Cate Tennis Dominates Villanova and Thacher, Eyes Tri-Valley League Title

October 3, 2024

With a 17-1 sweep in both matches, Cate remains undefeated in league play, led by freshman stars Ivy Huang and the doubles duo of Jade Wang and Lisa Hasebe.

Team Photo captured by coach.

Cate girls’ tennis moves to 5-0 in league play (9-1 overall) with 17-1 wins over Villanova and Thacher. The team has now won 15-consecutive Tri-Valley League matches and looks set to claim the league title with just three matches remaining.

How it Happened
The Rams were led in both contests by freshman Ivy Huang, who is 11-0 in league play so far this season and dropped just 2 games across 5 sets this week. Frosh combo Jade Wang and Lisa Hasebe we’re similarly dominant at the top doubles line, going 3-0 and dropping just a single game.

Cate got singles sweeps from junior captain Claire Bianchi and freshman Elly Edwards today against Thacher. Bianchi has been a critical utility player for Cate in the last few years, darting back and forth between singles and doubles as-needed, while Edwards made her singles debut.
Another stand-out performance came from junior Elsie Chamberlain and freshman Chelsea Newlove, who combined for the doubles sweep in both matches this week. The pair are 8-0 when playing together.

Coach Thorpe’s Comments:
It’s a real luxury as a coach to have such a strong and versatile team. I keep asking players to try out different roles and everyone has been very willing to give it a go, which is a lot of fun.
I don’t think we’ve played the same lineup twice so far this season, but we’re starting to see some strong partnerships form and also seeing what potential different players have in the singles lineup. This type of strategic lineup configuration was critical to our CIF Championship last season, so it’s great to see so many potential options available to us again this year.