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MARINE CORPS AIR STATION IWAKUNI, Japan – Michaela and Angeline Kim use different colored tennis rackets. Michaela hits right-handed. Angeline plays left-handed.
Other than that, the Osan freshmen are as alike as they come. They’re the top two singles players in Korea’s second-tier Red Division. And they’re now DODEA-Pacific Far East Division II Tournament girls doubles champs.
The Kim twins beat Rose Johnson and Olivia Bell of E.J. King 4-1, 4-1 in Thursday’s doubles final. And the two were as subdued during a post-match interview as they were dominant on the court.
“I want to be humble, but the credit goes to our teammates and our coaches,” said Michaela Kim, who is one of four with that surname associated with the Cougars tennis team.
Ethan, a junior, is their older brother. And Jeewon, their mom, is Osan’s head coach.
And the twins’ Far East journey is only half over. They play singles on Friday.
Might the two meet up in the singles final and play against each other?
“That’s our goal,” Michaela Kim said.
The Kim twins weren’t the only ones new to the victory stand Thursday; Yokota junior Derick Gima joined Panthers senior teammate and many-time champion Ryunosuke Roesch as the boys doubles champions.
Roesch and Gima downed Edgren’s Caden Crow and Tsutomu Gordon 4-0, 4-0 in the final.
Gima might well be considered the “other” half of that Yokota doubles pair, given how Roesch is the three-time defending Far East singles and now three-time doubles champion.
“I wasn’t expecting this,” Gima said. “But I had faith that we could. It feels incredible.”
He’s learned a lot from Roesch over the course of the season, Gima said: “To maintain balance, to follow his lead as the team captain and to keep the ball in play.”
Gima has Friday off, but will take to the court again Saturday when he teams with senior Olivia Miller in the mixed doubles.
Three DODEA doubles teams made it to the semifinal round of the Division I tennis tournament at Kadena: Nicole Seo and Mina Chang for Humphreys’ girls and defending champions Nathan Hwang and Julian Cho for the Blackhawks’ boys; and Noah Otteson and Tavi Shah of Kinnick.
Two-time defending champion Christian Academy Japan won all three of its pool-play matches to open the D-II girls volleyball tournament. Guam High, pre-tournament favorite Kadena and host Humphreys each won their first two D-I tournament matches.