Tag Archives: Rio Mesa

Cate Girls’ Tennis Back to Winning Ways with 16-2 Romp

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Despite just three days of practice, Cate Girls’ Tennis got off to a winning start today against Rio Mesa High School.

How it happened

The first round was an almost blemishless performance, with Cate dropping just five games en-route to a 6-0 lead in the match. Caroline Batchelder took the late call-up when another player had to pull out of the match and took an impressive 6-0 victory at #3 singles. In doubles action, after some lineup shuffling, freshman Colette Chang partnered with her older sister Ella took take an equally convincing 6-0 victory at #1 doubles.

It was more of the same at the match continued, with Cate rolling 5-1 in rounds two and three.

Hard-hitting #1 singles player Aminah Hill recorded an elusive golden set in the second round, winning 24 consecutive points. Ellie Tunnell had a battle in the first round, but was too much for the Rio Mesa #2 and #3 players, taking her sets 6-2, 6-0, 6-0 on the day.

In doubles, the Chang sisters completed the sweep on the day, while partners Julianna Forry/Maesa Vongkusolkit and Nikita Nautiyal/Sophie Alijani also finished the day 3-0.

Coach Thorpe’s Comments

I was really pleased with the way the girls responded to some last minute lineup changes and just to playing a match on the 4th day of the season. We practiced well so far this week, so I had a feeling we’d come out firing, but I wouldn’t have been surprised to struggle with some early-season nerves. Best of all, I noticed everyone on the team applying the things we worked on in practice. That’s a very strong sign for what’s to come this season.

What’s next for Cate Girls’ Tennis?

Cate will have a long interlude following opening of the academic year next week and outings trips, but will return to match-play on September 17 against league opponent Providence High School. The match will be played on Cate Mesa at 3:15pm.

Cate Girls’ Tennis Opens Season 3-0

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IMG_6606Cate Varsity Tennis had to be off-and-running very quickly this year, with the first match of the season coming with just four days of practice. Despite the early start, the girls came through with a victory against Rio Mesa High School and then followed that up with a win over Santa Barbara High School before outings week.

Returning from outings week can always be tricky and the 10-day break was apparent in the first days of practice. Still, when match-time came last Friday against Carpinteria High School, the Cate program was ready to take care of business.

Match Recaps

Cate @ Rio Mesa, 11-7 Win

The singles lineup was led by junior Grace Fuss, who battled fiercely with the higher-ranked Jupneet Singh of Rio Mesa, before going on to win her other two sets on the day.

Freshman Aminah Hill also impressed in her team debut, winning two sets as well. Senior Sydney Burton added a win in two sets-of-play before being substituted in the final round.

In doubles, Cate could count on the experience of two-time Tri-Valley League Doubles Runner-Up Sarah Polowczak, who paired with standout sophomore Fritze Mayer for two convincing victories. The pair were substituted in the third round-of-play, yielding the court to Mia Foster and Tali Nam, who picked up a nice 7-5 victory.

Seniors Kate Tunnell and Jennifer Soh also came out strong in their season debut, winning their first two sets, before dropping a closely contested set with the Rio Mesa #1 team in the third round.

Cate v. Santa Barbara, 10-8 Win

For the second year in-a-row Cate girls tennis has overcome Santa Barbara High, a school with 10x its enrollment, to validate their position as one of the top teams in Santa Barbara County.

Cate was led by junior Grace Fuss, who looked untroubled in three quick victories on the day. Senior Sydney Burton added two wins and freshman Aminah Hill added another, giving Cate a 6-3 advantage in singles play.

In doubles, the match was more even, with senior/sophomore combo Sarah Polowczak and Fritze Mayer moving to 5-0 on the season with a sweep of their three rounds. Wins were harder to come by at the #2 and #3 positions, with seniors Jennifer Soh and Kate Tunnell earning a single, but decisive win in the final round.

Coach’s Comments: “I’m very pleased with the match today. It was competitive, particularly in doubles, and we came out with another win against a large public school. Given that we’re only a week-and-a-half into practicing together, to be 2-0 going into Outings Week is awesome.

Santa Barbara may not be the powerhouse they once were, but they’ve got what is clearly a nice group of girls who are eager to maximize their potential as tennis players. That’s exactly what we do here at Cate so it’s always a pleasure to play like-minded programs.”

Cate v. Carpinteria, 14-4 Win

In a comprehensive decision in the Carpinteria cross-town rivalry, wins were spread evenly between singles and doubles, with Cate earning 7-of-9 sets in each half of the scoresheet.

The home team earned sweeps at the #1 and #2 singles positions from juniors Grace Fuss and Carol Cai. Cai is active in match-play for the first time this season after an off-season shoulder surgery, but is already showing signs of the form that saw her finish amongst the top-16 doubles teams in CIF-Southern Section last year.

Senior Kate Tunnell, normally a staple of the Cate doubles lineup added a win, defeating the Carpinteria #2 singles player 6-2 in the second round-of-play.

In doubles, Sarah Polowczak and Fritze Mayer remain undefeated on the season, winning their sets 6-2, 6-2, 6-0. Pairings Jennifer Soh/Madeline Vanica and Yuki Kobayashi/Mia Foster both added two sets to the Cate tally.

Cate is now 3-0, while Carpinteria moves to 7-4.

What’s Up Next?

Cate begins Tri-Valley League play at the Thacher School next Thursday at 3:15pm. Expect more of these match recap posts as well as other tennis content in the near future!

Laguna Blanca Surges to CIF Quarterfinals

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ORG_DSC00096Laguna Blanca advanced to the CIF D4 Playoffs Quarterfinal Round for the second consecutive year with a 13-5 victory over rival Rio Mesa of Oxnard. The teams have played each other in each of the last five seasons, with every match decided 10-8 or 9-9, including a 10-8 win for Laguna earlier this season.

How it Happened

Rio Mesa relied on their nationally-ranked top player Andy Hess to put the first set on the board, though Alex Furukawa gave Hess a strong challenge in the second half of the set. After going down 0-3 in the first five minutes of play, Furukawa began to find his rhythm, taking two games and creating a number of opportunities for himself through aggressive play.

Laguna’s top doubles pairing, seniors Conor Scheinberg and Jason Barnick began the match at #3 doubles, making a quick response to Hess’s 6-2 win with a 6-0 win of their own.

At the end of round one, Laguna took a 4-2 lead on the back of a tie-break win from senior Kelvin Chen and freshman Ryan Purkait, who fought back from a 2-4 deficit. “I’m just so thankful to have all my teammates standing there and cheering for us,” said the senior at the end of the match. In what was a very tight set, Chen and Purkait came through at all the critical moments, buoyed by the support of their teammates.

Victor Liu (pictured above) had a stand-out performance on the day, with the senior taking two-of-three sets and beating two players he had lost two earlier in the season. After his victory over Rio #2 Andrew Diaz, Laguna Blanca continued to roll, finishing the second round-of-play with an 8-4 lead.

In the final round, only Rio’s Andy Hess was able to take set from the Owls. Despite having a solid lead, Laguna continued to compete at a high level, not only to ensure victory, but to practice strategies that might be useful down the line.

Scheinberg and Barnick completed a sweep of their three sets, avenging a 4-6 loss against the #1 Rio combo with a 6-3 victory. After trailing 0-2 earlier, the veteran Owls rallied and looked dominant, winning six of the next seven games. This match appeared to be a turning point for the seniors, who had struggled against opponent #1 teams throughout the season.

Coach’s Notes

I’m so proud of the way my guys competed today. This was our best performance of the season and it came against a tough opponent at an important time. We’ve been on the cusp of reaching another level for most of the season and today we found that extra level.

The difference was the way we supported each other, which I think led to more engagement. This was the first match that really felt like full-on playoff intensity from all our guys. All ten of our guys were totally committed on the court and they got great energy from the rest of the team looking on.

We’re looking forward to another CIF Quarterfinals appearance on Monday and hoping to take it a step further.

What’s Next?

Laguna Blanca will play away against the #4-seeded Laguna Beach at 3pm on Monday.