Yokota junior Ryunosuke Roesch is the two-time defending Far East boys tennis champion. (Taisei Shimakura/Special to Stripes)
When it comes to carrying the mantle of defending champion, pressure often plays a part.
That’s the case for the reigning Far East high school tennis champions: juniors Ryunosuke Roesch of Yokota and Humphreys’ Chloe Lee.
Roesch is a two-time Far East champion, having won the overall titles in 2023 and 2024 and the Division II tournament title last October.
Lee is the defending Division I and overall girls champion and followed that with the Korea league postseason tournament title.
“There’s always pressure,” Roesch said, adding that his coaches, Steven Cruz and Lezley Okamoto, tell him to try his best no matter the opponent. To respect that opponent. And know that there’s always somebody out there better.
“I try to focus on what I do and what I can do,” Roesch said. “You can’t be too tight. You have to get loose. Stretching, running and preparing your mental state. And that’s for every match.”
The Far East tournament for D-I and D-II is scheduled for Wednesday-Saturday at Iwakuni Middle School’s and Atago Housing Area’s four-court complexes.
Humphreys' Chloe Lee is the reigning Far East girls tennis tournament champion and also won the Korea postseason tournament last season. (Dave Ornauer/Stars and Stripes)
The schedule depends entirely on weather; the forecast is looking so-so for this week. Doubles play is scheduled for Wednesday, mixed doubles Thursday and singles Friday, with championship matches Saturday. Play is segregated by division until the overall finals slated for Saturday.
For players carrying bull’s-eyes front and back as defending champions do, always the concern is who might be out there to trip up their efforts to repeat.
“There will definitely be competitors trying to come for my spot since they have put in the work and the dedication throughout the season, but so have I,” Lee said. “However, having the title pushes me to work harder.”
There’ll be the likes of two-time Okinawa island champion Brooke Brewer of Kadena and Kubasaki’s Sophia Wurdinger, each seniors, to challenge her, along with freshman Marisol Hindie of Nile C. Kinnick.
“There are opponents who can make me worry sometimes and put pressure on me,” Roesch said of players like hard-hitting left-hander Aira Fujinuma of Matthew C. Perry. Evan Son of Daegu and Jacob Kennedy of E.J. King are also taking aim.
Roesch hasn’t seen players from Korea, and those can always be a mystery. “I ask other players how they play, and during warmups, I see how they play and focus on myself,” Roesch said.
For the most part, it’s about how each player does individually, but also how the team does as a collective. Humphreys is the reigning D-I team champion and host Perry the D-II champion.
“My team and I know what it’s like and what it takes to win and we want to experience that feeling again,” Lee said. “Our goal is to stay focused and support each other to take home the title one more time.”
