Humphreys' Chloe Lee was quite busy Friday. She prevailed in the D-I girls singles and doubles finals, captured the girls overall singles championship and finished second in the overall doubles final of the Far East tournament. (Dave Ornauer/Stars and Stripes)
MARINE CORPS AIR STATION IWAKUNI, Japan – Ryunosuke Roesch had to borrow a racket from Yokota coach Tommy Palmer for Friday’s Far East finals matches.
Turns out, Roesch enjoys success no matter what racket he uses.
The Yokota sophomore and Division II champion defeated Division I winner Elliott Lee of Humphreys for the second straight year 4-2, 4-1 to repeat as boys overall Far East championship Friday at Iwakuni Middle School’s courts.
Earlier Friday, Roesch took the D-II title over Ren Spinosi of host Matthew C. Perry 4-0, 4-0.
“All my rackets broke, so I had to use a different one,” Roesch said. Roesch beat Lee in last year’s Far East final 6-0, 6-3 at Kadena, and said this time around Lee gave him a tougher match.
“He played better,” Roesch said of Lee. “He placed his balls better. His style changed and he made a lot of good shots.”
The weather also agreed with him. “It’s not as hot here as it is on Okinawa, so it was easier to play,” Roesch said.
This year’s Far East was played under a different format than years past. Division I and Division II singles and doubles matches were played separately, with a champion crowned in each division, then the division winners were pitted against each other for overall titles.
Yokota sophomore Ryunosuke Roesch captured the boys D-II singles title and repeated as overall Far East tournament singles champion. (Dave Ornauer/Stars and Stripes)
E.J. King senior Moa Best came up short in her bid to repeat as Far East overall singles champion, but did win the D-II title and teamed with her twin sister Miu to win the D-II and repeat as overall doubles champion. (Dave Ornauer/Stars and Stripes)
Humphreys' Elliott Lee won the Far East D-I boys singles title, but came up short in his bid for the overall title, losing to Yokota's Ryunosuke Roesch in the final for the second straight year. (Dave Ornauer/Stars and Stripes)
While Roesch enjoyed repeat success, Humphreys’ Chloe Lee – Elliott’s sister – became a first-time Division I and overall champion in girls’ play.
First, she beat Lan Legros of Kubasaki 4-0, 2-4, 7-3 for the D-I crown, then she downed E.J. King’s Moa Best, the D-II winner and defending 2023 champion, 4-2, 4-2 in the girls overall final.
“Magnificent,” Lee said of winning, adding that she wasn’t aware that Best was last year’s champion until during Friday’s overall final.
“Moving my feet and being consistent,” Lee said of the keys to winning. “She was hitting hard, so my strategy was to deflect her power. Just get it over the net.”
Best did not go home empty handed. She teamed with her twin sister, fellow senior Miu Best, to defend their girls overall doubles title, topping Lee and Blackhawks teammate Rebecca Kruelski 3-5, 4-2, 9-7.
Earlier Friday, the Best sisters beat Perry’s Ren Foslin and Miah Apperson 4-0, 4-1 for the D-II doubles title, while Lee and Kruelski topped Legros and Jessica Blackston of Kubasaki 4-1, 4-5 (4-7), 7-2 for the D-I crown.
And Elliott Lee found success in the boys doubles that eluded him in the singles for the second straight year.
He teamed with Dylan Byun – last year’s mixed-doubles champion – to win the boys overall doubles championship. They beat Roesch and Yokota teammate Jai Bailey 5-4 (7-5), 3-5, 8-6.
In Friday’s D-I doubles final, Lee and Byun downed Tavi Shah and Noah Otteson of Kinnick 4-1, 1-4, 7-2. Roesch and Bailey took the D-II title by topping Perry’s Spinosi and Aira Fujinuma 4-1, 4-1.
Humphreys also won the mixed doubles for the second straight year. Kruelski teamed with Nathan Hwang to beat Perry’s Fujinuma and Elizabeth Shoop 2-4, 4-2, 7-3.
And the Blackhawks won their second straight D-I team banner, while Perry captured the first D-II overall banner in school history.
“Winning the overall is more satisfying” than individual titles, longtime Samurai coach Mark Lange said. “When you have the whole team contributing to a banner, wow. It’s a great feeling. This came out of nowhere.”
While Lange has been coaching the Samurai for more than a couple of decades, Marco Valdez and his wife Kathleen White are in their first year coaching the Blackhawks.
“They’ve improved a lot” over the season, Valdez said. “The kids are very coachable. They demonstrated they have a lot of tools in the box, and they put them to good use. Be diverse, critical thinking, problem solving.”
