This feature originally appeared in the 2021 Spring edition of the Cal Sports Quarterly. The Cal Athletics flagship magazine features long-form sports journalism at its finest and provides in-depth coverage of the scholar-athlete experience in Berkeley. Printed copies are mailed four times a year to Bear Backers who give annually at the Bear Club level (currently $600 or more). For more information on how you can receive a printed version of the Cal Sports Quarterly at home, send an email to CalAthleticsFund@berkeley.edu or call (510) 642-2427.



Yuta Kikuchi was just 11 years old when a magnitude 9.0 earthquake struck his native Japan.
 
Now a junior on the Cal men's tennis team, Kikuchi recently recounted what happened on March 11, 2011, when the Great East Japan Earthquake struck off the coast of the Tohoku Region and produced a devastating tsunami. Kikuch hails from Yahaba, about 38 miles north of the region, but his town still felt the effects of the massive quake.
 
The quake and tsunami combined to leave some 20,000 people missing or dead. The tsunami also triggered the world's second-worst nuclear meltdown at the Fukushima Daiichi plant located a few hours to the south of Tohoku.
 
In landlocked Yahaba, Kikuchi was playing a Nintendo Wii dance game at a friend's house after school on the fateful afternoon. The earthquake struck at 2:46 p.m. and lasted about five minutes. One of his friends briefly continued dancing when the quake hit, while Kikuchi and his other friend crawled beneath a desk.
 
"It was huge," Kikuchi said. "It was so scary for me because we were only three boys with no adults there. We went outside, everybody went outside, and my friend's parents came home. And it wasn't only one earthquake. After the big earthquake, there were so many small earthquakes."
 
Before heading home, Kikuchi sought to help, leading a group of his neighbors to an emergency evacuation site at a local community center. They remained in the park outside the building to avoid being trapped inside should another quake hit.
 
Kikuchi's town lost electricity for four days, and many homes were damaged by the quake. The lack of electricity and grocery hoarding left store shelves barren for about a week. Communication with the outside world was difficult, with perhaps one in 10 calls getting through.
 
"It was really tough for us," Kikuchi said. "There was no food, there was no electricity, but fortunately we had heaters and some gas. It was still expensive. It was really tough. We had to cooperate with people in the community to get food, share electricity, whatever we had. Some houses had furniture that fell, and some of those families didn't have anyone helping to lift heavy stuff, so I helped with that. I also helped clean up, collecting garbage."
 
His house suffered broken dishes and a fallen bookshelf. The quake also booted Kikuchi's gold fish from its aquarium, but he was able to save it. The lack of electricity also kept Kikuchi and his older brother, Kenta, from returning to tennis practice, since they practiced at night after school.
 
Yahaba was spared the widespread damage on the coast, such as in the port city in Kamaishi, where some family friends lost their house. While visiting there, he saw a huge cargo ship, the Asia Symphony, that the tsunami deposited on top of a pier.
 
"That was surprising for me," he said.
 
It's not surprising, though, for Peter Wright that Kikuchi helped people at a young age.
 
"Yuta Kikuchi is one of the most thoughtful and sensitive people," said Wright, Cal's Director of Men's Tennis. "He's always looking out for his teammates and helping when someone is having a challenge. It certainly fits with how we know Yuta as a teammate and as a tennis player and as a doubles partner. He really is someone who is universally well-liked and serious, thoughtful and caring of others."