Tag: Cate Tennis

Rams too Much for Royals in 14-4 Win

Cate girls’ tennis (15-1) wrapped up regular season play today with a 14-4 win over visiting San Marcos High School (10-5). The Rams have not lost to any CIF Southern Section opponent this season, with their lone defeat coming at the hands of Rancho Bernardo High School from the San Diego Section.

How it happened

Cate continued to see dominant play from singles starters Ivy Huang, Reyna Takahashi, and Claire Bianchi. The trio won their first round matches against their San Marcos counterparts 6-1, 6-0, 6-0 (respectively). Sophomore Claire Tang took over for Huang, winning her remaining two sets 6-0, 6-2.

In doubles play, all three Cate teams competed well but were unable to get past SMHS’s top team, recent Channel League runners-up, Kate Selby and Sydney Posch. However, Colette Chang/Elly Edwards and Elsie Chamberlain/Chelsea Newlove both took wins over the 3rd-place Channel League doubles team of Ava Vasquez and Hattie Valdez-Lindgren.

Lisa Hasebe and Jade Wang went 2-1 on the day for Cate, in preparation for their Tri-Valley League doubles championship match tomorrow at 3:30pm. Similarly, it was a preparation day for singles #1-seed Ivy Huang, who will try to be the second-consecutive Cate School freshman to win the TVL singles championship (Lisa Hasebe, 2023).

Coach Thorpe’s Comments:

It’s hard to believe that we’ve already managed to squeeze 16 matches into a season that started only 8 weeks ago, especially with a 10-day gap near the beginning for our school’s “Outings Week.” In this time, our girls have grown significantly in their capabilities as tennis players, and their confidence, not only as defending CIF champions, but as 2024 CIF championship contenders.

The progress we’ve made as individuals and as a team was on full display today, as our doubles teams moved fluidly together throughout the matches and our singles players held down their end with consistent, heady play. We’ve also had great leadership from our team captains, especially our lone senior, Colette Chang, who played her last regular season match in a Cate uniform today.

CIF just released its 3rd rankings update and placed us at #51 of 373 girls’ tennis programs throughout the Southern Section. At that rate, we’re likely to be a strong CIF D2 team come playoff time. With two weeks left to train before our first playoff match and the gains coming quickly, I’m excited to see what this team can do in post-season play!

Cate Closes out League Play with 18-0 Win over Villanova

The Rams move to 13-1 overall with a blemish-less victory over visiting Villanova Prep. The 18-0 win completes Cate’s 8-0 sweep of league play, during which the defending CIF D3 Champions never lost more than 2 sets in any match.

How it Happened

Cate got singles sweeps from Reyna Takahashi and Colette Chang, who normally anchor the singles lineup. Chang has played #1 doubles for most of the last three seasons now at Cate, becoming a specialist, but took the opportunity today to show that she has considerable singles ability as well.

Cate’s Claire Tang subbed in for #1 player Ivy Huang after her first round victory, claiming two wins for herself. Tang had gone 2-1 against Villanova earlier this season, and today managed to take a 6-3 victory over the player who had defeated her previously.

In doubles play, freshmen Elly Edwards and Chelsea Newlove paired for a trio of 6-0 wins in their first match together. Junior combo Claire Bianchi and Elsie Chamberlain played together for the first time this season as well, earning 6-2, 6-0 set-wins before giving way to sophomores Gwendi Rogers and Edie Abbott, who won the final round 6-1.

Finally, singles players Lisa Hasebe and Jade Wang partnered in doubles, winning two rounds comfortably, before JV call-up Lotte Nicholas partnered with Wang to take her first varsity win in the final round.

What’s next for Cate Tennis?

The Tri-Valley League Individuals Tournament begins on Tuesday, October 22nd at 1pm. The event will be hosted by Cate, with the final rounds to be played on Thursday, October 24th. Between TVL Individuals play, Cate will host a non-league match against a long-time rival in San Marcos High School.

During the last great period of Cate Girls’ Tennis history (2015-2019), San Marcos narrowly defeated the Rams 4 times, before finally succumbing in 2019. During that 5-year period, Cate lost only those 4 matches, going a stellar 58-4 during regular season play, en-route to 2 CIF D2 Quarterfinals appearances and a further 3 D1 playoff appearances.

Rams Ground Eagles 17-1

Cate Girls’ Tennis won an impressive 17-1 victory over visiting Arroyo Grande today. The match pitted the defending CIFSS D3 Champions against the current CIFCS D1 #3-seeded team.

How it Happened

Cate came into the match with an SB Invitational Tournament win over Arroyo Grande in-hand, but the result of this match was anything but certain at the onset.

In the previous match, Arroyo Grande had fielded the B team, due to injury and travel, with the key exception being their star player, senior UTR 6 Elliane Cha. In that match, Cha had triumphed over Cate freshman #1 player Ivy Huang 6-4, 6-2. It looked like the result would be similar, with Cha leading 3-0, 4-1, and 5-2, but Huang dug deep to turn the match for a 7-5 win.

At the same time, Cate surged from closely contested early games to sweep the doubles play, while freshman Jade Wang turned in a 6-2 performance at the #3-spot. Sophomore Lisa Hasebe held a 3-0 lead at #2 singles, but faced a strong come-back from the Arroyo Grande player. However, Hasebe showed poise and determination in the tie-breaker, fist-pumping her way to a 7-4 victory and completing the clean sweep of the first round.

It was nearly all Cate in the remaining rounds as well, with Cha collecting the lone Arroyo Grande win in the second round, before substituting out due to fatigue.

Cate received doubles sweeps from all three starting teams: Reyna Takahashi/Colette Chang, Elly Edwards/Claire Tang, and Elsie Chamberlain/Chelsea Newlove. Takahashi and Chang enter the Tri-Valley League Individuals next week as the hot favorite, after finishing runner-up in 2023.

Coach Thorpe’s Comments:

Arroyo is a very strong team. They’re on-paper as the third-best team in the California Central Section and have a win over the top team (San Luis Obispo), so to take them apart like we did today is really something special.

Ivy’s performance today as a freshman against a senior #1 who beat her earlier this season, coming back from 2-5 down: that’s the stuff on which dynasties are built.

As a coach, this team is a total luxury. I know that whichever lineup we go with, we’re going to field 3 strong singles players without compromising anything in doubles.

We won CIF Division 3 last season on the depth of our team, defeating opponents with multiple singles players that we couldn’t compete with on paper. Now, we have similar depth, but I also feel that we have the ability to compete head-on with teams who have those stand-out UTR 6 and 7 players.

What’s Next for Cate Girls’ Tennis?

The Rams return to action on Thursday against visiting league opponent Villanova Prep. The match will be followed up by “Family Friday,” a team tradition in which Cate players invite parents and siblings to join in practice and competition.

Cate defeats Laguna Blanca 16-2

Cate girls’ tennis notches another lopsided victory on the way to a second-consecutive undefeated Tri-Valley League season. Despite strong play from the Owls at #1 singles and doubles, the Rams left Hope Ranch with a 16-2 victory, moving to 11-1 on the season (7-0 in league play).

How it Happened

Senior Laguna player Caroline Kenny took Cate freshman #1 Ivy Huang to 5-7 in what was the only close match of the opening round. The two players traded impressive winners to 5-all before Huang pulled ahead to close out the set convincingly.

In the third round, fellow freshman Jade Wang had a similar battle with Kenny, grinding to 5-all before pulling away in the final to games for a 7-5 win. Cate sophomore Reyna Takahashi lost a similarly tight 5-7 set to Kenny in the second round, but showed encouraging glimpses of her top form as the playoffs loom.

Cate won the remaining 6 sets of singles, sweeping lines #2-3, including a win for Claire Bianchi, who subbed in for Huang in the final round.

In doubles, sophomore Lisa Hasebe took Takahashi’s usual spot at #1 doubles, pairing with senior Colette Chang for a trio of 6-1 set-wins. Elsie Chamberlain and Chelsea Newlove continued their strong partnership during league play, also sweeping on the day. Claire Tang and Elly Edwards added two 6-0 victories at the #2 spot, before losing a close one to Laguna’s #1 doubles team.

Coach Thorpe’s Comments

I was really impressed by the way my singles players competed today. Caroline has really upped her game in the last year and so it was great to see Ivy and Jade battle to wins over her, despite being three years younger and much less experienced in high school play. I was also stoked to see Reyna competing so fiercely. Although she ended up losing, this was her best tennis of the season and evidence of her abilities, which we’ll need to rely on in post-season play.

What’s next for Cate Girls’ Tennis?

The Rams return to play next week against visiting Arroyo Grande, one of the stronger teams in CIF Central Section. The teams played earlier this season in the Santa Barbara Invitational, with Cate taking a 5-1 victory.

Rams Extinguish Dragons, Move to 6-0 in League

Cate collected wins from 15 different players in a 16-2 win over visiting Foothill Tech today, moving to 6-0 in league and 10-1 overall on the season.

How it Happened

After spending last week’s undefeated stint in the doubles lineup, Lisa Hasebe and Jade Wang returned to the singles side to collect a pair of convincing sweeps over the top Foothill Tech players. Hasebe, defending Tri-Valley League singles champion, moves to 14-1 on the season, while Wang is a perfect 13-0 in her freshman league campaign.

Cate also achieved a pair of wins over Foothill Tech’s #1 doubles team, with Colette Chang and Reyna Takahashi cementing their position as the team to beat in league doubles play, while frosh pairing Elly Edwards and Claire Tang picked up the upset victory. Takahashi and Chang were the runner-up team in league individuals last season, and now move to 11-1 overall this season together (6-0 in league play).

Cate also received wins from Claire Bianchi and Evita Ferrone in singles and from Elsie Chamberlain, Chelsea Newlove, Ivy Huang, Gwendi Rogers, Edie Abbott, Riya Mitera, and Josie Goldhirsh in doubles.

What’s next for Cate Tennis?

Cate travels to Hope Ranch to play Laguna Blanca on Thursday at 3:30pm.

Cate Goes 2-0 on the Week, Closes in on Tri-Valley League Title

Cate girls’ tennis moves to 5-0 in league play (9-1 overall) with 17-1 wins over Villanova and Thacher. The team has now won 15-consecutive Tri-Valley League matches and looks set to claim the league title with just three matches remaining.

How it Happened

The Rams were led in both contests by freshman Ivy Huang, who is 11-0 in league play so far this season and dropped just 2 games across 5 sets this week. Frosh combo Jade Wang and Lisa Hasebe we’re similarly dominant at the top doubles line, going 3-0 and dropping just a single game.

Cate got singles sweeps from junior captain Claire Bianchi and freshman Elly Edwards today against Thacher. Bianchi has been a critical utility player for Cate in the last few years, darting back and forth between singles and doubles as-needed, while Edwards made her singles debut.

Another stand-out performance came from junior Elsie Chamberlain and freshman Chelsea Newlove, who combined for the doubles sweep in both matches this week. The pair are 8-0 when playing together.

Coach Thorpe’s Comments:

It’s a real luxury as a coach to have such a strong and versatile team. I keep asking players to try out different roles and everyone has been very willing to give it a go, which is a lot of fun.

I don’t think we’ve played the same lineup twice so far this season, but we’re starting to see some strong partnerships form and also seeing what potential different players have in the singles lineup. This type of strategic lineup configuration was critical to our CIF Championship last season, so it’s great to see so many potential options available to us again this year.

What’s Next for Cate Tennis?

The Rams play have league matches on Tuesday and Thursday next week, beginning with a home match against Foothill Tech and then an away match in Hope Ranch against Laguna Blanca.

Rams take Owls 16-2

The Rams continue the march towards an undefeated league season with another impressive performance against last year’s Tri-Valley League runner-up team, Laguna Blanca.

The match featured wins from all 11 Cate players in attendance on the day, with Edie Abbott taking a third-round win at #3 singles and Gwendi Rogers pairing with Colette Chang to go 2-0 on the day at the top doubles position.

In singles, Cate got convincing sweeps from freshmen Ivy Huang and Jade Wang, who dropped just 2 games each across their 6 sets-of-play. Only slightly more impressive was the perfect doubles performance frosh combo Elly Edwards and Claire Tang had at #2 doubles, with the pair recording 6-0, 6-0, 6-0 set-wins.

The Rams will rest up for the remainder of the week before returning to play against Villanova High School in Ojai at 3:30pm on Tuesday, October 1st.

Cate Goes 2-1 in SB Invitational Tournament

Cate Girls’ Tennis moves to 6-1 overall this season, with a 5th place showing in the 3rd Annual Santa Barbara Invitational Tournament.

Rancho Bernardo d. Cate 4-2

Cate opened the tournament on Friday against the #2-seed, Rancho Bernardo from North County San Diego. The match was competitive throughout, with the final score (2-4) belying the fact that at one point Cate School was just 7 points short of a 3-3 tie that would have resulted in a win on games.

Bright spots for Cate included wins from Lisa Hasebe at #3 singles (6-0, 6-2) and from Claire Tang/Elsie Chamberlain at #3 doubles (6-3, 7-5). Freshman Jade Wang put in a very strong performance against the Rancho Bernardo #2, UTR 6.3-rated Vennela Thangella (3-6, 5-7).

Colette Chang and Reyna Takahashi held a 6-4, 4-1 lead at #1 doubles before Rancho Bernardo came roaring back to win the deciding match in a 10-point tie-breaker.

Cate d. San Dieguito 5-1

Cate rebounded this morning with a convincing win over San Dieguito Academy of Encinitas, also a North County San Diego program. Cate took control early and never let up, winning 5 of the first 6 sets in convincing fashion.

Highlights included a clean sweep of the singles lines, with Huang, Wang, and Hasebe dropping just 4 games total across 6 sets-of-play. In doubles, Cate got a high-quality win from Chang and Takahashi, who took out the San Dieguito #1’s, a 4.5 UTR-rated team. Sophomore Claire Tang and freshman Chelsea Newlove paired for a 6-4, 6-3 win at the #3 spot.

Cate d. Arroyo Grande 5-1

The 5th place match, played at Pershing Park in Santa Barbara, featured Arroyo Grande of the CIF Central Section, fresh off their victory over local team San Marcos High School. Cate put on another outstanding display across the board, taking the first of what will be two matches between these teams on the season.

The Rams registered a doubles sweep this time, with Takahashi/Chang and Tang/Newlove reprising their partnerships at the #1 and #3 positions, while Lisa Hasebe moved to partner with freshman Elly Edwards at the #2 spot.

Cate also counted wins from Jade Wang at #2 (6-0, 6-3) and Claire Bianchi at #3 (6-2, 6-0), while freshman Ivy Huang battled competitively with UTR 5.9-rated senior Elliane Cha at the top slot in the lineup (4-6, 2-6).

Coach Thorpe’s Comments:

It was an awesome weekend for us, and one that came as a bit of a surprise when we got the last-minute call-up to enter the tournament two weeks out. We’ve got a team that loves high-level competition and there was lots to be had this weekend. For some of our players, being pushed by stronger opponents in this tournament was absolutely crucial in starting to build up to our mid-season level.

Since we hadn’t counted on being involved in this tournament when we did our scheduling, we actually ended up with 5 matches in 5 days, but the girls seemed to come through it quite well. We dropped our 21-match win-streak yesterday, but it’s nice to come out of the weekend with a 2-match streak already started!

I want to highlight the phenomenal play of Jade Wang, who really shined this weekend, both in victory and defeat. Lisa Hasebe was also performing like clock-work this weekend, going 2-0 in singles and then 1-0 in doubles, dropping just 8 games in 6 sets-of-play.

What’s Next for Cate Girls’ Tennis?

Cate will play again on Tuesday, September 24th at home against league rival Laguna Blanca at 3pm.

Cate Downs Dragons 16-2

Cate Girls’ Tennis wins again, moving to 4-0 on the season (2-0 in league play) with a dominant performance at Ventura College against Foothill Tech. This marks 21 consecutive wins and 12 consecutive in league play, dating back to the 2022 season.

How it Happened

Cate got sweeps from sophomore Lisa Hasebe and freshman Jade Wang in singles, while junior captain Claire Bianchi went 2-1 on the day.

In doubles, frosh combo Claire Tang and Ivy Huang defeated the Foothill Tech #1’s 6-2. Senior captain Colette Chang partnered with freshman Elly Edwards to go 3-0 on the day, dropping just 2 games total.

Junior/freshman pairing Elsie Chamberlain and Chelsea Newlove added 6-0, 6-1 wins, while Edie Abbott and Evita Ferrone each went 1-0 on the day.

What’s Next for Cate Girls’ Tennis?

Tomorrow, Cate will host the first round of the 3rd Annual Santa Barbara Invitational, with opponent Rancho Bernardo traveling north from CIF’s San Diego District for the 3pm match. On Saturday, the winner will face the winner of SBHS v. San Dieguito, while the losing squads will play on the opposing side of the compass draw format. A final round will be played at Noon, with both match locations for Saturday TBD.

Cate Defeats Thacher, Moves to 3-0

Cate Girls’ Tennis moves to 3-0 on the season (1-0 in Tri-Valley League Play) with a 17-1 win over Thacher School of Ojai.

How it happened

It was all Cate from start to finish, with the Rams dropping just a single set to the #3 singles player from Thacher. A total of 13 Cate players got involved, each recording at least one win on the day.

Sophomore Reyna Takahashi and junior Claire Bianchi led the line for Cate in singles play, each going 3-0 on the day, while freshman Ivy Huang and junior Elsie Chamberlain each added a win.

In doubles, Cate was utterly dominant, recording three 6-0 sets against the Thacher #1 team. Freshman Chelsea Newlove opened her Cate account by going 3-0 on the day in doubles, while sophomore Lisa Hasebe and freshman Elly Edwards did the same, each with various partners as the match progressed.

Coach Thorpe’s Comments:

It’s always good to see everyone able to get involved in the win. In addition to the usual suspects, we had strong performances from 6 first-year players, which bodes well for the future. We also got to try out some new doubles combinations, which I think is valuable information going forward.

What’s Next for Cate Tennis?

Cate plays at Ventura College this Thursday at 3:30pm against league opponent Foothill Tech.