Cate Vaults into the Semifinals for the 2nd Straight Year

November 12, 2024

The Rams take down #2 Sunny Hills in a 10-8 Thriller!

Cate Girls’ Tennis won a 10-8 decision over visiting Sunny Hills High School today to book a berth in the CIF Division 2 Semifinals. The match moves Cate to 17-1 overall this season and marks the first time the team has ventured past the D2 Quarterfinals in three tries (loss, 2015 and 2016). The team captured the Division.3 Championship last year.

How it Happened
In order to overcome the top-seeded team on the bottom half of the draw, Cate would need to dominate doubles play. Sunny Hills top player Daniela Borruel will be putting on a USC uniform next fall and has consistently featured in her graduating class’ top-10 in national rankings. Maya Orton, playing number 2 for Sunny Hills is also a serious tournament player, currently rated just under the UTR 6 level.

Cate counted on TVL all-league first team combo Colette Chang ’25 and Reyna Takahashi ’27  to lead the doubles line, with the pair finishing the day 3-0 (6-1, 6-2, 6-3). Elsie Chamberlain ’26 and Chelsea Newlove ’28, a staple at the #3 spot this season, added a sweep of their own, including a tie-break first-set win that would later prove crucial. Lisa Hasebe ’27  and Elly Edwards ’28 added one win on the day.

In singles play, no Cate player was able to scrape together a game against Borruel, however Ivy Huang ’28 and Jade Wang ’28 both played relatively close in level to Orton. The key was always winning at the #3 line. With Huang and Wang winning 6-0 and 6-2, sophomore Claire Tang subbed in for Claire Bianchi ’26 in the third round as a key element to the Cate gameplay. Tang was resolute in her consistency, battling through many long rallies to take a 6-3 victory with the final 3 doubles matches on the court.

Hasebe and Edwards got down 1-5 before fighting back to 4-5 against the #3 team from Sunny Hills, but were able to go no further, leaving the match tied 8-8 and Sunny Hills holding a 5 game margin in the event of a 9-9 tie.

With the match on the line, Chang/Takahashi got out to a 5-2 lead, while Chamberlain/Newlove were trading games until the finally broke ahead with two consecutive games to go up 5-4. The final two points of the match were played out simultaneously on courts 4 and 5 on Cate Mesa, with Chang/Takahashi finishing first with a 6-2 win. Just a few shots later, Chamberlain/Newlove clinched the match with a 6-4 victory, taking Cate to 10 wins and the CIF Semifinal round.

Coach Thorpe’s Comments:
This was one of those matches you know will be a nail-biter before things even get started. We match up well with this team in that we have enough depth to get past teams with one or two great singles players, but frankly, I was impressed by the level of the Sunny Hills doubles lineup, too. Our girls really had to fight for those doubles wins, which have often come effortlessly to us this season.

In particularly, Chelsea Newlove and Elsie Chamberlain came up big for us in the crucial moments. Their tie-break win in the first round was what ended up keeping us in the match until the final set, which was their win over the #1 team from Sunny Hills. They played great together throughout the day, and their chemistry as our most consistently-paired doubles team really showed.

Another huge component was the way Ivy, Jade, and Claire took care of business against the Sunny Hills #3 player. We absolutely needed those wins, and Claire in particular, coming off the bench in the 3rd round to keep us in the match with her steady play; that was a master-class in patience and determination.

In this team, everyone has had their moment to make the difference this season. Each time we’ve been in a tight spot, someone has answered the call for the team. That’s what makes Cate Girls’ Tennis so special.

Cate will host the CIF D2 Semifinal match against Campbell Hall at 1:30pm on Wednesday, November 13th. Campbell Hall comes off an 11-7 win over Whitney High School, while on the other side of the draw, Brentwood will face Chadwick. The winners of Wednesday’s matches will face each other in the CIF Finals at University of Redlands at 2pm on Friday, November 15th.