On the courts: Far East tennis girls singles should be a battle again
Published: October 14, 2012
It started with Kennedy Allen of Seoul American, moved through to Kadena’s Elissa Mason and carried on with sisters Amber and Chloe Gadsden of Guam High these last four years, with no small share of challengers making their title runs every bit as difficult as they could be.
Next month’s Far East Tennis Tournament girls singles bracket appears as if it will be no less competitive. And the boys bracket could be its equal. In both cases, DODDS and international-school players stand an equal chance at capturing title glory, as has been the case since international schools have been welcomed back to Far East since November 2010.
Though Chloe Gadsden, now a junior, might seem a prohibitive favorite to keep the title in the family a third straight year, she’ll have to fend off quite the few contenders to the crown.
Start with Zama American junior Natalie Burke. Her older sister, Tia, lost to Gadsden in last year’s final, but Natalie has moved up to the Trojans’ No. 1 singles seed and looks every bit like her sister. Emily Beemsterboer of Yokota has seamlessly transitioned to No. 1 singles seed after Erika Ettl’s graduation; Anju Yamanaka is a solid No. 2 for the Panthers. Another sort of Panther, Kadena, has as solid a girls foursome as it’s ever had in Erika Youngdahl, sisters Alex and Kristin Howard (no, they’re not twins) and Christina Thompson.
On the boys side, don’t count Kent Shikama’s chances at a third straight singles title just yet. And it may be a Division II product who does the dethroning, as Matthew C. Perry’s Sam Cadavos split a pair of ties with Shikama, of St. Mary’s International, in the Western Japan Athletic Association tournament at Kobe.
Beyond those two, there are your share of Christian Academy Japan and American School In Japan titans, including ASIJ sophomore Kentaro Ishihara – who’s played mostly doubles this season, but could easily transition back.
Where team titles are concerned, ASIJ appears to be in the driver’s seat for the Division I boys title, while their chances at the overall team title may be threatened by Kadena and Yokota, which will challenge for the D-I girls title. Cadavos and Matthew C. Perry appear odds on for the boys D-II title, while Burke and a solid returning core of Trojans give Zama the edge for the girls D-II crown.
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A note regarding Far East: Organizers have put out the word that all players may play two of three events, singles, doubles and mixed doubles, but that doubles is a required event; they may elect one or the other of the remaining two. That’s going to create some interesting choices.
