Tag: San Dieguito

Cate Rips into SB Invitational Semis with Dominant Display

Cate girls’ tennis moved to 6-0 on the season with a 6-0 victory in the first round of this year’s Santa Barbara Invitational Tournament.

The win marks the second time in 2 years that Cate has defeated San Dieguito (Encinitas) in the invitational, with Bay Area powerhouse Monta Vista high school looming next in the semifinals.

How it Happened:

Cate was led by dominant 6-0, 6-0 performances from sophomores Ivy Huang and Jade Wang in singles. Junior Reyna Takahashi rallied from 2-3 down in the first, rattling off 10 of the next 11 games to secure the singles sweep.

In doubles, it was all Cate as well, with decisive wins from Elly Edwards/Elsie Chamberlain and Claire Bianchi/Claire Tang. At line 1, the match was much more competitive, but junior/sophomore combo Lisa Hasebe and Chelsea Newlove eventually prevailed in straight sets (6-4, 6-4).

The match follows a 17-1 TVL league win over Villanova Prep School earlier in the week and a stretch of lopsided victories that stretches all the way back to August, when Cate narrowly defeated Dos Pueblos High School to start the season.

Coach Thorpe’s Comments:

We expect our upcoming match against Monta Vista to be a significant step up in competition, but it’s important not to lose sight of what we’ve been able to accomplish already in this season. You don’t get convincing wins like we had today against San Dieguito without a lot of effort and time spent training both at school and over the summer.

I want to applaud my girls on the way they performed today. They asserted themselves early and often in the matches, while striking the tough balance between competitive and collegial. We are relishing the matchups we’re sure to get tomorrow. The next few rounds of the tournament are opportunities to continue competing against top teams from other parts of the state, with an eye towards our goal of bringing home another CIF banner to Cate in November.

What’s Next for Cate Girls’ Tennis?

Cate will host Monta Vista in a semifinal match tomorrow morning at 8:30am, followed by either a championship or 3rd Place match at noon (also at Cate).

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.