Rare air, Falcons, Red Devils spikers soar to uncharted heights: What we learned on Far East Tournament Week Day 3.0
Published: November 11, 2009
Musings, mutterings and the occasional schmahts as Ornauer thanks his lucky stars for the help he had getting back on his tennis feet Wednesday after losing his tournament program and all the brackets somewhere at Mike Petty Stadium:
-- Never before had a DODEA Pacific team emerged from divisional play as the No. 1 seed entering the Far East Girls Class AA Volleyball Tournament playoffs, much less two teams occupying the No. 1 and No. 2 spots. Yet there they were, Korea-champion Seoul American at the top and Japan-champion Nile C. Kinnick, gazing at the competition staring up at them.
-- Call it uncharted territory. This is supposed to be the province of international schools. Can the Falcons and Red Devils keep it going, and -- dare I say it -- reach the first All-DODEA Pacific final in tournament history?
-- Coach Al Garrido of Kinnick has been there, done that, winning Class AA in 2002 and Class A in 2000 with Southern, which featured a solid core of setters in Charlene Pama and Monica Naputi, middle blocking in Jhunnie Rios and outside hitting in Wella Comoda. Amazing, that the Red Devils' setting tandem of Marina Nakayama and Dusty Keolanui-Wilson, middle blockers Camille Kawamoto and Shannon Jackson and outside hitter Mary Niemeyer strongly resemble those Southern teams.
-- What a way for Denny Hilgar to fete his 30th anniversay of taking the Falcons' helm. And also interesting that his Falcons feature gadgets similar to the Red Devils and those Southern teams, setting in Brittany Grandy, middle blocking in Destinee' Harrison and outside hitting in Liz Gleaves.
-- Class A volleyball in Daegu has its own complement of strong DODEA hitters, and interesting how two of them share a surname. Jessica Bergman paced Robert D. Edgren to the No. 4 seed into the double-elimination playoffs, which began Wednesday, and Kristina Bergman likewise powered host Daegu American to the No. 2 seed. Each won their playoff openers on Wednesday, in what many are calling a "wide open" chase for the title, with any one of eight teams capable of rising up.
-- Speaking of names, anybody gazing through the Far East Tennis Tournament program might think there are a few typos. Let's start with Great Hord, Yokota's No. 1 singles seed. "By my reckoning, Great Hord has always been Great. He is Great. And he always will be Great," said his coach, Tommy Palmer. Truer words were never spoken.
-- Hord does, indeed, have a brother and a sister. Brother named Maverick. Sister named Grace.
-- Then, there's Ryosuke Buffalochief of Robert D. Edgren. He was born in Japan to a Native American father (Ryosuke believes his dad descended from the Omaha tribe) and a Japanese mother.
-- I tell you, you can't make up stuff like that.
-- No question, the singles championships in the Far East Tennis Tournament are an exercise in familiarity. Kyle Sprow beat his Kadena teammate Elliot Mason 6-2, 6-2 in last year's final, one of many times the two have played since they met each other four years ago in the eighth grade. And Elissa Mason of Kadena, a 6-4, 6-2 victor over 2007 champion Kennedy Allen of Seoul American in last year's final, will face Allen yet again on Thursday.
-- Bless you, Stephanie Mobley, for being at Risner Tennis Center on Wednesday and for writing all those names and numbers into all those brackets into that new program. Thank you for rescuing my desperate self. :)
-- Oh, and if somebody did find the program (it has my name written on the front) and all the bracket sheets, please feel free to drop it by Risner Tennis Center on Thursday after 10 a.m. And thank you. :)
Three days down. Three to go. 103 days.
