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.

Winter Sabbatical 2.0 Announcement

Hello there Thorpe Tennis Community!

As most of you know, exactly one year ago I made a Winter Sabbatical Announcement right here on what my high school students affectionately refer to as “the blog.” Giving myself permission to step away from 7-days-per-week teaching at Thorpe Tennis was an incredibly fruitful decision and I’ll be doing another “sabbatical” period this year.

One of the most important things I took from my extended time away was how valuable it can be to remove oneself from the normal rhythms of life that become automatic, almost by accident. As life advances, and with the knowledge that time is a finite resource, I am learning it takes a willingness to pause and consider in order to reach my full potential.

Many people say happiness is what we should be aiming for in the end and others say it’s achievement. I’m not wise enough yet to know the answers to life’s most enduring questions, but I know I feel both happy and accomplished when I’m maximizing my potential, especially when it’s in the service of others.

I came back from last year’s sabbatical feeling particularly invigorated and ready to give my best to my boys’ team at Laguna Blanca. We had a banner year, reaching the CIF Semifinals. My girls at Cate wrapped up their season last week and I think we had an excellent season as well. I also feel an added level of perceptiveness and curiosity when doing my private lessons; I think I’m a better coach and that’s good for everyone.

How will this affect Thorpe Tennis this winter?

While I’ve just finished describing how beneficial it is to occasionally step away, I firmly believe that routine is a critical part of development, particularly for young people. Success is not built on the back of intermittent efforts and I want to do what I can to make sure my students keep the ball rolling forward this winter.

That said, I’ll be in Santa Barbara and teaching more often than last year. I’ve already plotted out my intended schedule for winter (I may add a few more dates later) so that students can book in advance and plan for the period I’m away. I’m also trying to connect students to organize their own hits and match-play in-between lessons.

Thorpe Tennis Winter Availability: November 13-22, December 5-14, January 7-17, back full-time February!

What in the world are you doing with all that free time?

I have three objectives for this sabbatical:

  1. Spend more time with friends and family.
  2. Continue to build-out and optimize Casas Thorpe, my vacation rental company.
  3. Leave significant unstructured time for reflection, ideally in nature.

Thanks for your understanding and I look forward to bringing my absolute best to Santa Barbara Area Tennis for years to come!

Cate Exits D2 Playoffs after 7-11 Loss to Oak Park

The CIF Division 2 match was played at Oak Park, with morning rain giving way to sunshine on a windy autumn day. Despite a valiant effort, Cate Girls’ Varsity Tennis was unable to extend the 2022 season, falling 7-11 to #6-seed Oak Park.

Cate got off to a slow start, with #2 singles player Frances Davis out sick and a nationally-ranked singles player leading the line for Oak Park.

Niyati Guram defeated Cate #1 Alyna Takahashi 6-1, although Takahashi would recover to finish 2-1 on the day. Only the #2 doubles pairing of senior Ellie Tunnell and junior Sophie Alijani were able to take victory in the opening round, with a 5-5 set that ended in an injury default.

Cate rallied mightily in the second round, with a tie-break win for freshman Claire Bianchi against Oak Park #3 Shrya Alavarti, helping to keep the match from getting out of reach. Ella and Colette Chang came back from 1-3 down to add a doubles win and Tunnell/Alijani also won, bringing the match score back to 5-7.

In the third round, Cate received a quick win from Takahashi and the Chang Sisters ended older sister Ella Chang’s high school career with a dynamic performance ending in a backhand poach-winner from the older sister on match-point.

Oak Park took a 9-7 lead with wins at #2 and #3 singles, before their top doubles team rallied from love-40 at 4-5 down just as their #2 doubles team also recovered from 4-5 down to regain the lead over Cate’s senior/freshman #3’s Athena Ke/Pyper Davis. In the end, Oak Park would take the win 7-5 over Tunnell/Alijani to clinch the match and moments later a 7-5 win over Ke and Davis completed the match.

Cate finishes the season 6-4, having taken 2nd place in Tri-Valley League play and qualifying for CIF Playoffs for the 10th-consecutive season. Cate girls’ tennis also has the honor of being the smallest school (by enrollment size) to compete at the CIF Division 2 level and will likely return 6-of-9 starters for the 2023 season.

Cate Wins Big on Parents’ Weekend

Cate girls’ tennis got Parents’ Weekend off to a strong start, recording a 13-4 victory over Thacher in Ojai.

Cate has now completed regular season play, finishing 6-2 in Tri-Valley League play and 6-3 overall. The team has also qualified for CIF Playoffs for the 11th consecutive year.

How it Happened

Cate jumped out to a 6-0 lead with wins from Alyna Takahashi, Frances Davis, and Claire Bianchi in singles and Ella Chang/Colette Chang, Ellie Tunnell/Sophie Alijani, and Athena Ke/Pyper Davis in doubles.

Junior Annie Chian subbed in for Pyper Davis against the Thacher #1’s, rallying from 1-5 down with Ke to take a 7-5 win. The pair cruised to a 6-1 win in the final round, collecting a Cate sweep for doubles line #3 on the day. Sisters Ella and Colette Chang also swept, with a trio of 6-1 wins at the #1 line.

Freshman Elsie Chamberlain again made the most of her opportunity as a substitute, moving to 8-3 on the season in singles play with a 6-4 win over the Thacher #3.

The match was followed by the Ojai tennis tradition of Boccali’s strawberry shortcake, with Cate coming out the 5-0 winner against the shortcakes. Numerous pizzas suffered a similar fate.

What’s Next for Cate Girls’ Tennis?

Six Cate players will compete individually this coming Tuesday in the league tournament, which will also be hosted by Cate this season. The following Monday, Cate will learn its playoff draw, with play to commence on Wednesday, November 2nd.