Tag: Cate Tennis

Cate Girls Tennis Rams Through Two More Tri-Valley League Opponents

Cate moves to 7-0 on the season with wins over visiting Villanova Prep and Providence. Having now played everyone in league once, Cate is nearly assured the top spot in the league and continues to be ranked 5th in CIF Division 3 polling.

Cate v. Villanova: 17-1 Win

Cate won handily despite playing without senior captain Alyna Takahashi, who is unbeaten in league so far this season. Lisa Hasebe, also unbeaten, moved into the #1 spot in the lineup and duly produced a 6-0 win against the Villanova senior Monica Munoz before subbing out. Fellow freshman Reyna Takahashi finished the day 3-0 without dropping a single game, while sophomore Pyper Davis had a similar 3-0 sweep in her singles season debut.

In doubles, freshman Sophie Blank partnered with junior JV player Addie Bracher to record a 6-3, 6-1, 6-0 result. The pair were incredibly consistent and worked well together in their first outing together. Frances Davis paired with Sophie Alijani for a 6-0 win at #1 before Alijani was replaced by freshman Claire Tang, making her season debut and going 2-0. Senior Caroline Batchelder partnered with sophomore Claire Bianchi for a 7-5 set-win in the first round, before pairing with sophomore Elsie Chamberlain for 6-2 and 6-0 wins.

Cate v. Providence: 15-3 Win

Caroline Batchelder and Elsie Chamberlain picked up where they left off in the previous match, partnering for 7-5, 6-0, 6-0 set-wins and moving to 8-3 on the season. The pair over-turned a 2-6 loss to Providence #1’s Aza Elwood and Amber Regan from a few weeks prior, showing their progression. Senior Frances Davis continued to thrive with multiple partners, playing with Reyna Takahashi, Sophie Blank, and Ani Van Lynde for three set-wins, dropping just 1 game. Sophie Alijani and Pyper Davis partnered for the second time this season, going 2-0 before Claire Tang replaced Davis in the third set for another win.

In singles play, Lisa Hasebe turned in another 6-0 win at the #1 position before subbing out. Hasebe is now 13-1 on the season (8-0 in league play). Claire Bianchi returned to the singles lineup, where she split sets in a similar fashion to freshman Gwendi Rogers, who played the #3 position. JV call-up Betsy Peters battled gamely to a 5-7 in her first varsity match, while facing the Providence #2 player.

Coach Thorpe’s Comments:

I’m proud of the way the girls executed our gameplan for this week, which was to take every opportunity to improve, regardless of who they were playing. We had some less experienced opponents this week, but I feel that we managed to improve on movement at the net, composure in baseline rallies, and also in serve accuracy. We’ve got our top two rivals for the league title to play next Tuesday and Thursday, so the work we put in this week should be put to good use in the coming week!

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.

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 15-3 in League Match Against Providence

Cate girls’ tennis (4-2) emerged with a 15-3 victory over Providence High School (6-4), following on the heels of a 14-4 win against Thacher on Tuesday.

Cate singles put together a perfect day, with Frances Davis and Ellie Tunnell sweeping their three sets and Alyna Takahashi and Elsie Chamberlain sharing the #1-line duties for a sweep.

In doubles, Cate got three wins from sophomore Colette Chang, who partnered with sister Ella Chang in the first round and Annie Chian in the remaining two sets. First-year varsity players Athena Ke and Pyper Davis added two sets, while Sophie Alijani/Claire Bianchi chipped in another set.

The third consecutive win in league play puts Cate solidly in the playoff picture, with a chance to claim a share of the Tri-Valley league title with a win over Foothill Tech this coming Tuesday.

In the first meeting, Cate dropped three tie-break sets and ended up losing 8-10, so the match, held at Ventura City College, is likely to be very close again.

Cate Narrowly defeated by Foothill Tech

Cate girls’ tennis fell by a final score of 10-8 today against visiting league rival Foothill Tech. The match was an absolute nail-biter, with the score going neck-and-neck throughout the first two hours of play.

Cate picked up a crucial win from #1 singles player Alyna Takahashi, who defeated Foothill’s Kira Branson 6-2. Takahashi would go on to win her remaining sets and move to 6-0 in Tri-Valley League play.

Foothill responded with a quick win at #3 doubles, but Cate countered with a 6-3 win from Sophie Alijani and Claire Bianchi at the #2 spot. Cate also got a crucial victory from freshman Elsie Chamberlain, who finished the day 2-0.

The final two sets of the first round ended with tie-break wins from Foothill Tech at #2 singles and #1 doubles, the result being a 3-3 tie instead of a 5-1 Cate lead.

In the second set, Cate took two sets again in singles, but failed to scratch across three doubles sets, that also included another tie-break loss against the visiting team’s #1 doubles pair. Alijani and Bianchi even had a set-point serving at 5-4, but were pushed back by a determined Foothill team that played some of their best tennis in the crucial moments.

Round three began with Cate slightly ahead in overall games won, but down 5-7 in sets, meaning they’d need 4-of-6 sets in the final round to take victory. Cate singles took 2-of-3 in quick order, with junior Frances Davis breaking through for her only win of the day at an important moment.

With the doubles left on-court, Cate faced an uphill battle, starting down 0-3, 1-2, and 0-3 across the three courts. Top Cate duo Ella and Colette Chang rallied, winning their last 5 games for their first set-win on the day, but Cate’s #2 and #3 teams were unable to get past their foes, resulting in a loss by the narrowest of margins.

Cate, now 1-2 overall, will play again on Tuesday, traveling away for the first time this season to face Laguna Blanca in Hope Ranch.

Cate Girls’ Tennis Falls 6-12 Against Dos Pueblos

Dos Pueblos High School had too much firepower for the freshly assembled Cate Varsity Girls’ Tennis team on Thursday, with Cate dropping the pre-season opener 6-12.

How it Happened

Cate struggled to get a foothold in the early-going, with all but court 1 singles falling behind. Junior Alyna Takahashi to a 4-1 lead and then held her nerve against local 2-star recruit Ellie Triplett. The 6-4 victory for Takahashi was added to by senior Ellie Tunnell, who battled to a 7-2 tie-break win in the longest set of the first round. That was to be it for the Rams, with DP easily sweeping the first round of doubles and picking up the remaining singles set.

The doubles play became more competitive in the following two rounds, with Cate #1’s Ella and Collette Chang collecting two wins and closer set-play from Cate School’s other doubles pairings (Sophie Alijani/Pyper Frances, Claire Bianchi/Annie Chian).

In singles, junior Frances Davis won her third-round match, hitting her stride for a 6-0 victory. Takahashi finished 2-1 on the day, while Tunnell finished 1-2.

Coach Thorpe’s Comments:

We like to win, but the truth is, this was a pretty great match for us to have so early in the season. Alyna got a huge win at #1 singles and I’m already seeing the tell-tale signs of a team that’s going to progress markedly over the season. Dos Pueblos provide us with 18 great sets of match-play and we’ll be better for it. We relish the challenge of competing against schools 8-10 times our enrollment size and I think we made a good account of ourselves today.

What’s Next for Cate Girls’ Tennis?

Cate will now break for Outings Week, before facing Providence High School in the first Tri-Valley League match of the season on Tuesday, September 20th. That match will be followed by a showdown between the league’s two top teams in recent years, with Foothill Tech traveling to Cate School on Thursday the 22nd.