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 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.
The Owls entered spring break off the back of an 8-1 win at Santa Maria High School, led by Mason Berg and Oliver Tande at #1 doubles and Keanu Christiansen debuting at #1 singles.
The win broke a two-match slide, with Laguna suffering a tough 6-12 loss with playoffs implications against Villanova Prep. The match may have just come too early in the season, as the Owls dropped a number of 4-6 and 5-7 sets against the more experienced team from Ojai.
Prior to that match, Laguna faced Foothill Tech, a team with no weakness across their lineup, and the likely heir to Cate’s title as league champions. A bright spot in the match was senior Mason Berg’s 6-3 victory over Foothill #2 player, fellow senior James Sokoloski.
The post-spring break Tri-Valley League matches come fast and furious, with 5 scheduled in the final two weeks of the season, with the Owls looking to finish strong to secure the season goal of a .500 overall win/loss record.
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 Girls’ Tennis has gone 1-1 in Tri-Valley League play this week, falling 7-11 to Foothill Tech on Tuesday before rebounding with a 16-2 victory over Laguna Blanca.
Cate @ Foothill Tech: 7-11 Loss
In another very close match, Cate came up short against Foothill Tech, going 0-6 against the #1 positions in singles and doubles. Conversely, Cate went 6-0 against the #3 singles and doubles positions, suggesting that Foothill took the win with a strong upper end of the lineup, while Cate may in fact have more depth.
A bright spot for Cate, junior Sophie Alijani and freshman Claire Bianchi went 2-1 on the day and freshman Elsie Chamberlain took a win as a substitute singles player. Freshman Pyper Davis also had a win, pairing with senior Athena Ke. Three freshman accounting for 4-of-7 set-wins suggests Cate has room to grow in the future.
Cate v. Laguna Blanca: 16-2 Win
The rebound was swift and severe for Cate tennis, as they put in an absolutely dominant performance against visiting Laguna Blanca. Through the first two rounds-of-play, Cate went a perfect 12-0 before making a number of substitutions.
The win was spear-headed by seniors at the #1 singles and doubles positions, with Ellie Tunnell going 2-0 on the day and Ella Chang/Athena Ke paired for a 3-0 day in doubles. The match will be the last regular season home game for the trio, who celebrated senior day with a special recognition from the team during introductions.
Freshman Claire Bianchi continued to impress, going 3-0 in her first singles play of the season, while usual #1 player Alyna Takahashi added 6-1, 6-0 set-scores against the top-2 players from Laguna. Freshman Elsie Chamberlain has quietly moved to 7-3 on the season in singles play as a substitute after taking a tie-break set-win against Danica Damiana of Laguna Blanca.
In doubles, junior/sophomore combo Sophie Alijani and Colette Chang joined Chang/Ke with a sweep of their three rounds, while sisters Frances and Pyper Davis chipped in 2 wins on the day from the #3 doubles position.
What’s Next for Cate Girls’ Tennis?
Cate, now 5-3 overall (5-2 in league play) will close out regular season play next Thursday at Thacher School in Ojai. The following week will see Cate team-members participating in Tri-Valley League Individuals, followed by a run at the CIF Division 2 playoffs in early November.
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 went 2-0 this week, with a dominant 18-0 performance on Tuesday at St. Bonaventure leading into an 11-7 victory over league rival Foothill Tech today. Cate now stands at 5-1 on the season and holds the top spot in the Tri-Valley League standings with just 3 more matches on the league calendar.
Cate @ St. Bonaventure: 18-0 Win
Cate was unblemished in it’s Tuesday match at Ventura College, completing the first round of league play with an 18-0 victory over the Seraphs.
In singles play, Aminah Hill went 2-0 before giving way to Caroline Batchelder, who took a nice 6-3 victory in the third round. Alyna Takahashi and Nikita Nautiyal were both 3-0 on the day.
In doubles, senior/freshman combo Ashi Kamra and Colette Chang moved to 8-0 on the season, while Ella Chang/Ellie Tunnell and Julianna Forry/Sophie Alijani also went undefeated in three rounds-of-play.
Cate v. Foothill Tech: 11-7 Win
In the second match of the week, Cate avenged their only loss of the season with an 11-7 victory that was unequivocally the best performance of the year thus far.
Cate’s #1 singles and doubles led the charge, with senior Aminah Hill taking a 6-3 victory over her previously undefeated opponent and Ashi Kamra/Colette Chang putting in a dominant 6-1 showing in doubles.
Kamra and Chang moved to 11-0 on the season and are the only undefeated team in the Tri-Valley League, which puts them in poll position to claim the league individuals title in doubles.
Aminah Hill finished the day 2-1, defeating the Foothill #1 and #2 players, Frances and Anna English, only dropping a tight 4-7 tie-breaker to Kira Branson after going down 0-3 to start that round.
Alyna Takahashi also went 2-1 in singles for Cate, taking a 6-4 victory over the #2 and then benefitting from the work Hill had done to wear Branson down in the second round to take a 6-1 victory in the third.
Senior Julianna Forry went 0-3 on the day, but had, perhaps, her best performance ever at Cate, taking valuable games and wearing down the Foothill singles players in what was her first singles match appearance in years.
The partnerships of Emily May/Ella Chang and Ellie Tunnell/Frances Davis both went 2-1 on the day and nearly pulled off sweeps, with both teams losing in the final round after the match had already been decided.
Coach Thorpe’s Comments:
These are the matches that keep me coming back after 13 seasons. High school coaching gigs are not well-paid, they’re not lauded, and they come with significant commitments of time and energy. But I love it!
The reward, at least for me, is almost entirely in seeing my players grow and reach their potential. This was one of the most enjoyable matches I’ve coached in 25 seasons of high school tennis, between two very successful teams.
This group of girls is extremely coachable and determined. They are a joy to work with every day and I was very disappointed for them after our first match against Foothill, because I knew they didn’t show their best. We worked really hard in practice and in our matches over the last two weeks to be ready for this re-match, and I’m delighted that the girls’ got the result they deserved.
Today, this team showed its full potential while maintaining the same level of class and sportsmanship that has always characterized Cate Girls’ Tennis.
What’s next for Cate Girls’ Tennis:
Cate plays league opponent Laguna Blanca next Tuesday in Hope Ranch in the only match of the coming week. The San Marcos match previously scheduled for October 15th has been moved to October 20th.
Cate Girls’ Tennis opened the Tri-Valley League season with a 5-13 loss against last year’s league champions (Foothill Tech), but rallied gamely for a 15-3 win over previously undefeated Laguna Blanca two days later.
Tuesday, September 21: Foothill Tech d. Cate 13-5
In the first round of play, Cate managed to win just one set as the girls returned to matchplay for the first time in four weeks. Playing at #3 doubles, senior Julianna Forry and junior Nikita Nautiyal cruised to a 6-2 win, while #1 doubles lost a 7-9 tie-breaker and #2 doubles lost a tight 5-7 set.
It was a struggle in singles as well for the Rams, as Foothill Tech fielded three tournament-level players and more recent match-play. In fact, it was not until the final singles match on-court that Cate drew blood in singles, with new sophomore Alyna Takahashi taking her first win of the season against the Foothill #2, Anna English.
The later rounds proved better for Cate doubles as well, with seniors Emily May and Ashi Kamra rallying for 6-2, 6-4 wins and sisters Ella and Colette Chang also picking up a win over the Foothill Tech #3 team.
Thursday, September 23: Cate d. Laguna Blanca 15-3
In a complete reversal to Tuesday’s match, Cate came out firing against a 5-0 Laguna Blanca team, sweeping the first six sets-of-play.
In the first round, senior Aminah Hill struck a devastating blow to Laguna’s chances, defeating their ace #1 singles player Mina Yazadhiev 6-3. Hill finished 3-0 on the day, while junior Ellie Tunnell and sophomore Alyna Takahashi collected two wins each in singles play.
In doubles action, Cate’s #1 pairing Ashi Kamra/Colette Chang won three convincing sets (6-1, 6-3, 6-0), while Emily May/Ella Chang also swept (7-6, 6-3, 6-0). Julianna Forry went 1-1 with partner Nikita Nautiyal in the first two rounds, before partnering with Sophie Alijani to take an impressive 6-1 victory over the Laguna #1 team in the final round-of-play.
Coach Thorpe’s Comments:
While we had practiced well after outings week, it was clear on Tuesday that we lacked some match-readiness. I think had we managed to win those tight doubles sets in the first round to go 3-3 instead of 1-5, the match might have ended differently.
That being said, we improved markedly in our match on Thursday against Laguna Blanca and I think we’re on-track to give Foothill Tech a run for their money in our next meeting. Throughout both matches, I saw lots of good teamwork and support, and coupling that with the progression of our match-play as we get deeper into the season will yield dividends.
Also, this year’s team has shown some excellent marketing skills! Drawing attention to our home match against Laguna by wearing blazers to school was a genius move, so it’s clear we’ve got some creative intelligence to work with should we need it later in the season.
What’s next for Cate Tennis?
Cate will travel away to Thacher on Thursday, September 30th for the classic Santa Barbara Area boarding school rivalry!
Cate Girls’ Tennis lost a league match for the first time since October of 2014 today while playing visiting Foothill Tech. The match was a cliff-hanger until the third round-of-play, but in the end, the Servons came up short in a 7-11 defeat.
How the match unfolded
Foothill Tech fielded a lineup featuring several several seniors who will be playing at the D3 level in college next year, as well as a third tournament-level player. The formidable singles lineup left Cate as the considerable underdog coming into the match, but Cate pushed the Dragons to their limit.
The first round of play ended in a draw, with Foothill Tech sweeping singles play 6-1, 6-0, 6-1. Cate fired off a similarly dominant performance in doubles, taking three wins of their own (6-0, 6-1, 6-3).
In the second round-of-play, it was much the same, with Cate dominating against Foothill’s #2 and #3 doubles lines, while the Dragons picked up 6-0, 6-0 wins from their #1 and #2 singles players. Junior Aminah Hill broke through with a 6-3 victory playing against the #3 singles opponent, but senior Yuki Kobayashi and junior Ashi Kamra dropped a 4-1 lead against the Foothill #1’s in a 5-7 defeat.
The Foothill #1 doubles team got hot after their comeback and took a 6-1 victory over junior/sophomore combo Julianna Forry/Ella Chang, who had registered quick wins in their first two rounds.
Senior Fritze Mayer and junior Emily May finished the day undefeated with 6-0, 6-1, 6-2 victories to move to 10-0 on the season, but it wasn’t enough for the Servons, who lost 2 doubles matches in the final round.
Despite a mathematically inevitability of losing games, Aminah Hill and Ellie Tunnell battled on to try for a 9-9 tie in the last two matches on-court. Tunnell came back from 0-4 to fall just short at 4-6, while Hill, dropped her final set against the UC Santa Cruz-bound Jolie Seemayer 5-7.
Coaches Thorpe’s Comments
Our streak came to an end, but we competed hard and showed our character. The girls were both fierce competitors and exhibited exceptional sportsmanship. Sometimes you learn more in defeat than in victory, and what was revealed today leaves me feeling very proud as a coach. We faced a tough opponent who took a well-deserved win from us today, but I feel strongly that this match will be a big motivator for us going forward as a team and we’ll be looking forward to the rematch in the fall!
What’s Next for Cate Girls’ Tennis
Cate plays its next few matches in Ojai, with Villanova High School on Thursday at 3:30pm, followed by an exhibition match against Thacher on Saturday at 3pm.
It was a busy week for Coach Thorpe, with four matches in five days that also included a match between Cate and Laguna Blanca, but there will be little respite as the same is scheduled for the following week. On to the recaps!
Monday, April 19: Cate d. Providence 14-4
Cate Girls’ Tennis played Providence High School for the first time and came out with a convincing victory. Read more about it here.
Wednesday, April 21: Foothill Tech d. Laguna Blanca 12-6
The Owls took their first defeat of the season while playing short-handed. Freshman #1 Keanu Nakamura lost a tight 4-6 set in the first round before subbing out and Laguna struggled for wins in singles. Senior Andreas Jackson picked up the lone win with a 6-2 victory against the Dragons #3 player.
In doubles, the Owls faired much better, taking 5-of-9 sets despite going winless against Foothill’s #1 team.
Senior combo Ryan Purkait and Nic Richmond took 6-1, 6-0 victories and junior/sophomore combo Ben Rodgers and Aden Meisel added two wins. In the first round, Rodgers and Meisel battled to an 11-9 tie-break win against the Foothill #2 before cruising to a 6-0 win in the third round. George Nicks and Cody Busch-Weiss added a 6-4 set against the #3’s to the Laguna win-column.
Thursday, April 22: Cate d. Laguna Blanca 12-6
Despite winning just one game in three sets against Laguna’s freshman #1 Mina Yazadzhiev, Cate managed to put another match in the win column.
Buoyed by sweeps at #1 and #2 doubles, Cate finished the match with seven wins in doubles and five in singles for a 12-6 final score.
Senior Fritze Mayer and junior Emily May won their sets 6-1, 6-1, 6-0 to move to 7-0 on the season, while senior/junior combo Yuki Kobayashi and Ashi Kamra won 6-4, 6-0, 6-1. Kamra is now a perfect 9-0 on the season. Julianna Forry and Sophie Alijani added a 7-5 win in the first round.
Juniors Aminah Hill and Ellie Tunnell each finished the day 2-1, while sophomore Ella Chang rallied from losses in the first two rounds to defeat the Laguna #2 6-3 in the final round of play.
Cate moves to 3-0 with the win and will play next on Monday, April 26th against an undefeated Foothill Tech team that threatens to end a 44-match win-streak in Tri-Valley League play that stretches all the way back to 2014.
Friday, April 23: Laguna Blanca d. St. Bonaventure 14-4
The Owls tasted victory for the second time this season (2-1 overall) with a convincing victory over short-handed St. Bonny, who had to forfeit all three rounds at #2 and #3 doubles. The match was anything but boring though, as Bonny fielded a solid singles lineup and a determined #1 doubles team.
The stand-out performance of the day came from sophomore Aden Meisel, playing at the #3 singles position for the first time. After watching his teammates fall to the #1 singles player from St. Bonaventure 4-6 and 0-6, Meisel turned it around for the Owls with a 6-4 victory in the last match of the day. The Laguna sophomore finished the day undefeated with a 6-4, 6-2, 6-0 line.
Laguna took two-of-three in doubles, with Ryan Purkait and Nic Richmond collecting a 6-1 win and frosh combo Cody Busch-Weiss and Jake Gidney also defeating the Bonny #1’s with a 6-4 score.
In singles, senior Andreas Jackson took two-of-three and looked to be building back some of his old form after a long layoff from regular competitive play, while junior Ben Rodgers took a nice 6-4 victory over the St. Bonaventure #2.
Laguna Blanca plays next on Friday, April 30th in the second Laguna/Cate rivalry matchup, where Coach Thorpe will hope to turn the tide for the Owls, who lost to his Cate girls’ team earlier in the week. Confused yet? So am I! So am I. What a crazy year this has been over at Thorpe Tennis!
Thorpe Tennis 