Tag Archives: Carpinteria

Cate Girls’ Tennis Opens Season 3-0

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IMG_6606Cate Varsity Tennis had to be off-and-running very quickly this year, with the first match of the season coming with just four days of practice. Despite the early start, the girls came through with a victory against Rio Mesa High School and then followed that up with a win over Santa Barbara High School before outings week.

Returning from outings week can always be tricky and the 10-day break was apparent in the first days of practice. Still, when match-time came last Friday against Carpinteria High School, the Cate program was ready to take care of business.

Match Recaps

Cate @ Rio Mesa, 11-7 Win

The singles lineup was led by junior Grace Fuss, who battled fiercely with the higher-ranked Jupneet Singh of Rio Mesa, before going on to win her other two sets on the day.

Freshman Aminah Hill also impressed in her team debut, winning two sets as well. Senior Sydney Burton added a win in two sets-of-play before being substituted in the final round.

In doubles, Cate could count on the experience of two-time Tri-Valley League Doubles Runner-Up Sarah Polowczak, who paired with standout sophomore Fritze Mayer for two convincing victories. The pair were substituted in the third round-of-play, yielding the court to Mia Foster and Tali Nam, who picked up a nice 7-5 victory.

Seniors Kate Tunnell and Jennifer Soh also came out strong in their season debut, winning their first two sets, before dropping a closely contested set with the Rio Mesa #1 team in the third round.

Cate v. Santa Barbara, 10-8 Win

For the second year in-a-row Cate girls tennis has overcome Santa Barbara High, a school with 10x its enrollment, to validate their position as one of the top teams in Santa Barbara County.

Cate was led by junior Grace Fuss, who looked untroubled in three quick victories on the day. Senior Sydney Burton added two wins and freshman Aminah Hill added another, giving Cate a 6-3 advantage in singles play.

In doubles, the match was more even, with senior/sophomore combo Sarah Polowczak and Fritze Mayer moving to 5-0 on the season with a sweep of their three rounds. Wins were harder to come by at the #2 and #3 positions, with seniors Jennifer Soh and Kate Tunnell earning a single, but decisive win in the final round.

Coach’s Comments: “I’m very pleased with the match today. It was competitive, particularly in doubles, and we came out with another win against a large public school. Given that we’re only a week-and-a-half into practicing together, to be 2-0 going into Outings Week is awesome.

Santa Barbara may not be the powerhouse they once were, but they’ve got what is clearly a nice group of girls who are eager to maximize their potential as tennis players. That’s exactly what we do here at Cate so it’s always a pleasure to play like-minded programs.”

Cate v. Carpinteria, 14-4 Win

In a comprehensive decision in the Carpinteria cross-town rivalry, wins were spread evenly between singles and doubles, with Cate earning 7-of-9 sets in each half of the scoresheet.

The home team earned sweeps at the #1 and #2 singles positions from juniors Grace Fuss and Carol Cai. Cai is active in match-play for the first time this season after an off-season shoulder surgery, but is already showing signs of the form that saw her finish amongst the top-16 doubles teams in CIF-Southern Section last year.

Senior Kate Tunnell, normally a staple of the Cate doubles lineup added a win, defeating the Carpinteria #2 singles player 6-2 in the second round-of-play.

In doubles, Sarah Polowczak and Fritze Mayer remain undefeated on the season, winning their sets 6-2, 6-2, 6-0. Pairings Jennifer Soh/Madeline Vanica and Yuki Kobayashi/Mia Foster both added two sets to the Cate tally.

Cate is now 3-0, while Carpinteria moves to 7-4.

What’s Up Next?

Cate begins Tri-Valley League play at the Thacher School next Thursday at 3:15pm. Expect more of these match recap posts as well as other tennis content in the near future!

Cate Drops Close San Marcos Match, Rebounds in Malibu

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IMG_1616After a resounding 17-1 victory against Carpinteria High School last Thursday, Cate faced local powerhouse San Marcos High School in a battle between (arguably) the two strongest girls’ tennis programs in Santa Barbara County. While Cate did not come out on top, there is no doubt that the match had a positive impact on the season and that energy yielded results in Malibu yesterday. Continue reading →

Laguna Blanca Tennis Now 10-3, Ranked #7 in CIF

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With just three matches left, Laguna Blanca Boys’ Tennis continues to roll towards a CIF Playoff appearance. The team will need to win its final three matches to clinch a playoff spot. Here’s a quick recap of the last two weeks of play:

Laguna Blanca @ Foothill Tech (9-9, 72-68)

In what has been the closest match of the season, the Owls narrowly defeated a strong Foothill Tech team. The teams were evenly matched in the singles positions, with Alex Furukawa taking two wins and Victor Liu and Kai Nakamura pitched in wins over Foothill #3 player Ethan Wang.

Doubles was a lopsided affair, with the Foothill #1’s easily taking their three sets, while Laguna gave just a handful of games up against in the other six sets. In the end, the margin of victory on the doubles side of the match set Laguna up to win by four games.

Laguna Blanca v. Cate School (3-15)

The Cate School remains undefeated on the season, having already beaten Dos Pueblos, San Marcos, and Santa Barbara High Schools on the strength of the Ha brothers (Kevin, Ethan) in singles and a stellar #1 doubles pairing. This is the big year for Cate, as three of these four players will graduate or be ineligible for the 2018 season.

Although the score appears lopsided, the Owls took great satisfaction from the match, coming away with some high-quality experience and the knowledge that four of the lost sets were very evenly contested (6-7, 6-7, 5-7, 5-7). In particular, Laguna’s #1 doubles duo Conor Scheinberg and Jason Barnick impressed with their gutsy performances on the day, winning two sets and losing to Cate’s #1’s in a tie-break set.

Laguna Blanca v. Carpinteria (12-6)

In the first match of the season against Carpinteria, Laguna barely squeaked by with a 10-8 victory after struggling in doubles play. This time, with partnerships more settled, Laguna was able to take and hold a steady lead throughout the match.

Alex Furukawa was dominant at #1 singles, dropping just a couple games. Victor Liu also beat the Carpinteria #2 by a much greater margin than he had in the first match. Kai Nakamura nearly ended the match with a win over Jeremy Saito (Carp’s #1) after battling for nearly an hour to a 7-9 tie-break loss.

Laguna Blanca @ Thacher (4-14)

In what was a somewhat forgettable performance, Laguna failed to pull in a single set in doubles play. Singles play was more evenly matched, with Furukawa taking two wins and Liu and Nakamura each winning once and playing close sets against the Thacher #2. Thacher held a 7-1 record going into the match while playing a division above Laguna and their strength in depth was just too much for the Owls.

Laguna Blanca @ Lompoc (16-2)

The owls dominated every position in the lineup except at #2 doubles. Though the windy conditions played to the advantage of the home-team, the Owls brought too much experience to the match to be challenged. This win also marks the 10th victory of the season, making it five consecutive season the Owls have achieved double-digit wins. For more about past performances, check out the Laguna Blanca Team History page.

Looking Ahead

Laguna Varsity Boys’ Tennis faces three more opponents in the regular season, including two that have already been beaten by the Owls earlier in the year. Assuming a sweep of these matches, Laguna would finish the season 13-3, clinching a wildcard playoff berth with a more than 80% win-percentage. In addition, Laguna Blanca remains a top-10 ranked team in CIF D4, coming in at #7 in the most recent poll.

CIF April 24 Rankings

Laguna Moves to 6-1 with Wins over Nordhoff, Carpinteria, and Orcutt Academy

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Laguna Blanca Boys Tennis 2017-3

The Owls have been proving that this season is more than just a rebuilding operation. Despite having not a single starting senior in the lineup, Laguna has steadily worked its way into relevance by defeating six-of-seven teams faced so far in the 2017 season. Here are the match recaps for the last three wins:

Laguna v. Orcutt Academy (12-6)

Laguna faced a lineup-stack from Orcutt, which translated to a sweep from Coast Union at #1 doubles. They also picked up some wins at the #2 doubles spot, but failed to draw blood in nine sets of singles play. Alex Furukawa, Kai Nakamura, and Conor Scheinberg lost just 5 of 59 games played in singles action.

Laguna benefitted greatly from two wins from Jason Barnick and Victor Liu, who recovered well after stumbling early against the Orcutt’s #1’s. Kovid Mishra’s killer backhand (pictured above) and Kevin Khodabandehlou’s steady play provided an additional set win (6-0 against Orcutt’s #3 doubles team).

Laguna @ Carpinteria (10-8)

The Owls had a very tight match with the Warriors from Carpinteria, with the edge going to Laguna through superior singles play. Alex Furukawa swept (6-1, 6-0, 6-0) and Victor Liu and Kai Nakamura each added two set wins. Victor Liu played his best match as an Owl, fighting deep into his second-round match against Carp’s second best player to pull out a 7-5 victory.

Doubles struggled against Carpinteria’s top two teams, unable to take a single set, but got by the Carp #3’s with relative ease to provide the three sets needed to clinch the match without counting up games.

Laguna v. Nordhoff (13-5)

Singles play was led again by junior Alex Furukawa, who won his sets 6-2, 6-0, 6-0. Freshman Kai Nakamura added a 6-2, 7-5, 6-0 sweep of his own. Alex and Kai were super-solid all day long. Nordhoff’s top two players were both very consistent, but our guys broke them down with a combination of steadiness and willingness to go on the attack at the right moments.

The Rangers’ top doubles pairing Mikel Elizalde and Elias Simon eked out a tight 7-5 tie-break win in the first round against Laguna’s Victor Liu and Jason Barnick en-route to a sweep on the day. Laguna won all the remaining doubles sets, with two wins from Liu/Barnick and another four wins spread across four doubles combinations including players: John-Henry Schulz, Kelvin Chen, Rhami Zeini, Kovid Mishra, Peter Smith, and Jack Stein.

Laguna, now 6-1, will face Oxnard/Pacifica High School at home on Thursday. The Owls dropped an 8-10 decision against Pacifica last year while playing short several players, but will look to flip the script with a full lineup this time around. Laguna will also face the Thacher school next Tuesday before the beginning of Spring Break.

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