Cate Girls’ Tennis Stays Unbeaten with Dominant 8-1 Win
September 13, 2024
Strong Singles Play Secures Victory After Tough Doubles Challenge Against Santa Ynez
Team Photo
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.
Coach Thorpe’s Comments:
Santa Ynez played some really strong doubles today, which was an excellent challenge for our girls and revealed some things that we still need to work on. We took a while to get up to speed, having just come back from our annual “Outings Week” trips, but I was very impressed with the way our girls picked things up in the singles. We really got rolling against what is sure to be one of the better teams in CIF Central Section this year, so it’s a good win for us at this juncture in the season.
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).