Tag: Dos Pueblos

Cate School girls tennis opened their season with another barn-burner of a match that almost saw a repeat of last season’s 9-9, 73-73, 9-9, 106-102 match.

This early-season match-up pitted last season’s D2 Semifinalists (Cate) against last season’s D3 Semifinalists (Dos Pueblos) in Goleta, California. With just three days of team practice under the belt, the Rams rallied together and performed at a very high level to stave off defeat, after falling behind 5-7 in the match.

How it Happened:

Cate singles was led by sophomore Ivy Huang, who went 2-1 on the day, pushing Dos Pueblos star and UTR 6.75 senior Melisandre Mayo to 5-7 in the opening round. That opening round was a 3-0 shutout for DP in singles, but Cate’s doubles lineup evened the score with a shutout of their own.

Cate’s doubles lineup was anchored by junior Lisa Hasebe and sophomore Chelsea Newlove, who paired together for the first time and finished 3-0 on the day.

With the first round a draw, Dos Pueblos gained ground with two quick wins in singles and two much more contested wins in doubles. Cate’s line 1 players kept the team in contention with a pair of wins, but Dos Pueblos ended round 2 with a 7-5 lead and a lot of momentum.

Then, as has happened so many times in recent years, the Rams locked in and took their level up a notch. Reina Takahashi turned her day around with a resounding 6-0 win over DP #2 Isla Herrera, 6-0. Huang added another 6-0 win, and then the doubles teams had their turn. First, it was Elly Edwards and third-round substitution, Gwendi Rogers, who came through with a 6-4 win. Within minutes, Hasebe and Newlove took Cate to 9 wins with another 6-4 victory sealed by a fearless backhand poach from Newlove. Seconds later, senior Elsie Chamberlain and junior Claire Tang added a 6-3 victory to clinch the match for Cate.

Coach Thorpe’s Comments:

When I scheduled this match a week earlier than last year, I knew I was taking a risk. It was asking a lot of the girls to come back to school ready to take on one of the best teams in Santa Barbara County on day 4, but we’ve been a championship-quality team for a few years now and to be the best you need to push. I’m thrilled that the girls responded in this way and I think it’s a testament to their confidence as players that we were able to beat a very strong Dos Pueblos team today. I also want to highlight the fair play exhibited by both teams throughout the match, which is so nice to see in such a competitive environment.

What’s Next for Cate Girls’ Tennis?

Cate will return to action at San Marcos High School at 3pm on Thursday, August 28th for another pre-season match against a CIF championship contender from 2024.

There was no shortage of suspense on Cate Mesa today, as the defending CIF D3 Champs got the season underway against D2 Quarterfinalist, Dos Pueblos High School. The match finished locked in a 9-9 tie, with games tied 73-73, triggering a round of tie-breakers to decide the winner.

How it Happened

The first round proved the two teams to be evenly matched, with DP taking 2-of-3 singles sets, while Cate School countered with 2-of-3 in doubles play.

Jade Wang opened her Cate career with a 6-0 victory at #3 singles, while sophomore Lisa Hasebe and freshman Ivy Huang were unable to overcome the deadly DP duo of junior Melisandre Mayo (UTR 6.7) and senior Ellie Triplett (UTR 5.7).

Hasebe would rally to take her next two sets, including a 6-0 win over Triplett, while Huang added a 6-0 win and battled for 3 important games against Mayo.

In doubles, lone Cate senior Colette Chang partnered with sophomore Reyna Takahashi for a clean sweep at doubles line 1 (6-3, 6-2, 6-3). Junior Pyper Davis partnered with freshman Elly Edwards for two wins on the day (1-6, 7-5, 6-3).

Upon completing the 18-set match, and after a flurry of counting and re-counting, it was determined that the two teams would return to the courts to play out a round-robin set of 18 tie-breakers to decide the match.

Dos Pueblos struck first, with upset wins at #3 singles and #1 doubles, but steady play from juniors Claire Bianchi and Elsie Chamberlain returned the favor, keeping Cate in the hunt. However, DP surged to a 9-5 lead with a pair of singles and doubles breakers remaining.

Cate got a boost from Huang against the #3 singles player, while Chang/Takahashi and Davis/Edwards battled through tight matchups to 8-6 and 11-9 wins (respectively).

With the tally standing at 8-9 and Cate up by a single point in the event of a tie, the match hung in the balance of the Mayo v. Wang matchup. In her first match at Cate, Jade Wang regained her focus after losing her first two tie-breakers to defeat the defending Channel League singles champion 7-4. The upset win sealed the match, with Cate taking victory on a 9-9 tie that ended 106-102 after the points count-back.

Coach Thorpe’s Comments:

This is my 31st season as a high school tennis coach, between boys and girls and I’ve never seen this before. The probability of a tie in sets, games, and tie-breakers is infinitesimal. It was a total playoff atmosphere even though we’ve only been in school for 4 days and this was our first match of the season.

I’m so impressed by the way both teams competed today, and would have been happy to have had the quality match-play even if we’d lost. To win, and with our freshmen starters Jade, Ivy, and Elly all playing a crucial role at the end, well, that’s something special.

We won this match as a team, with every single player in the lineup contributing key wins at key moments. To do so this early in the season suggests last year’s CIF Championship win wasn’t a one-off and I’m sure this win will serve us well as we work towards another deep November run.

What’s Next for Cate Tennis?

The Cate girls will now head out into the various wilderness areas of California for outings week, before returning to face Santa Ynez High School in another non-league match on Thursday, September 12th (away).

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.

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.