All six of the local girls tennis teams competing in the CIF-SS postseason earned victories in their playoff openers on Wednesday afternoon.
The Cate Rams, Dos Pueblos Chargers, San Marcos Royals, Santa Barbara High Dons, Laguna Blanca Owls and Carpinteria High Warriors will continue their seasons in second-round matches on Friday at 2 p.m.
Cate 16, Beckman 2 (D2)
The Rams continued their undefeated season with a convincing win over Beckman to begin the Division 2 playoffs.
“I asked our girls to step up the intensity level today, and they responded in the best possible way. From start to finish, they were composed, driven and focused on our team objective,” Cate head coach Trevor Thorpe said.
Cate will be on the road against Newport Harbor for the second round on Friday.
Elizabeth Jaycich continued her stellar season for the Rams with a 3-0 sweep of singles play on Wednesday, while Jade Wang went 2-0 and both Claire Tang and Evita Ferrone had one singles win.
Meanwhile, Cate was on cruise control in doubles action with a complete 9-0 sweep.
The Ram pairings of Lisa Hasebe/Kiki Chang, Ivy Huang/Edie Abbott and Elly Edwards/Chelsea Newlove all went a perfect 3-0 on the day.
“This team has a few players left from the CIF D3 Championship team of 2023, but what we’ve built together this year is looking even more formidable,” Thorpe said.
“To come out of the gates firing the way we did today bodes well for our chances in these playoffs. We’re ready, and we’re hungry for more.”
Dos Pueblos 14, Garden Grove 4 (D4)
The Chargers defended their home court with an opening-round win over Garden Grove on Wednesday in Goleta.
Dos Pueblos earned eight of the nine singles points, with Zella Cassidy and Adyha Reddy-Hoelle each going 3-0 and Atria Husein adding two more victories.
Meanwhile, Taylor Dannemiller/Nikita Fisher, Addy Barth/Nico Pfeiffer and Gigi De Ra/Autumn Warmerdam each won two doubles matches for the Chargers.
“This was just the start the team wanted to have for the playoffs,” Dos Pueblos head coach Alan Richter said.
Dos Pueblos will remain at home for its second straight playoff game against JW North on Friday.
San Marcos 15, Academy of Academic Excellence 3 (D5)
A doubles sweep powered the Royals to a lopsided win over the Academy of Academic Excellence in Apple Valley on Wednesday.
While the doubles performance was spotless, San Marcos’ Tate Jaeger went 3-0 in singles action, Leah Shenoda earned a pair of wins and Amelia Leonardi won a tiebreaker at line three.
“Across the board, we kept the games given up low, which is critical if matches get close to tied,” San Marcos head coach Emily Carver said. “We’ve been working hard on aggressiveness at the net and saw great application of that in our matches today.”
San Marcos will roll out the welcome mats for Thacher in the second round on Friday.
Santa Barbara High 14, Arroyo 4 (D5)
The Dons went on the road and came away with a dominant win over Arroyo on Wednesday.
Santa Barbara High will look to keep its season alive on Friday in the second round against La Canada.
The Dons lost just one set in doubles action, as Sky O’Reilly/Ryan Briggs went 3-0 and Kate Hashbarger/Lucy Kronberg won two sets without dropping a single game.
In singles, Hali Wight won all three of her matches, Keren Monroy picked up a pair of wins and Stella Malina rounded out the scoring with one win.
Laguna Blanca 14, St. Bonaventure 4 (D5)
The Owls bested familiar foe St. Bonaventure to kick off the Division 5 playoffs on Wednesday.
Laguna Blanca is set to host Burroughs of Burbank for round two on Friday at 2 p.m.
Carpinteria High 13, Whittier 5 (D6)
The Warriors kept their season alive with a strong win over Malibu on Wednesday in Carpinteria.
Carpinteria High has another home match on the horizon, hosting Brea Olinda in round two on Friday.
“The final score does not tell the whole story, as each set was very well played against the very experienced, senior-heavy team,” Warrior head coach Charles Bryant said.
Aubrey Alcaraz was unbeaten in her three singles matches, while Nathalie Hernandez and Yaretzi Moctezuma each went 1-1.
The Carpinteria High duos of Emily Banks/Cailyn Gillen and Caroline Cooney/Yoselyn Aguirre dominated their way to 3-0 performances. Sadie West/Ariana Cruz tacked on two wins of their own.
“Whittier was a quarterfinalist last season with everyone returning. They were a tough and fair opponent, which was great to see,” Bryant said.
Laguna Blanca has yet to provide information.
