Cate gave up just one set against Laguna Blanca in the first of two meetings between last year’s top-2 teams of the Tri-Valley League. The win takes Cate to 4-0 in league play and 8-1 overall on the season.
How it Happened:
Sophomore standouts Ivy Huang and Jade Wang continued their unbeaten streaks in league play this season, dropping just 9 games across 6 sets of singles play.
Cate received wins from Reyna Takahashi and Evita Ferrone at the #3 singles position, with the lone win for Laguna on the day coming from their #1 singles player, Hali Wight.
In doubles, Chelsea Newlove paired with Lisa Hasebe in round 1 and then Edie Abbott in the remaining two rounds, continuing her unbeaten streak in league doubles play. The pairing of Elly Edwards and Elsie Chamberlain also went 3-0 on the day (6-2, 6-3, 6-0).
Junior Claire Tang paired with Claire Bianchi and Gwendi Rogers for a line #3 sweep, including a thrilling 8-6 tie-break win to end the match (Tang/Rogers).
Coach Thorpe’s Comments:
I thought the Laguna singles players came out firing in the early stages of rounds 1 and 2, but Ivy and Jade did an excellent job of maintaining their composure. The early going was close, but they identified weaknesses and made adjustments to create some separation in the final stages of those sets.
I’m also so proud of Evita, who was the last player to make the cut for varsity this season. She had a tough go against the Laguna #1, losing 6-0, but rallied mightily to be the Laguna #2 in the next round. It would have been easy to miss that second opportunity, but she turned the day around and ended up with a big win.
As I was telling the girls in the post-game huddle, it’s a total luxury for me as a coach that I can send any player on the team out to hit with any other player and know that they can hang; I think getting comfortable playing against more advanced players this season in practice has helped Evita see that she belongs on the court with that calibre of player.
What’s Next for Cate Girls’ Tennis?
Cate will travel to Ojai to face eternal boarding school rival, Thacher School, on Thursday at 3:30pm. The team will also play away on Saturday (2:30pm) against Arroyo Grande High School of the CIF Central Section.