Tag: Santa Ynez

Cate Takes Down Santa Ynez 8-1

Cate Girls’ Tennis defeated the Santa Ynez Pirates to remain unbeaten on the season. The non-league match was played using the CIF Central Section format, similar to that of NCAA tennis, featuring 3 doubles teams contesting an 8-game pro-set, before a round of 6 singles players hit the courts for a 2-of-3 set match. In the end, despite a strong challenge from the Pirates, particularly in doubles, Cate rolled to an 8-1 win.

How it Happened

The match began with very even doubles play from both teams, with Cate holding a slight edge at #2 and #3 doubles and Santa Ynez leading in the early-going at #1.

Sophomore Reyna Takahashi and freshman Ivy Huang came to the edge of defeat, going down 3-7, before mounting a massive comeback. The pair managed to rattle off 6 straight games for a 9-7 win at the #1 spot.

Junior/freshman combo Claire Bianchi and Elly Edwards held a one-game lead through 5-5, before winning the final 3 games to close out their match at #3 doubles.

Despite carrying a lead into the middle of the pro-set, senior/freshman combo Colette Chang and Jade Wang were unable to complete the sweep, dropping the final 3 games at the #2 spot, finishing at 7-9.

In singles, Cate came out roaring with Ivy Huang at #1, Jade Wang at #3, and Claire Bianchi at #4, who all took quick first-set wins. Huang and Bianchi continued to cruise in the second set, while Wang faced a tough challenge from her opponent, but ultimate prevailed 6-4 in the second set.

Reyna Takahashi faced an early challenge from Santa Ynez #2 Haley Townes (UTR 4.1), who held a 4-3 lead. However, Takahashi hung tough and play some strong tennis to close out the first set 6-4 and never looked back, closing out the second set 6-1.

At 5 and 6 singles, sophomore Claire Tang and junior Elsie Chamberlain entered the match with fresh legs and determination. Both players took 3-2 leads, at which point Chamberlain rattled off 9 straight games to close out the win at #6. For Tang, many 50+ ball rallies were needed to squeak out the 7-5 first set, but the effort paid off, as she then had a much easier path to a 6-0 win in the second set at the #5 spot.

What’s Next for Cate Tennis?

Cate enters league play next week, with matches against Thacher (Tuesday, home) and Foothill Tech (Thursday, away). The team will then set its sights on the 3rd Annual Santa Barbara Invitational Tournament crown, with matches scheduled for Friday and Saturday (September 20-21).

Laguna Blanca Boys’ Tennis Off to 2-1 Start in Young Season

It’s not just the season that’s young at Laguna Blanca: the team is compromised almost entirely of freshmen and sophomores, with just one senior and one junior added in for good measure.

Despite their youthful composition, the Owls are off to a solid start to the season, taking two-of-three matches against non-league opponents in the opening weeks of play.

Laguna Blanca @ Orcutt Academy: 7-2 Win

Laguna Blanca boys’ tennis won its first match of the season against Orcutt Academy, 7-2. The Owls traveled to Alan Hancock College in Santa Maria for the match, played using the CIF Central Section scoring format.

In singles, Laguna nearly swept, winning 5-of-6 sets, with the #1 spot a hard-fought 4-8 loss. Freshman Oliver Tande held up under pressure for an 8-6 win at the #2 position, while classmate Keanu Christiansen record an 8-0 win at the #5 position. Sophomore team captain Noah Mitev came from behind to register an 8-6 win at #3 singles, followed by an 8-4 win from his classmate Enzo Vinoly.

In doubles, the Owls top team of Tande/Vinoly lost a tight 7-9 pro-set, while Mitev and freshman Wyatt Burt picked up the 8-6 win.

Laguna Blanca @ Santa Ynez: 2-7 Loss

Despite the scoreboard, the Owls came very close to pulling off the upset in Santa Ynez, with experience seeming to make the difference in close sets.

With doubles played first, captains Mason Berg and Noah Mitev battled gamely, but were unable to overcome the tournament-level experience of the Santa Ynez #1 team of Bryce Wilczak and Lucas Doman.

The #2 and #3 doubles positions offered better opportunities for victory, but it was not to be. Freshman/sophomore combo Oliver Tande/Enzo Vinoly got off to a slow start and were not able to make up enough ground, falling 6-8. Meanwhile, on court 3, junior/sophomore combo Lucas Ayala/Connor Murphy held a 7-4 lead before Santa Ynez came charging back for a 9-7 win.

In singles play, Laguna got wins from Tande and fellow freshman Wyatt Burt at the #2 and #6 positions, respectively. Tande was particularly impressive, with a surgical performance that saw him upset a higher-rated Doman (6-3, 6-2).

Freshman Keanu Christian held a 4-1 first-set lead before succumbing 6-7, 4-6 in a very close match at #5 singles, while sophomores Noah Mitev and Enzo Vinoly both dropped competitive matches at #3 and #4 singles (5-7, 4-6; 4-6, 3-6, respectively).

Laguna Blanca v. Cabrillo/Lompoc: 13-5 Win

After falling to Santa Ynez on Tuesday, Laguna Blanca Boys’ Tennis rebounded sharply yesterday, earning a 13-5 win over visiting Cabrillo High School of Lompoc.

The match featured a near-sweep of the singles sets, with captain Mason Berg picking up his first 3 wins of the season, along with 3 from freshman Oliver Tande, who is now 5-0 on the season in singles play. Freshman Wyatt Burt added 2 set-wins, giving the Owls an 8-1 advantage.

In doubles, no team went undefeated, with Laguna Blanca pairings Keanu Christiansen/Enzo Vinoly and Noah Mitev/Lucas Ayala both finishing 2-1 on the day. Freshman Matthew McDermott saw his first action of the season, pairing with sophomore Changzheng Yu for a 1-2 result across their three sets of play.

Coach Thorpe’s Comments:

We are a young team, so of course we had a few slip-ups throughout the course of these early matches, but the effort level has been high throughout. Importantly, we’re improving at a rapid rate and still managing to be competitive so far against these CIF Central Section teams in pre-season play.

We’ve got an even bigger test ahead on Monday against Arroyo Grande, but hopefully that prepares us well for our league opener against Foothill Tech next Friday. Both games will be played at home, so that should help!

Laguna Blanca Boys’ Tennis Opens Season 2-1

The Owls faced a rain-soaked first half of the 2023 tennis season, but managed to go into spring break with wins over Orcutt Academy and Santa Ynez High School.

Laguna Blanca v. Orcutt Academy: 6-3 Win

In the season opener, Laguna played the CIF-Central Section format of 6 singles matches followed by 3 doubles matches. Sophomore Davis Ohanian led the team at #1 singles with a 6-3, 6-2 win and junior Mason Berg also won in straight sets at the #4 position.

Laguna’s senior captains, Aden Meisel and Kent Dunn, took third-set tie-break wins at the #2 and #3 positions to add to the Owls’ singles tally. Orcutt fired back with wins at the bottom two positions in the lineup, putting the match at 4-2 going into doubles play.

Laguna got a win from Lucas Ayala and new addition to the team Noah Mitev at the #3 doubles position and the last match of the day was won by Ohanian and Meisel, who partnered at the top spot in the doubles lineup.

Laguna Blanca v. Santa Ynez: 6-3 Win

Laguna again utilized the CIFCS format in the match against Santa Ynez.

The Owls split the singles match-play, wins at the #3-#5 positions (Kent Dunn, Mason Berg, Robbie Dunn, respectively). Davis Ohanian nearly pulled up an upset win at the #1 position, playing the experienced Santa Ynez ace to an 11-13 score in the third-set tie-breaker.

With the match tied going into doubles play, Laguna held nothing back in fielding some formidable doubles combinations. Ohanian and Meisel paired for an 8-4 win at the top spot, with Mason Berg and Kent Dunn also partnering for an 8-2 victory. Junior Lucas Ayala shared the #3 position with freshman Noah Mitev to make a clean sweep of the doubles with an 8-3 win.

Laguna Blanca v. Villanova: 5-13 Loss

The match against Villanova High School from Ojai marked the beginning of Tri-Valley League season play. Unfortunately, it ended in a loss against the deeper Villanova squad, but there were some particularly bright moments for the Owls.

Davis Ohanian played lights-out tennis for a 6-2 win over Tristan Montecino, a senior and one of the stronger players in the league. He followed that up with another quick win, moving him to 3-1 on the season and 2-0 in league play.

The pairing of Robbie Dunn and Mason Berg lost a heart-breaker 6-7 at the #1 doubles position after leading early, but rallied to go 2-1 on the day with 6-2, 6-0 set-wins. Aden Meisel added a win over Roman Moga, the Villanova #2 player.

What’s Next for the Owls?

The Owls return to action after a two-week break, facing visiting Carpinteria High School at 3:30pm today. The match will be followed up on Thursday at Laguna, when the Owls will take on Dunn School in the second Tri-Valley League match of the season.

Owls Open Season with 13-5 Win Over Rival Santa Ynez High

The Laguna Blanca Owls boys’ tennis team got the season off to a winning start with a 13-5 victory over visiting Santa Ynez High School (1-1).

How it Happened:

The first round of play was very even, with Santa Ynez taking early leads at #2 singles and #2 and #3 doubles and Laguna up by small margins in the other sets. However, the Owls overcame the overall the “beginning-of-season-jitters” to take all but the #3 doubles for a 5-1 lead.

From there, Laguna continued to roll, winning the second and third rounds 4-2, thanks to six set-wins in singles and seven in doubles.
Junior Ryan Purkait recorded a 6-1, 6-2, 6-2 sweep while playing at the #3 singles position, while junior/senior combo Nic Richmond and Kevin Khodabandehlou swept with a 6-1, 6-1, 6-2 showing on the day.

The Owls also got two of three from John-Henry Schulz in singles, as well as doubles pairings Rodrick Zhu/Owen Pryor and Ben Rodgers/Aiden Meisel. Senior captain Kai Nakamura took an important 7-5 victory at the #1 singles position, despite illness, and finished 1-1 on the day.

Coach Thorpe’s Comments:

To be honest, the first match of the season is always a bit of a question mark, so I was super impressed by the level my guys showed in this season-opener. The match was very close early on and, of course, everyone’s going to be nervous, but they came through and took control of the match.

 I was particularly pleased with the way Ryan played in what was essentially his singles debut for our team. In doubles, there was a ton of good stuff going on, but I saw major improvement in particular from Rodrick; the kid abhorred doubles last season, but he stepped up big-time for us today and showed us how hard he’s been working since the end of last season.

What’s next for the Owls?

Laguna Blanca will play away on Thursday against Cabrillo High School in Lompoc at 3pm.

Cate Girls’ Tennis Off to 4-0 Start

IMG_1131It’s been a whirlwind early-season. With our first match just one practice after fall tryouts, and then a 10-day break for outings trips, it would be easy to forgive a shortfall in performance. That has not been the case, as Cate moves to 4-0 on the season. Continue reading “Cate Girls’ Tennis Off to 4-0 Start”