Santa Barbara High’s Madison Hale
Santa Barbara High’s Mattea Kilstofte
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The third time was the charm for Santa Barbara High’s Mattea Kilstofte.
The Dons junior captured her first Channel League championship on Thursday at the Tennis Club of Santa Barbara after losing in the championship match as a freshman and sophomore.
Kilstofte, the tournament’s No. 1 seed, defeated teammate Madison Hale 6-0, 6-2. It completes an undefeated league season for Kilstofte.
“I liked the tennis I saw out there,” said Dons head coach Greg Tebbe. “Obviously it’s hard because someone is going to be disappointed, but I was happy with how they both played.”
There were conflicting emotions for the coach and players alike. Kilstofte and Hale are friends off the court but the two competitors
“It’s obviously nice to win but it’s hard playing against someone that you’re really good friends with,” Kilstofte said. It’s just difficult but someone has to win and someone has to lose.”
Dos Pueblos’ KC Egger, pictured, partnered with teammate Katie Yang to win the league doubles championship.
Kilstofte committed few errors while bombarding Hale with a powerful groundstroke attack.
“My timing was really good. I was just moving my feet a lot and just trying to make every ball, not beat myself,” Kilstofte said.
She was also satisfied with her serving and mental game, skills she’s been working on.
“I was really focused, like every single point,” Kilstofte said.
Hale struggled to find a crack in Kilstofte’s game.
“She was just being aggressive and I couldn’t get into the points,” said Hale, who won two league titles in doubles as a freshman and sophomore with Megan Grant.
Like Kilstofte, Hale went undefeated through the Channel League season and qualifies for the CIF Individual Tournament that begins in late November.
Dos Pueblos’ Katie Yang won a league championship as a freshman.
The doubles tournament was won by Dos Pueblos’ fifth-seeded team of Katie Yang and KC Egger. The duo topped second-seeded Lexy Gulden and Karina Thornton of Santa Barbara High in the final 6-2, 3-6, 7-6 (5). Earlier in the day, Yang and Egger ousted top-seeded Megan Grant and Lisa Santry 6-4, 6-1 in the semifinals.
Yang and Egger were DP’s top singles players during the regular season but joined forces as a doubles team for the tournament.
Gulden and Thornton nearly rallied to win for the second time in one day.
Gulden and Thornton came from behind to win their semifinal match, avoiding an upset bid by Dos Pueblos’ Amber Sharpe and Helena Lee. Gulden and Thornton lost the first set to Sharpe and Lee and barely won the second set in a 9-7 tiebreaker to stay alive. The Dons team then took the third set 6-3 to earn a spot in the doubles final.
Like singles, the two finalist doubles teams qualify for the CIF Individual Tournament. The two teams will learn their CIF team matchups on Monday.
