After going 13-1 during regular season play and dominating the Tri-Valley League Individuals Tournament, Cate has received the #5-seed in the CIF Team Playoff Tournament.

We begin our playoff tournament with a home match on Wednesday at 2pm, with the winner going on to play on Friday at 2pm. Our opponent will be the winner of a wildcard round between Trabuco Hills and Fullerton High.

Cate knows plenty about this, as last year we played Fullerton High in the same wildcard round, winning an 11-7 match. We went into the next round against the #2-seeded Murrieta Valley the next day, tired from our efforts, but put up a respectable 6-12 score.

This time around, we’ll have the opportunity to play the tired team at Cate. Should we win on Wednesday, the likely opponent for Friday would be Oak Park. We match up very evenly against them, so that could be a lot of fun! Then, based on seeded teams winning, we would earn a rematch against none other than Murrieta Valley.

First things first, and that’s the match on Wednesday. We’ve had a chance to de-stress a bit, as you’ll see below, but tomorrow’s practice will be all business. There’s plenty left in this season if we hit the courts with our best!

This last spring, I put it to my girls at Cate that the 2014 season would be different. After changing leagues during the off-season, we find ourselves competing against 2-time defending CIF D5 champion Carpinteria High, as well as perennial CIF D3 powerhouse Malibu High.

Now, one week into pre-season training, I can already see that the girls are fitter and better prepared for the challenges ahead. As a result, we’ve been able to do several hours of practice each day and a good amount of conditioning. Here’s some video from a new Cate girls’ tennis tradition…the team run!