Laguna Blanca Boys’ Tennis – Page 2

Laguna Cruises to 15-3 Win in CIF First Round

The Owls took a comfortable victory over visiting Chaffey High School today, dropping just three sets. The win followed a 14-4 result in the Wild Card round against El Monte, bringing the season record to 12-2.

How it Happened

Laguna’s doubles lineup was led by senior Kai Suzuki and junior Cody Busch-Weiss, who took a 7-5 tie-break win over the Chaffey #1’s in the first round before cruising to a pair of 6-1 victories in the remaining rounds.

Senior/freshman combo Ben Rodgers and Davis Ohanian continued their strong play, beating the top two teams from Chaffey 6-2, 6-0, before senior George Nicks took over for Ohanian in the third round for a 6-1 win. Sophomores Mason Berg and Jake Gidney went 2-1 on the day.

Owen Pryor, a senior standout for the Owls, finished 2-0 on the day from the top slot in the lineup, while junior Kent Dunn was 2-1, including a win over the Chaffey #1. Junior Aden Meisel slotted back into the singles lineup for the first time in a few weeks and collected a 6-0, 6-1, 6-0 sweep on the day.

Coach’s Comments

After our trip out to East LA yesterday, we got to play at home today, which was a welcome relief. Chaffey had to make a similar drive and that’s never easy, but it was another fun match all-around. We’re obviously thrilled to be coming out with a win, but I’m also pleased with the quality of our play and the good-natured competition we’ve experienced so far this playoffs. It’s fun to play teams we wouldn’t normally come into contact with and to see how we compare to schools from other parts of Southern California.

In singles, I was particularly pleased to see Aden playing so well after his recent foray into the doubles lineup. Moving Kai into the doubles lineup allows us to take advantage of his skills at the net, and it’s good to see that Aden is ready to step up for us if needed in the singles lineup again.

In doubles, I thought Ben and Davis looked ferocious today. They served well and smothered the net, poaching aggressively and really taking the match by the reins. They’re a doubles pairing that are capable of beating anything our next few opponents send our way.

What’s Next for the Owls?

Laguna will play away on Friday against the winner of the match between Whittier and Schurr high schools, which means another long day of travel, but hopefully one that will be rewarded with a berth in the CIF Quarterfinals.

Owls Open CIF Playoffs as #1 Seed, Take 14-4 Win

The Laguna Blanca boys’ tennis team took a 14-4 road win over El Monte High School on Tuesday afternoon to begin the CIF Division Playoffs.

The Owls took 8-of-9 sets in doubles, including sweeps from Ben Rodgers/Davis Ohanian and Aden Meisel/Cody Busch-Weiss. George Nicks and Mason Berg added 2 sets, with their lone loss a tight 4-6 set against the El Monte #1’s.

In singles, senior Owen Pryor swept his sets for the owls, winning 6-4, 6-4, 6-1. Junior Kent Dunn added 2 wins, while senior captain Kai Suzuki was 1-1 on the day before being substituted out.

After moving up to the #2-ranked team in CIF Division 5 in the final two weeks of the season, Laguna now find themselves at the top of the draw in the #1 position after #1 Roosevelt High School failed to qualify for the playoffs.

Coach’s Comments:

It was a long drive out to East LA, but the guys came ready to play today. We thoroughly enjoyed this first match in what we’re hoping will be a long playoff run. Our opponents were solid players and a lot of fun to play, so I think it’s a great match to have under our belts.

What’s Next for the Owls?

Laguna will play again at home on Wednesday, May 4th at 3pm. The visiting team is Chaffey High School from the Ontario area, who defeated Rim of the World High School 76-70 on games after tying 9-9 in sets.

Laguna Blanca Finishes Regular Season 10-2, #3 in CIF D5

The Owls came up against some strong competition in league play in the second half of the season, but have managed to secure 3rd place in the Tai-Valley League. With that, Laguna Blanca Boys’ Tennis has also clinched a spot in the CIF Playoffs, where they are currently seeded third in Division 5.

Next up for the Owls will be Tri-Valley League Individuals at 1pm on Tuesday at the Cate School in Carpinteria. The following week will see the beginning of CIF Playoffs, with draws available on Monday, May 2nd.

Laguna Blanca v Thacher, 5-13 loss

The Owls faced a 3-1 Thacher team that had been building momentum, just two days after the end of spring break. While the match was initially close, tied 3-3 after the first round, the Toads picked up steam as play continued, while the Owls faded.

Laguna Blanca @ Bishop Diego, 14-4 win

The win was spear-headed by doubles play, where seniors Owen Pryor and George Nicks took 6-2, 6-2, 6-1 wins and junior/sophomore duo Cody Busch-Weiss and Jake Gidney also swept.

Senior captain Ben Rodgers went 2-0 on the day with his usual partner, freshman Davis Ohanian, before being substituted out for the third round. Freshman Lucas Ayala played with Ohanian in the third round, losing a tight tie-break set. The pair saved four set points before succumbing 6-8.

In singles, Bishop exchange student Gio Basocco of Italy won his three sets, while Laguna took the remaining six sets. Juniors Aden Meisel and Kent Dunn and sophomore Mason Berg all went 2-1 on the day for Laguna Blanca in the singles lineup.

Coach’s Comments: “We came with a lot of energy today, which was great to see after our first loss of the season on Tuesday. Thacher caught us on day two after a two-week spring break and although we didn’t play poorly, we lacked some of the spark that had carried us through a number of close matches in the first half of the season. This match against Bishop Diego was a good one to get the ship pointed in the right direction again as we head into a three-match week next week.”

Laguna Blanca @ Cabrillo/Lompoc, 18-0 win

Laguna dominated the early play, taking a 5-0 lead before play was stopped due to rain. Cabrillo agreed to forfeit the remaining matches.

Laguna Blanca @ St. Bonaventure, 15-3 win

The Owls took a dominant 15-3 win over short-handed St. Bonaventure. The doubles lineup registered a clean sweep, dropping just eight games in total.

Laguna Blanca v Cate School, 1-17 loss

Laguna looked competitive in a number of sets, but had trouble maintaining the level of the very strong D3 Cate team in the second half of sets. Ben Rodgers and Davis Ohanian took the lone win in doubles, and also battled to two tie-break losses in their other sets, proving they are amongst the best doubles teams in the Tri-Valley League.

Laguna Blanca @ Foothill Tech, 12-6 win

Laguna took 8-of-9 sets in doubles, dominating the net and showing strength in depth. Senior Ben Rodgers and freshman Davis Ohanian continued their strong play at the #1 position, while Aden Meisel dropped from the singles lineup to pair with fellow junior Cody Busch-Weiss. The new pairing shot out the gates with a 6-2, 6-2, 6-3 showing on the day. Sophomores Jake Gidney and Mason Berg also paired together for the first time, taking two set-wins at the #3 doubles position.

In singles, all three Laguna players were able to get past the Foothill #3, with senior Owen Pryor taking a huge win over Foothill’s nationally-ranked #1 singles player Shaurya Shyam to finish 2-1 on the day.

Senior Kai Suzuki started slow but was dominant in the third round to take his win, while junior Kent Dunn played his best tennis of the season to beat the #3 in the first round and play very competitive sets in the remaining two.

Coach’s Comments: “This match was the biggest win of the season for us. Foothill was missing a key singles player, but even with him in the lineup we would have been competitive, because the guys were playing so well. We really rose to the occasion as a team today. It’s a great sign as we head into the playoffs.”

Laguna Blanca @ Dunn School, 17-1 win

The Owls finished regular season play with a new lineup, featuring sweeps from Davis Ohanian, Cody Busch-Weiss, and Mason Berg in singles. In doubles play, seniors Ben Rodgers and Owen Pryor held down the #1 spot, with juniors Aden Meisel and Kent Dunn dominating at #2, and senior/freshman combo Kai Suzuki and Lucas Ayala picking up two wins and a close 6-8 tie-break loss at #3.

Laguna Blanca Boys’ Tennis Heads to Spring Break Undefeated!

The Owls have been impressive in the opening matches of the season, going 4-0 against non-league opponents and opening the Tri-Valley League season with a win over Villanova Prep yesterday. At 5-0 overall, and with quality wins over Santa Barbara High, Malibu High, Carpinteria High, Laguna is making a strong case for a high ranking in CIF D5.

Laguna Blanca @ Villanova Prep: 11-7 Win

In the first Tri-Valley League match of the season, the Owls were led by a 6-2, 6-0, 6-0 showing from Ben Rodgers and Davis Ohanian at number one doubles. Laguna doubles teams of Cody Busch-Weiss/Jake Gidney and George Nicks/Mason Berg added two set-wins each to total seven sets in doubles play.

Laguna senior Owen Pryor continues to shine in his new singles role, going 2-1 on the day. Juniors Aden Meisel and Kent Dunn each added a set, bringing the singles total to four.

Coach Thorpe’s Comments:

Owen was an absolute animal today. He chased down every ball relentlessly, showing his athleticism and determination. He nearly went 3-0, only losing a 7-4 tie-breaker against the top player from Villanova and those games were crucial had we ended up in a 9-9 match situation. We definitely couldn’t have won today without him today.

I also want to give a lot of credit to another senior, George Nicks, who stepped into the doubles lineup at the last minute when we had a late scratch. George partnered with Mason for the first time and they picked up two wins that we absolutely had to have; it’s good to know everyone is ready.

In general, that’s the sense I get from this team. Everyone is ready to play whatever role I need from them on any particular day and that’s a dream-situation for a coach!

What’s Next for the Laguna Blanca Boys’ Tennis?

Laguna will now have a two-week spring break, followed by an almost immediate return to Tri-Valley League competition at home against Thacher on April 5th.

Laguna Doubles Teams Finish 3rd and 4th in TVL League Individuals

After coming in with the #1 and #4 seeds in the doubles draw of the Tri-Valley League Individuals tournament, the Owls managed to snag third and fourth this week to end the 2021 season.

TVL Individuals, Early Rounds

Laguna Blanca School fielded the 11-1 senior doubles team of Ryan Purkait and Nic Richmond as the #1 seed in the tournament. As such, they were the last doubles team to take the courts on what was an unusually mild May day in Ojai, where Villanova played host.

Before Purkait and Richmond got to start their tournament, freshman/junior combo Keanu Nakamura/Ben Rodgers opened play as the #4 seed (5-1 in league play). Their seeding resulted in a very tough first-round match-up against Cate #3 singles player Will Vanica and freshman standout doubles player Ethan Bloom.

The fourth-seeded Owls team came through with a decisive 6-4, 6-3 victory over the Cate team, leading the entire match. This set up a semifinal clash with the only undefeated team in the draw, Foothill Tech’s #1 doubles team. Meanwhile, Laguna Blanca’s singles entrants Kai Suzuki and Aden Meisel fought gamely in the play-in round, but were unable to defeat their opponents in 8-game pro-sets.

Meisel got off to a rough start, dropping three games quickly, before changing strategies and taking four of the next nine games to lose 4-8. Suzuki played very well in the early-going, taking a 6-3 lead over Foothill Tech’s James Sokoloski, but the Laguna junior struggled to close the match out and faded to a 6-8 loss.

TVL Individuals, Later Rounds

Purkait and Richmond won their quarterfinal match against the Villanova #1 doubles team 6-4, 6-4, but looked far from their dominant regular-season best. This manifested itself again in their semifinal match against #3-seeded Cate seniors Lucian Prinz and Michael Armstrong, who they had defeated early in the season.

After taking a 5-2 lead in the first set, the Owls senior duo struggled with execution, seeing the Cate team recover for a 7-5 win and go up 5-2 in the second. Purkait and Richmond rallied to 4-5, but could not force the third set from Prinz and Armstrong, who closed the match out with a hold-of-serve.

Nakamura and Rodgers faced a stiff challenge from the top Foothill Tech team, who would go on to become this year’s league champions with a win over Prinz/Armstrong. The team of Pascal Hayward and Eesh Manwani played a very loud and aggressive style, and though the Laguna boys pushed Hayward and Manwani with many excellent points, they eventually fell 6-4, 6-3.

TVL Individuals, Laguna v. Laguna

The proceedings of Day One of the Tri-Valley League Individuals Tournament led to a matchup between the two Laguna teams for 3rd place in league and the final All-League First-Team designation.

Played at Furukawa Tennis Gardens on the Laguna Blanca campus, 3rd place match saw a resurgence from Nic Richmond and Ryan Purkait, who reversed a loss from earlier in the week to their younger teammates in practice. The seniors regained their best tennis to defeat Rodgers and Nakamura by a final score of 6-4, 6-1.

The result is Richmond and Purkait picking up All-League First-Team honors for the first time as they move on to college, while Rodgers and Nakamura get their first All-League Second-Team honors. Certainly the younger duo will be in the mix for future Tri-Valley League honors.

Owls Get Big Win Over Villanova to End Season

Laguna Blanca boys’ tennis picked up their best win of the season in their final league match, taking a 12-6 victory over visiting Villanova.

How the Match Unfolded

The Owls struck first with 6-0 victories from Aden Meisel at #3 singles and from Ben Rodgers/Keanu Nakamura at #3 doubles. Seniors Nic Richmond and Ryan Purkait continued their dominance over Tai-Valley League opponents with a 6-3 win over the Villanova #1’s before Timmy Quest finally broke the Laguna stranglehold on the match with a victory at #1 singles.

Junior Kai Suzuki and sophomore/freshman combo Cody Busch-Weiss/Jake Gidney found themselves locked in tight sets at the #2 positions. Suzuki squandered a 5-2 lead, going down 5-6 before righting the ship and taking a gutsy 7-2 tie-breaker against Tristan Montecino, a tournament-level player at Nova #2. Busch-Weiss and Gidney rallied to take their own tie-breaker, winning 8-6 and giving Laguna a 5-1 lead after the first round-of-play.

Laguna continued to roll in doubles, finishing with a eight sets on the day, while the singles results were more mixed. Meisel and senior Andreas Jackson both battled to 4-6 losses against Montecino and Quest, currently ranked in the top-200 in the country was unstoppable. However, Jackson and third-round substitute George Nicks both took wins against the Villanova #3 position to bring the singles to 4-5 overall and assure a healthy victory margin for the Owls.

The win means the Owls finish the season with a winning record for the 10th consecutive year, going 3-2 in what was a COVID-shortened season.

Coach Thorpe’s Comments

This was definitely our strongest showing on the season. We were disappointed to be short our two strongest players in our match against Foothill Tech a few weeks back and they managed to get to our Cate match last week, but had to play on guts alone after two weeks off the courts. Now that we’re back to full strength and had that tight Cate match under our belts, I had a feeling the guys were going to pick up a big win today and they did not disappoint!.

Villanova has two very strong singles players and they’d gone 8-10 against Cate just like us, so I honestly thought there was a good chance we’d be counting games at the end of the day to decide the winner. We really showed our depth though, with doubles utterly dominant and singles holding their own. Kai played like an absolute beast early against their #2, but it was the way he recomposed himself when he lost the 5-2 lead and faced a match point that impressed me most.

What’s Next for the Owls

While the team season is now complete, a small contingent of players will continue on to Tai-Valley League Individuals next Wednesday at Villanova High School, where Richmond and Nicks are likely to be the #1 seed in the doubles draw.

Laguna Boys Drop 8-10 Cliff-Hanger at Cate School

Laguna Blanca boys’ tennis fielded its full starting lineup for the first time this season and took undefeated Cate School to the wire with an 8-10 loss.

How the match unfolded

The first round of play was a story of singles versus doubles. Cate swept the singles sets 6-2, 6-4, 6-2, while visiting Laguna Blanca matched the effort with 7-6, 6-1, 6-4 set-wins in doubles. The last match on court was the #1 doubles position, where former Laguna Blanca student Lucian Prinz looked to defeat his good friends Ryan Purkait and Nic Richmond, the #1 doubles team for the Owls. It was not to be though, as Purkait and Richmond won the “battle-of-the-buddies” to even the match at 3-3 after the opening round.

The second round opened with Laguna trailing by just a single game, in the event of a 9-9 tie, and it became clear that every set (and every game) would be critical. Cate struck first with a 6-0 victory from the #1 singles player Jin-Ming Wang, also a former Laguna student (and participant in a number of Thorpe Tennis after school programs). The Rams also registered a 6-0 victory from their #2 singles player against Laguna senior Andreas Jackson.

The Owls rallied, however, taking wins at #1 and #2 doubles in convincing fashion. Meanwhile, junior Kai Suzuki landed the first singles win for Laguna on the day with a 6-4 set over Cate’s #3 singles player, Will Vanica. Shortly thereafter, frosh combo Jake Gidney/Cody Busch-Weiss succumbed to the Cate #1’s, despite putting up a very respectable 3-6 set.

After two rounds of play, Laguna and Cate were locked in a 6-6 tie, with the Rams holding a narrow two-game advantage in the event of a tie. Cate struck first with Wang taking a 6-0 victory over a fading Suzuki, but Jackson lifted the Owls hopes with a 6-2 set over Vanica. In the remaining singles set, Laguna sophomore Aden Meisel battled back from 1-4 and 2-5 down to reach 4-5. The Cate #2 looked to be on the edge of collapse, but held it together to close out Meisel, leaving the score 7-8 with the three doubles sets still in action.

Over on the #2 doubles court, Ben Rodgers and Keanu Nakamura found themselves behind for the first time on the day. The pair looked solid in 6-1, 6-4 wins through the earlier rounds, but got down 0-3 against the Cate #1’s and could not pull it back.

Richmond and Purkait also found themselves ceding the first few games, but they rallied heartily and took the overall score to 8-9 winning six of the last eight games played. All attention turned to Laguna’s young #3 pairing playing against the Cate #2’s. Gidney and Busch-Weiss held their own, taking the Cate team to the limit, but in the end didn’t have enough to get the win. The Ram’s #2 duo clinched the 10-8 win with a 6-4 final set score.

Coach Thorpe’s Comments

This was an absolutely thrilling match to watch. Getting to be part of such a competitive high school match between two teams with a lot of depth was definitely the highlight of the season so far. Our guys were solid throughout.

Nic and Ryan were unbeatable at #1 doubles, Keanu overcame injury to partner with Ben and grab two key sets, and Jake and Cody showed that they can be competitive against even the toughest opponents. In singles, Andreas and Kai took big wins for us and Aden showed a lot of character the way he battled back and pushed is third opponent to the brink.

We took a big step forward as a team in this match, going toe-to-toe with a team we haven’t been able to defeat since 2013. That year, our #1 singles player was Tristan Prinz, older bro to Lucian Prinz, who was playing #1 doubles for Cate. Having coached the Prinz family since 2011, it was great to see Lucian closing out his senior season on a good level, but I’d be lying if I said I didn’t enjoy Ryan and Nic get the W at #1 doubles against him!

After last years “COVID season,” and having dealt with injury and illness amongst our top guys so far this season, this match has re-invigorated Owls Tennis and shown us the level we’re capable of. It has also re-ignited a healthy rivalry between Laguna and Cate boys’ tennis that looks set to continue next season, with both teams returning a number of key players.

What’s next for the Owls?

Laguna Blanca boys’ tennis will play their last match of the season on Wednesday, May 5th against visiting Villanova High School. Villanova features an undefeated #1 singles player and a second strong singles player, but the Owls have the depth to get the job done. Certainly, the very competitive match against Cate will have raised their level.

Match Week 2: Cate Girls Go 2-0, Laguna Boys split while playing short-handed

It was a busy week for Coach Thorpe, with four matches in five days that also included a match between Cate and Laguna Blanca, but there will be little respite as the same is scheduled for the following week. On to the recaps!

Monday, April 19: Cate d. Providence 14-4

Cate Girls’ Tennis played Providence High School for the first time and came out with a convincing victory. Read more about it here.

Wednesday, April 21: Foothill Tech d. Laguna Blanca 12-6

The Owls took their first defeat of the season while playing short-handed. Freshman #1 Keanu Nakamura lost a tight 4-6 set in the first round before subbing out and Laguna struggled for wins in singles. Senior Andreas Jackson picked up the lone win with a 6-2 victory against the Dragons #3 player.

In doubles, the Owls faired much better, taking 5-of-9 sets despite going winless against Foothill’s #1 team.

Senior combo Ryan Purkait and Nic Richmond took 6-1, 6-0 victories and junior/sophomore combo Ben Rodgers and Aden Meisel added two wins. In the first round, Rodgers and Meisel battled to an 11-9 tie-break win against the Foothill #2 before cruising to a 6-0 win in the third round. George Nicks and Cody Busch-Weiss added a 6-4 set against the #3’s to the Laguna win-column.

Thursday, April 22: Cate d. Laguna Blanca 12-6

Despite winning just one game in three sets against Laguna’s freshman #1 Mina Yazadzhiev, Cate managed to put another match in the win column.

Buoyed by sweeps at #1 and #2 doubles, Cate finished the match with seven wins in doubles and five in singles for a 12-6 final score.

Senior Fritze Mayer and junior Emily May won their sets 6-1, 6-1, 6-0 to move to 7-0 on the season, while senior/junior combo Yuki Kobayashi and Ashi Kamra won 6-4, 6-0, 6-1. Kamra is now a perfect 9-0 on the season. Julianna Forry and Sophie Alijani added a 7-5 win in the first round.

Juniors Aminah Hill and Ellie Tunnell each finished the day 2-1, while sophomore Ella Chang rallied from losses in the first two rounds to defeat the Laguna #2 6-3 in the final round of play.

Cate moves to 3-0 with the win and will play next on Monday, April 26th against an undefeated Foothill Tech team that threatens to end a 44-match win-streak in Tri-Valley League play that stretches all the way back to 2014.

Friday, April 23: Laguna Blanca d. St. Bonaventure 14-4

The Owls tasted victory for the second time this season (2-1 overall) with a convincing victory over short-handed St. Bonny, who had to forfeit all three rounds at #2 and #3 doubles. The match was anything but boring though, as Bonny fielded a solid singles lineup and a determined #1 doubles team.

The stand-out performance of the day came from sophomore Aden Meisel, playing at the #3 singles position for the first time. After watching his teammates fall to the #1 singles player from St. Bonaventure 4-6 and 0-6, Meisel turned it around for the Owls with a 6-4 victory in the last match of the day. The Laguna sophomore finished the day undefeated with a 6-4, 6-2, 6-0 line.

Laguna took two-of-three in doubles, with Ryan Purkait and Nic Richmond collecting a 6-1 win and frosh combo Cody Busch-Weiss and Jake Gidney also defeating the Bonny #1’s with a 6-4 score.

In singles, senior Andreas Jackson took two-of-three and looked to be building back some of his old form after a long layoff from regular competitive play, while junior Ben Rodgers took a nice 6-4 victory over the St. Bonaventure #2.

Laguna Blanca plays next on Friday, April 30th in the second Laguna/Cate rivalry matchup, where Coach Thorpe will hope to turn the tide for the Owls, who lost to his Cate girls’ team earlier in the week. Confused yet? So am I! So am I. What a crazy year this has been over at Thorpe Tennis!

Match Week 1: Cate Earns Clean Sweep, Laguna Off-And-Running

For the first time in 12 seasons of coaching the girls’ tennis program at Cate and boys’ tennis at Laguna Blanca, both teams are in-season at the same time. The move from fall to spring play for girls’ tennis certainly has complicated things, but the juggling act has worked so far!

We have now completed Week 1 of what will be a four-week mad-dash of match-play and it was a strong one for both of my teams.

Thursday, April 15: Cate d. St. Bonaventure 18-0

Cate Girls’ Tennis picked up right where we left off, notching a 43rd consecutive league victory over visiting St. Bonaventure High School. The Servons surrendered just six games en-route to a clean sweep victory.

Cate was led by Aminah Hill, who returns for her third year as a mainstay in the singles lineup, while senior Fritze Mayer and her partner Emily May held down the top spot in doubles. Mayer and her co-captain Yuki Kobayashi are two of three seniors featuring in the Cate lineup this season, along with Madeline Vanica.

The Servons play next on Monday, April 19th at the Santa Barbara Municipal Courts in a rescheduled match against Providence High School, an opponent Cate has not yet faced in high school match-play.

Friday, April 16: Laguna Blanca d. Bishop Diego 11-7

The Owls opened their 2021 season playing short a few players, but came through with a nice 11-7 win against visiting Bishop Diego.

Bishop’s lineup featured one of the top junior players in Santa Barbara County (and an alum of my summer tennis camps!!!) in Luke Williams, who went 3-0 on the day. However, freshman Keanu Nakamura showed flashes of his talent even in his first high school match, playing Williams close in the opening games and pushing his opponent to top-speed.

Laguna did manage to pick up four wins in singles, with #2 singles player Kai Suzuki opening his junior season with a pair of victories. Senior Rodrick Zhu and sophomore Kent Dunn added to the tally with a win each.

The match was won though with dominance from the Owls in doubles player. Co-captains Nic Richmond and Ben Rodgers got the lone win on the day against the Bishop #1’s who normally play #2 and #3 singles for the Cardinals. Outside the top-line, it was all W’s for Laguna Blanca, leading to a total of seven wins on that half of the scorecard.

Laguna plays next at home on Wednesday, April 21st against league-rival Foothill Tech. When these teams last met, it was with a playoff spot on the line during the 2019 season. The Owls took that match 10-8 and went on to reach the CIF Quarterfinals with a strong playoff run!

Owls Move to 2-0 with 15-3 Road Win

Laguna Blanca made it two-for-two in early-season matches, taking a 15-3 victory over Cabrillo High School in Lompoc today.

The win was bolstered by three 6-0 sets from Ryan Purkait at the #2 singles position. Purkait, a junior who spent the majority of the last two seasons at #1 doubles, is now 6-0 on the season as a singles player.