Morgan Hill – As the No. 1 tennis players at Live Oak and
Sobrato high schools, sisters Karissa and Alexa Watanabe show skill
on the south valley courts, and share a love for the sport as a
family.
Morgan Hill – As the No. 1 tennis players at Live Oak and Sobrato high schools, sisters Karissa and Alexa Watanabe show skill on the south valley courts, and share a love for the sport as a family.
While Alexa, 14, is off to an impressive 6-1 start in the C Division of the Blossom Valley Athletic League as a freshman at Sobrato, Karissa, 17, is 3-4 in the B Division as a senior at Live Oak.
Alexa started playing tennis four years ago at the age of 10, taking private, then group lessons from Jennifer Yoder, who is the head tennis coach at Live Oak.
Karissa, persuaded by her younger sister and mom, took to the court shortly thereafter at 14 years old.
“My mom and I would play and eventually Karissa started coming too,” Alexa said.
Karissa’s powerful stroke quickly developed, and she, too, began taking lessons from Yoder.
“She was hitting hard, and she had a natural ability to play,” Alexa said turning to Karissa. “What? That’s what mom said!”
Karissa is a realist, though, when it comes to her and Alexa’s tennis abilities, confidently admitting that her younger sister is the better of the two.
“Tennis is her main sport, though,” Karissa said of her sister. “I’m constantly playing other sports.”
Karissa is a guard on the Live Oak basketball team, plays club lacrosse and is a lifeguard at the Morgan Hill Aquatics Center and the Centennial Recreation Center.
Alexa, on the other hand, played tennis four times a week last summer at the Almaden Swim & Racquet Club in San Jose, and ran track as an eighth-grader last year at Britton Middle School to stay fit and on top of her game.
“I wish they played in the same league because there would be some serious competition there,” Yoder said.
Alexa said she chose to attend Sobrato over Live Oak because a lot of her friends were going there.
The girls’ grandparents Sho and Hideko Araki attend every game possible, rotating between home games at the Sobrato and Live Oak tennis courts.
The sisters may have inherited their athletic abilities from their grandparents.
Grandfather Sho, 83, has volunteered at the San Jose Buddhist Church for 25 years, and is co-founder of the San Jose Ken Do Dojo.
Sho voluntarily teaches the Japanese sword fighting art of Ken Do, which he has also taught to four of his five children, and grandchildren Alexa and Karissa.
“I started in 1960, and I’ve taught my whole family,” he said.
Grandmother Hideko played mostly basketball as a youth but also learned tennis, and said she is proud of her grandchildren’s athletic abilities, and enjoys watching them both equally.
Alexa and Karissa are not the only sister act in Morgan Hill, however, as there are two sets of sisters on the Sobrato tennis team.
Freshman Katie Martin and junior Sarah Martin play on the No.1 and No. 2 doubles teams, and senior Sarah Morimoto is the No. 1 singles player and sister Amy Morimoto plays as the other half of Sobrato’s No. 2 doubles team.
“It’s a rarity that you have two sets of sisters among a team, let alone living under the same roof,” Sobrato tennis head coach Randy Barbaglia said.
Yoder, who has coached both the Watanabe sisters, said they share a common trait of tennis that stems from their family’s appreciation of the sport.
“They all play … the oldest of the sisters, Kiera, graduated from Live Oak in 2005 and played tennis for the Lady Acorns her junior and senior year,” Yoder said. “Julie Watanabe, the girls’ mom, is also a good tennis player and has supported her girls’ tennis and the (Live Oak) team for many years … we will not just be losing Karissa after this season, but we will be losing a team mom too.”
Yoder expressed her appreciation for all that Julie and Karissa have done for the tennis program and Live Oak.
“We can’t thank them enough,” she said. “And Sobrato is lucky to have two new ladies (Julie and Alexa) in their organization.”
Thus far, Alexa said her crowning tennis achievement is being the No. 1 singles player as a freshman.
“It’s rewarding since I’ve played for so long,” she said. “Tennis is important to me, but it is number two in my life behind school, as far as responsibilities go.”
Alexa is excited about a full scholarship she recently received to attend the Nike Tennis Camp in La Jolla, Calif. this summer, but keeps her focus on the current season.
Karissa looks at her development as a player as her crowning achievement, and hopes to finish the season on a high note.
“I want to feel like I worked hard and a fun season and four years,” Karissa said.
The sisters haven’t played each other this season, not even for fun, because they practice with their respective teams during the week and don’t really have time to play on weekends.
“She thinks I can beat her,” the younger Alexa said, and Karissa respectfully agreed.
“But I always beat her in arm wrestling,” Karissa added.
