Four wins in the first round of play gave Santa Barbara High enough of an edge to beat Laguna Blanca for the CIF-SS Division 5 girls tennis championship on Thursday at Cate School.
Led by three singles wins from Keren Monroy, the Dons won 10-8 to claim the eighth section title in program history. Their previous titles were in 1978, ’79, ’80, ’81, 2003, ’11 and ’24.
In the Division 6 final at the Claremont Club, Carpinteria lost to Pacifica Christian of Orange County, 12-6.
Cate is playing in the Division 2 final against Campbell Hall on Friday at Redlands University.
Santa Barbara 10, Laguna Blanca 8
Hali Wight and the doubles team of Kate Hashbarger and Lucy Kronberg pulled out 7-5 victories to give the Dons a big boost after the first round of matches.
“We started strong today which ended up making the difference, knowing that the strong number one doubles team from Laguna and strong number one singles player from Laguna would get wins in later rounds against the Santa Barbara three and two lines,” said Santa Barbara coach Shane Carmody.
Three of the six matches went the distance, with Wight and Hashbarger/Kronberg prevailing for the Dons.
“Crucial wins to tip the scales in the Dons’ favor early because the comeback by Laguna was inevitable,” said Carmody.
The teams split the six sets in round two, keeping Santa Barbara ahead by two (7-5).
In the third round, the Dons and Owls again won three sets apiece.
“One more set for the Owls at any point would’ve caused the match to go to a game-count tiebreaker, but with Keren, Hali and Skye O’Reilly/Ryan Briggs securing wins in round three, the one set lead would hold, allowing Santa Barbara to clinch their second CIF title in the last three years,” said Carmody.
He called the all-local final “one of the best matches of the season.”
Carmody added: “The match felt more like a college-level match with both teams exhibiting not only high level tennis and playmaking but showing respect, sportsmanship, professionalism and maturity. The cheering support and encouragement were at an all time high, making both teams feel like the home team and making the venue feel electric and alive.”
Santa Barbara’s results: Singles—Keren Monroe 3-0, Hali Wight 2-1, Iris Heckes 0-3. Doubles—Kate Hashbarger/Lucy Kronberg 2-1, O’Reilly/Briggs 2-1, Violet Marr/Kana Wolf 1-2
Pacifica Christian 12, Carpinteria 5
The Warriors came up short in the Division 6 championship match at the Claremont Club.
Caroline Cooney and Aubrey Alcaraz each went 2-1 in singles, while Sadie West/Ariana Cruz and Emily Banks/Cailyn Gillen each notched one win in doubles.
Coach Charles Bryant said a quick turnaround after a late semifinal win on Wednesday made it tough for the team to get going on Thursday. The final was moved up day by the CIF due to rain in the forecast for Friday.
“We seemed very flat and lethargic which I fully understand as we had three major road trips this week, including a very late semifinal win last night, only to be followed up with an early morning departure this morning,” said Bryant. “With each passing round, I was thinking we would be able to turn this around but unfortunately we just seemed to run out of steam against an opponent who would not let us back in the match.”
Bryant praised his team for overachieving this season.
“We lost a few very talented players to graduation last year and even had a few very talented players not play this season, so for us to overcome those odds and do what these girls did is just amazing,” he said. “Winning league is always one of our goals but to make it to the finals of CIF is a major milestone and a testament of how hard the girls worked, the chemistry on the team and the improvement they showed as individuals and as a unit.”
