Humphreys junior Chloe Lee is now a two-time Far East tennis tournament champion and Korea postseason singles tournament champion. (Dave Ornauer/Stars and Stripes)
CAMP HUMPHREYS, South Korea – To get to the mountaintop as a relatively unknown sophomore was one thing. And after getting left off the Far East travel team as a freshman, at that.
But to go through her just-completed junior season unbeaten and capture her second straight Far East and Korea postseason girls singles titles?
“There was a lot of pressure. But I put my best effort at Far East and KAIAC, and I was so happy I could do it again,” said Chloe Lee, a Humphreys junior who repeated the dual feat last month.
Lee blazed through the Korean-American Interscholastic Activities Conference unbeaten, getting her toughest match from Clara Oh of Korea International, who took Lee to three sets before Lee prevailed. Lee then beat Oh in straight sets in the KAIAC finals on Halloween.
In mid-October Far East at Matthew C. Perry, Lee did more than just capture the singles.
Lee beat teammate Skylar Park 5-3, 4-1 in the Far East Division I singles final, downed Division II champion Jolie Nguyen of Zama 4-1, 4-0 in the overall Far East singles final, then teamed with Park to overcome Nguyen and Maya McElroy in doubles 4-2, 14-12.
For her back-to-back championships and going 9-0 in the Korea regular season, Lee for the second straight year has been named Stars and Stripes Pacific girls tennis Athlete of the Year.
Lee was quick to credit her coaches, Marco Valdez and Kathleen White, and her teammates for encouraging her to play her best on the court.
“They (teammates) pushed me to practice every day,” Lee said, adding that she would practice with the Blackhawks boys players “to get better and stronger.”
To know how competitive Lee is, no sooner had she finished accepting congratulations from teammates and opponents that she checked the KAIAC Web site to gaze at names of players in KAIAC’s Blue Division.
The league moves teams between its top-tier Blue and second-tier Red Divisions based on both enrollment and performance.
No doubt, Lee said, the Blackhawks will be promoted to Blue Division for the 2026 season, considering Humphreys won the league regular season championship and eight of 10 events in the KAIAC tournament.
“It’s going to be challenging,” Lee said of looking ahead to her senior season. She has lived in Korea most of her life after moving from New Jersey and expects to complete high school at Humphreys.
“If I can do it (win Far East and KAIAC) twice, I might as well go for it a third time,” Lee said.
Year: Sophomore
Age: 16
Place of birth: Fort Lee, N.J.
Favorite school subject: Math
Least favorite school subject: History
Favorite athlete: Serena Williams.
Favorite music performer: R&B, Christopher Edwin Breaux, stage name Frank Ocean.
