After our win yesterday against Bishop Diego, we had one match left before spring break. Rio Mesa plays in Division 2, two divisions ahead of us, and came in with a 3-0 record. We beat them last year in a tight 9-9 match, and early on this match looked like it might go the distance as well. Continue reading “Laguna Blanca Takes Down Rio Mesa”
After years of attempts, Laguna Blanca was finally able to secure approval to build its new tennis facility on the upper campus in Hope Ranch. The project was completed in record-time once approvals were received, and we have now had the opportunity to play several home matches and hold a number of practices on campus for the first time! On Wednesday, the entire school took part in a dedication ceremony. Continue reading “Furukawa Courts Dedicated at Laguna Blanca”
We got to watch some phenomenal tennis players at the Indian Wells Tennis Garden during the Saturday night and Sunday day sessions. Among the list of pros we saw in action were: Rafael Nadal, Stanislas Wawrinka, Thomas Berdych, John Isner, Fabio Fognini, Simona Halep, Dinara Safarova, Radek Stepanek, Leander Paes, Gilles Simon, Nikolay Davydenko, Ryan Harrison, Roberto Bautista-Agut and Julien Benneteau.
Here are some photos from the matches: Continue reading “Owls’ Tennis Takes in BNP Paribas Pro Tennis Tournament”
The Laguna Blanca boys’ tennis team made the trip out to Palm Springs following our very close match with Redlands High School on Friday, March 7th. Here we are in front of our vacation rental, rented from Vacation Palm Springs. Featuring seven bedrooms, a pool, and a basketball court, we were very well accommodated!
After a leisurely morning the rental, the team headed out for a hike on North Lykken Trail, one of the more popular Palm Springs area hiking routes. Here’s what we saw: Continue reading “Laguna Blanca Tennis in the Desert”
The Owls dropped a close one today in Redlands, losing by a score of 8-10. Continue reading “Laguna Blanca @ Redlands High Match Recap”
Doubles made a clean sweep of Besant Hill today, with the teams of Martin Barnick/Dalton Smith and Henry Farrell/Conrad Perry recording finish 3-0, while Phillip Hicks partnered with Thomas Sloan for two wins and a third with Max Mayrock. Continue reading “Owls Beat Besant Hill 12-6, Build Toward Friday D4 Showdown with Redlands High School”
This was our first home game on the brand-new Laguna Blanca High School tennis facility. In fact, we hadn’t even practiced on it yet, so you can’t even really say we had home-court advantage today.
After losing to Malibu 15-3 last year (one of only two teams that beat us last season), we came agonizingly close to the win today, falling 9-9 with a game score of 69-74. I was, however, very impressed with the way we came out and competed. Still short-handed a few key starters and after losing to San Marcos High 14-4 on Thursday, we rose to the occasion and put on a good show for those in attendance. Continue reading “Laguna Drops 9-9 Tie in Pre-Season Play v. D3 Malibu High Team”
We knew going in that it would be tough to compete against a public school of 1,900 students with Tristan and Jack out with injuries, Kylan ineligible because of transfer rules, and Atty having to leave early to help continue the impressive Laguna run in CIF D6 Basketball Playoffs. Instead of focusing on what we didn’t have yesterday, I’ll focus on some things I saw that looked promising. Continue reading “Laguna Blanca Drops First Match of Season 4-14 v. San Marcos High”
This last year was perhaps the most rewarding, and certainly the most successful year so far for Thorpe Tennis. I feel fortunate to continue working with players and teams across the Santa Barbara area and particularly to impact the lives of our young students.
A few highlights from the year at Thorpe Tennis: Continue reading “Thorpe Tennis: 2013 Year-in-Review”
After beating a very strong Westminster team in the first round of the playoffs, the Owls came up short against Santa Ynez, despite holding a 4-2 lead after the first round. It’s clear that we got a terrible draw, with Santa Ynez going on to play the closest match against JW North, the dominant CIF champions. Even in the first round, the Westminster coach explained that they’d gone to a 9-9 tie with Estancia earlier in the season and that team was seeded fourth in the tournament. Still, for a team that hadn’t made the playoffs in 9 years, it was a big step forward. Continue reading “Owls Make Round of 16 in CIF and Win Condor League Doubles Title”
Thorpe Tennis 