Tag: Rancho Bernardo

Cate Takes 3rd in SB Invitational

The Rams finished 2-1 on the weekend to earn 3rd place in the 4th Annual Santa Barbara Girls’ Tennis Invitational Tournament.

Cate lost to Monta Vista High School from Cupertino in the semifinals, before rallying for a 6-0 win over Rancho Bernardo of San Diego in the 3rd place match.

The win over Rancho Bernardo reverses a 2-4 loss from last year’s edition, where Cate went on to sweep up 5th place from the backdraw.

How it Happened:

Cate battled gamely against Bay Area powerhouse Monta Vista, who are already competing in their 3rd tournament of the young season.

In singles, while the Cate trio of Ivy Huang, Jade Wang, and Reyna Takahashi failed to pick up any sets, the sets that they played featured excellent rallies and competitive points.

Doubles was much closer, with tie-break sets played on all 3 courts. Lisa Hasebe and Chelsea Newlove took the top Monta Vista team to a tie-breaker in the first set, while Elsie Chamberlain and Elly Edwards were similarly competitive at the #2 spot, losing 3-6, 6-7. Cate picked up a nice win from “the Claires” (Claire Bianchi and Claire Tang) at #3 singles, who won 6-2, 6-7, 10-8.

Regrouping for the afternoon match, Jade Wang moved into the #1 singles position and took a 6-1, 6-1 victory over her Rancho Bernardo opponent. Reyna Takahashi added an impressive 6-1, 6-0 win at line #2.

Ivy Huang moved to doubles, pairing with Lisa Hasebe for a competitive 6-4, 7-5 win at the top line. Elsewhere, sophomores Newlove/Edwards and senior/junior combo Chamberlain/Tang won their matches more convincingly (6-1, 6-3 and 6-2, 6-3).

Coach Thorpe’s Comments:

This tournament was a critical step forward for us as a team with championship aspirations. The teams we played today have a lot of players of the variety we’re likely to face in CIF later this season, and the girls did not shy away from the competition.

The way we competed against top teams leveled up our competence and our confidence as a team and everyone seemed to really enjoy the experience.

What’s Next for Cate Girls’ Tennis?

Cate returns to action on Tuesday at Laguna Blanca, in what appears to be the first of two matches between the top teams in the Tri-Valley League this year.

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.