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2014: Thorpe Tennis Year-in-Review

This has been, undoubtedly, a banner year for Thorpe Tennis and the schools and individuals with whom I get to share this great game. Every day I am thankful for the opportunity to share my passion for tennis with a great group of people in this paradise called Santa Barbara. As I plan for my next big adventure (read about it here), I’m already looking forward to all the exciting things that lie ahead in 2015, but before we turn the page…

A few highlights from the year at Thorpe Tennis:

Worked with 49 different players from age 8 to 56
Spent over 1,000 hours on-court teaching lessons and coaching high school matches
Saw three years of planning, campaigning, and finger-crossing come to fruition with the completion of the Furukawa Tennis Courts at Laguna Blanca
Launched the Laguna Blanca Summer Tennis Camp to rave reviews
Coached Laguna Blanca Boys’ Tennis to an 11-5 record, a second-consecutive CIF playoff appearance, the #7-seed in CIF Division 4, and a second-round showing in CIF playoffs
Started a Laguna tennis tradition with a weekend trip to the desert for the BNP Paribas Open, where we got to see Nadal, Wawrinka, the Bryans and many other pros play
Led Cate School Girls’ Tennis to an 8-5 record and another CIF playoff appearance, despite moving up two divisions and facing much stiffer competition. Cate battled through a wildcard round victory and made a strong 6-12 showing against future CIF finalists, Murrieta Valley
Coached Julia Gan to several singles wins against nationally-ranked juniors and brought Gan and McKenna Madden together for a Tri-Valley League finalist showing in doubles, followed by a second-round appearance in CIF Individuals
Enjoyed another successful year from Daniel Newton, who qualified for the Central Coast Grand Prix Masters and currently holds a ranking of #107 in California, plus more hardware for Alex Furukawa, despite an apparent blinking problem!
Helped Ben Furukawa achieve a personal best #112 in California ranking. Fellow Laguna senior Tristan Prinz also notched victories over Jason Xiao (f0rmerly undefeated in Condor League play), Kevin Ha (currently #308 in the country), and scored the biggest victory of his career against Dimitri Colffer (recently ranked as high as #190 in the country) in his last high school match
Had the pleasure of watching seniors from Laguna and Cate tennis programs go on to college at UCLA, University of Washington, Colorado School of Mines, Ole Miss, UPenn, Yale, and USC

Merry Christmas, Happy Holidays, and here’s to another year of phenomenal tennis in 2015!

Trevor Thorpe
Thorpe Tennis

Julia Gan and McKenna Madden Compete at 2014 CIF Individuals Regional Event

After qualifying for CIF Individuals via the Tri-Valley League tournament, Gan and Madden represented the Cate School in two matches.

In the first round of play, the Cate team drew Frontier League #1’s from Villanova Prep. Wasting no time and giving nothing away, Gan/Madden clinched a second-round berth with a 6-0, 6-0 victory.

Julia Gan and McKenna Madden win at CIF Individuals 2014

After a short break, they took the court again to face much more seasoned competition in the form of Thousand Oaks duo Mahli Silpachai and Emily Ackerman. The two freshman are both ranked in the top-25 in California and top-150 in the country in their class after years of competitive national-level tournament play.

The match was tense in the first few games of play, with the Cate girls losing the first four games, despite several deuce-games. Gan held serve with the help of Madden’s aggressive poaching to put Cate on the scoreboard, but the Thousand Oaks pair went on a run.

Through the middle part of the match, the Cate pair struggled to find a winning strategy, but found their feet again at 0-5 in the second set. With their backs against the wall, Julia Gan and McKenna Madden rallied to win the next three games on exciting, offensively-minded play from the baseline and net.

Silpachai/Ackerman were then able to regain their composure and serve out the match, but not before the Cate girls made it clear that they were capable of playing on-level with their higher-ranked opponents.

The Thousand Oaks team would go on to win their next match by a greater margin and will play in the final rounds of CIF Individuals next week. 2014 Cate Regional Girls Individual Doubles Draw

In other local news, Carpinteria High senior Kelsie Bryant finally put three wins together to get her shot at the final rounds of CIF singles play. Bryant entered the tournament via her Tri-Valley League title, and so we will be following closely and cheering her on as she represents our league the final CIF tournament.

More Photos from the Laguna Blanca Tennis Camp 2014

Ladder Drills – A bit of morning footwork to get things off to a good start Continue reading “More Photos from the Laguna Blanca Tennis Camp 2014”

A Photo Tour of the Laguna Blanca Tennis Camp 2014

Laguna Blanca Tennis Camp 2014

We are now three days into our inaugural camp and already it seems we’ve been together for weeks! The camp has been a pleasure for the coaching staff to put on and we feel the campers have been enjoying themselves as well. Here are a few photos of what we’ve been up to: Continue reading “A Photo Tour of the Laguna Blanca Tennis Camp 2014”

Laguna Competes in Ojai Invitational, League and Division Match-Play; Eats Famous Shortcake

It’s been a busy week and a half for the Laguna Owls, with four matches and two players competing in the oldest and most prestigious tournament in California.

The high school division of The Ojai is an invitation-only event, pitting the top 64 singles players and doubles teams in CIF against each other in individual competition. Laguna Blanca’s Tristan Prinz and Phillip Hicks were entered and accepted as a doubles squad, while Ben Furukawa made the alternate list but did not have the opportunity to compete. Continue reading “Laguna Competes in Ojai Invitational, League and Division Match-Play; Eats Famous Shortcake”

Leslie Allen Santa Barbara Open Tournament Recap: Coach Thorpe Loses Three-Setter in the Finals

Over the weekend I had the rare opportunity to play a USTA men’s open tournament for only the second time in the last five years. I got a good draw and built on each win, stepping up my game as the opponents got more challenging, and by the end of the weekend I had won three matches and booked a ticket to the finals. Here’s the recap, including a play-by-play of the finals match, with photos courtesy of Les Morales Photography: Continue reading “Leslie Allen Santa Barbara Open Tournament Recap: Coach Thorpe Loses Three-Setter in the Finals”

Julia and McKenna Outlast the Ball in Epic 209-Shot Rally

Thorpe Tennis Video Series: Baseline Groundstrokes with Tristan Prinz

I have been working with Tristan Prinz for almost three years now and he’s getting to a really nice level at this point. He’s been on a roll in practice of late, and looks ready to make a big jump this year in high school play.

Here is some baseline rallying we’ve been doing to get him in rhythm and improve his court fitness. This video is also a great way to compare righty and lefty strokes, as I will be in the foreground a bit in the beginning before Tristan moves to that position.

Thorpe Tennis: 2013 Year-in-Review

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”

Thorpe Tennis Summer Recap

It was a summer of much activity for Thorpe Tennis. There has been a lot of enthusiasm and the results have followed. Here’s what happened: Continue reading “Thorpe Tennis Summer Recap”