Cate Opens Title Defense with Nail Biter Win
August 30, 2024
There was no shortage of suspense on Cate Mesa today, as the defending CIF D3 Champs got the season underway against D2 Quarterfinalist, Dos Pueblos High School. The match finished locked in a 9-9 tie, with games tied 73-73, triggering a round of tie-breakers to decide the winner.
Colette Chang (Right) partnered with Reyna Takahashi(Left) for a clean sweep in doubles.
How it Happened
The first round proved the two teams to be evenly matched, with DP taking 2-of-3 singles sets, while Cate School countered with 2-of-3 in doubles play.
Jade Wang opened her Cate career with a 6-0 victory at #3 singles, while sophomore Lisa Hasebe and freshman Ivy Huang were unable to overcome the deadly DP duo of junior Melisandre Mayo (UTR 6.7) and senior Ellie Triplett (UTR 5.7).
Hasebe would rally to take her next two sets, including a 6-0 win over Triplett, while Huang added a 6-0 win and battled for 3 important games against Mayo.
In doubles, lone Cate senior Colette Chang partnered with sophomore Reyna Takahashi for a clean sweep at doubles line 1 (6-3, 6-2, 6-3). Junior Pyper Davis partnered with freshman Elly Edwards for two wins on the day (1-6, 7-5, 6-3).
Upon completing the 18-set match, and after a flurry of counting and re-counting, it was determined that the two teams would return to the courts to play out a round-robin set of 18 tie-breakers to decide the match.
Dos Pueblos struck first, with upset wins at #3 singles and #1 doubles, but steady play from juniors Claire Bianchi and Elsie Chamberlain returned the favor, keeping Cate in the hunt. However, DP surged to a 9-5 lead with a pair of singles and doubles breakers remaining.
Cate got a boost from Huang against the #3 singles player, while Chang/Takahashi and Davis/Edwards battled through tight matchups to 8-6 and 11-9 wins (respectively).
With the tally standing at 8-9 and Cate up by a single point in the event of a tie, the match hung in the balance of the Mayo v. Wang matchup. In her first match at Cate, Jade Wang regained her focus after losing her first two tie-breakers to defeat the defending Channel League singles champion 7-4. The upset win sealed the match, with Cate taking victory on a 9-9 tie that ended 106-102 after the points count-back.
Coach Thorpe’s Comments:
This is my 31st season as a high school tennis coach, between boys and girls and I’ve never seen this before. The probability of a tie in sets, games, and tie-breakers is infinitesimal. It was a total playoff atmosphere even though we’ve only been in school for 4 days and this was our first match of the season.
I’m so impressed by the way both teams competed today, and would have been happy to have had the quality match-play even if we’d lost. To win, and with our freshmen starters Jade, Ivy, and Elly all playing a crucial role at the end, well, that’s something special.
We won this match as a team, with every single player in the lineup contributing key wins at key moments. To do so this early in the season suggests last year’s CIF Championship win wasn’t a one-off and I’m sure this win will serve us well as we work towards another deep November run.
What’s Next for Cate Tennis?
The Cate girls will now head out into the various wilderness areas of California for outings week, before returning to face Santa Ynez High School in another non-league match on Thursday, September 12th (away).