in 6 sets-of-play. Kent Dunn lost a tight 5-7 set against the Bishop #1, but rallied to take a tie-break win in the final set to finish 2-1 on the day.

In doubles, Laguna was unable to crack the top Bishop Diego team, with two sets pushed to 5-7 scores. However, it was all W’s in the remaining 6 sets, with pairings Cody Busch-Weiss/Robbie Dunn, Connor Murphy/Noah Mitev, and Lucas Ayala/Changzheng Yu all finishing 2-1 on the day. Ayala and Yu were particularly notable, playing together for the first time and battling gamely for the Owls in three close sets (5-7, 7-5, 6-4).

Laguna Blanca @ St. Bonaventure: 13-5 Win

Laguna Blanca secured a winning record on the season with a 13-5 victory over short-handed St. Bonaventure, who conceded the #3 position in both singles and doubles.

The Owls got a sweep from new pairing Aden Meisel and Noah Mitev in doubles and cobbled together wins from Davis Ohanian, Mason Berg, and Kent Dunn in singles against the #2 and a win from Cody Busch-Weiss and Robbie Dunn against the #2 doubles team to create the comfortable winning margin.

What’s Next for the Owls?

In addition to the remaining TVL matches, Laguna will send 6 players to participate in the league doubles tournament, which begins this coming Monday at 1pm, with the Cate School hosting.

Laguna Blanca Boys’ Tennis Opens Season 2-1

The Owls faced a rain-soaked first half of the 2023 tennis season, but managed to go into spring break with wins over Orcutt Academy and Santa Ynez High School.

Laguna Blanca v. Orcutt Academy: 6-3 Win

In the season opener, Laguna played the CIF-Central Section format of 6 singles matches followed by 3 doubles matches. Sophomore Davis Ohanian led the team at #1 singles with a 6-3, 6-2 win and junior Mason Berg also won in straight sets at the #4 position.

Laguna’s senior captains, Aden Meisel and Kent Dunn, took third-set tie-break wins at the #2 and #3 positions to add to the Owls’ singles tally. Orcutt fired back with wins at the bottom two positions in the lineup, putting the match at 4-2 going into doubles play.

Laguna got a win from Lucas Ayala and new addition to the team Noah Mitev at the #3 doubles position and the last match of the day was won by Ohanian and Meisel, who partnered at the top spot in the doubles lineup.

Laguna Blanca v. Santa Ynez: 6-3 Win

Laguna again utilized the CIFCS format in the match against Santa Ynez.

The Owls split the singles match-play, wins at the #3-#5 positions (Kent Dunn, Mason Berg, Robbie Dunn, respectively). Davis Ohanian nearly pulled up an upset win at the #1 position, playing the experienced Santa Ynez ace to an 11-13 score in the third-set tie-breaker.

With the match tied going into doubles play, Laguna held nothing back in fielding some formidable doubles combinations. Ohanian and Meisel paired for an 8-4 win at the top spot, with Mason Berg and Kent Dunn also partnering for an 8-2 victory. Junior Lucas Ayala shared the #3 position with freshman Noah Mitev to make a clean sweep of the doubles with an 8-3 win.

Laguna Blanca v. Villanova: 5-13 Loss

The match against Villanova High School from Ojai marked the beginning of Tri-Valley League season play. Unfortunately, it ended in a loss against the deeper Villanova squad, but there were some particularly bright moments for the Owls.

Davis Ohanian played lights-out tennis for a 6-2 win over Tristan Montecino, a senior and one of the stronger players in the league. He followed that up with another quick win, moving him to 3-1 on the season and 2-0 in league play.

The pairing of Robbie Dunn and Mason Berg lost a heart-breaker 6-7 at the #1 doubles position after leading early, but rallied to go 2-1 on the day with 6-2, 6-0 set-wins. Aden Meisel added a win over Roman Moga, the Villanova #2 player.

What’s Next for the Owls?

The Owls return to action after a two-week break, facing visiting Carpinteria High School at 3:30pm today. The match will be followed up on Thursday at Laguna, when the Owls will take on Dunn School in the second Tri-Valley League match of the season.