YUKATA Kadokura and Anne Lee emerged victorious Saturday in the 3.0 Mixed Doubles event of the SIS Student Council Tennis Tournament at American Memorial Park.
It was not an easy road for the pair as they had to go through two separate three-set battles before reaching the finals.
Their first opponents were Dev Bachani and Maya Shimizu.
In the first set, Kadokura and Lee were in sync as they pulled back-to-back returns to triumph, 4-2.
Bachani and Shimizu, however, played with more care and precision in the second set en route to a 5-3 win.
But in the decisive third set, Kadokura and Lee played as the aggressors to outscore Bachani and Lee 10-4 and advance to the semifinals.
Kadokura and Lee were not out of the woods yet as they had to play against the tough tandem of Andrew Chung and Yebin Shin.
Chung and Shin drew first blood in the first set with a 4-1 victory.
But Kadokura and Lee finally found their rhythm to clinch the second and third sets, 4-2, 10-2, and a spot in the finals.
Their final round opponents, Taheir Shakir and Lina Tsukagoshi, fought their way to the top, beating Seiyul Hong and Jack Linden 2-4, 4-0, 10-6, and then Richard Sikkel and Thu Tran 4-2, 4-2.
But they could not match Kadokura and Lee who claimed both sets 6-0, 6-3 and the title.
Exciting
The 5.0 Mixed Doubles featured one of the more exciting finales as Jessie Kim and David Kwon barely escaped against Sam Ryu and Rachel Shin.
Kwon and Kim won the first set 7-6, thanks to Kim’s timely contributions.
The second set was equally hard fought with neither team able to get a firm grip of the lead. But once again, Kwon and Kim delivered in crunch time to win the set, 7-6, and the title.
Dominant
In the 4.0 Mixed Doubles, Irin Chung and June Yu were dominant.
In the finals against Patrick Aquino and Jillian Lucero, Chung and Yu maintained control throughout the match, earning an easy 6-1, 6-3 victory to bring home the title.
Before reaching the finals, Chung and Yu eliminated Sarka Glasjchova and Martin Jambor 5-4, 4-2.
The other title winners were Ryan Choi and Stella Choi who outplayed Quido Jambor and Emma Lang 8-1 in the U12 Mixed Doubles while Hyejin Elliot and Cody Shimizu edged Serin Chung and Simon Tang 8-6 in the U18 Mixed Doubles.
Sam Ryu leaps for the back hand return during a semifinal match of the SIS Student Council Tennis Tournament on Saturday at American Memorial Park.
Matthew Berline reaches out for the save as teammate Serin Chung looks on during a semifinal match of the SIS Student Council Tennis Tournament on Saturday at American Memorial Park.
