Caityln Buist is a four-year varsity athlete and two year co-captain on the girls tennis team at Santa Barbara High School. Her dedication and unwavering athletic performance combined with her strong and welcoming team spirit has made her an integral part of the tennis program at SBHS, and has helped lead the girls tennis team to win the CIF championships this year. Furthermore, she is a three-time varsity athlete on the SBHS track and field team, competing in the hurdles and 4×1. 

Buist started playing tennis at just four years old, and began playing the sport competitively in sixth grade. The COVID-19 pandemic was a very important time in her tennis development due to it being one of the only sports people could play safely. She details how she spent much of that time practicing tennis with her sister, Nicole Buist, another prominent player on the SBHS team, calling her a “built-in tennis partner.” The switch to high school tennis was integral in her trajectory as a serious player. “Playing high school tennis honestly saved me. Having that camaraderie of a team…I really loved and just knowing that you weren’t alone in a sense.”

The SBHS team has dominated this year. In the quarterfinal round of the CIF-SS tennis playoffs the Dons defeated West Ranch 13 -5. In the semifinals Santa Barbara won 12 – 6 over Agoura. On November 15th the team traveled to play Santa Monica at the University of Redlands in the CIF finals. They beat out Santa Monica 12 – 6 and became CIF Division 3 Champions for the first time in 13 years. The girls team also earned the title of co-champions in Channel League alongside Dos Pueblos. 

In October, Buist won the doubles championship with partner Nicole Buist at the Individual Channel League Girls Tennis Championship. The sister pairing were defending champions, as they had won the doubles title a year prior as well. “It’s such a great opportunity and I feel so lucky to be able to compete in channel league individuals with my sister.”

Above all else, Buist values the team aspect of her sport.  “I love our team…we have a great camaraderie going and we’re just always supporting each other,” adding later, “everyone on that court wants to make sure you improve too, not just themselves, because they know like, ‘hey, if she does well, I will also do well.’” She emphasized how being a co-captain has helped her grow as a leader to bring the team together. Santa Barbara girls tennis coach Daniel Echt comments, “Her spirit is really positive, she gives 100%. She wants to improve all the time. She pushes herself. So she’s a great model to the rest of the team.”

However, there’s an individual aspect to tennis as well as it being a team sport. Buist comments, “I like to think of it as a team sport, but when you’re on the court, like by yourself, it becomes very individual, and it’s like you have no one to blame but yourself in a sense. …that can really beat you up in a sense, and you have to be mentally ready to just knock it off, reset, be like, okay, yeah, I just lost that point.” Buist explained how tennis is just as much of a mental game as physical, and in order to excel you have to be able to control your emotions on the court. Echt agrees, saying, “I’ve seen her in so many situations that other players really would have lost their heads, been really frustrated, and she keeps really cool. She knows how to handle difficult situations.”

Above all else, it is Buist’s spirit and character that she brings to the tennis court that has earned her the title of Athlete of the Month. “Caitlyn helps me understand sportsmanship. She’s always kind to her opponents. She’s respectful, but she wants to kick their butts. So it’s a really good balance,” comments Echt. She plans to play club tennis in college and continue improving at the sport she loves well into adulthood. 

[Buist mid serve at the SBHS courts during the teams’ match against San Marcos. Image Credit: Rowena Buist]