Day One
Under 22 Men
In the quarterfinals, #2 seed Han Xiao was down 7-10 in the fifth, triple match point, to Samson Dubina. "My backhand wasn't working," Han said afterwards. "I decided I had to play all forehand." When asked when he made that decision, he said, "At 8-10 in the fifth." At 7-10, Samson had served off, giving Han the serve. "I was pretty sure if I served short to his backhand, he'd return to my backhand, so I was ready." Han won the last five points, including all three on his serve with serve and forehand loops to win the match, -7,8,9,-5,10.
Also in the quarterfinals, #4 seed Misha Kazantsev had his own struggle with Pan Lin, just pulling it out, -10,5,-3,9,8, to move into the semifinals...
...where he'd find himself at 10-10 in the fifth with #1 seed Mark Hazinski! But two points later, Mark was in the final.
On the other half, Han led 2-1 against #3 seed Adam Hugh, but Adam came back to win the last two easily, 9,-10,-5,3,6.
In the final, two games were close, but Mark won, 9,5,10.
Under 22 Women:
The top four seeds easily made it to the semifinals without losing a game. In the semi's, #1 seed Jackie Lee had her hands full with #4 Judy Hugh, coming back to win at 5,-7,-7,1,8. On the other side, it was #2 over #3, Whitney Ping over Michelle Do, -9,5,5,9. In the final, a red-hot Jackie Lee attacked relentlessly from over the table, forcing Whitney off the table defensively as Jackie won, 7,9,8.
Over 40 Men
If there is such thing as a buzz saw in table tennis, it was Cheng Yinghua in Over 40. With David Zhuang not playing, it was left to another New Jersey player, Barry Dattel - #2 seed - to battle his way into the final, including a 4,-8,-8,6,6 win over Jiri Hlava in the quarterfinals. Ren Yong did put a glitch in the buzz saw in the semifinals, winning a game and making Cheng work, 9,-6,9,9. In the three rounds before that, Cheng had given up 39 points in nine games (3.3 per game). In the final, Cheng lowered that average, 7,0,2.
Over 40 Women
The huge upset here was Simone Yang over #1 seed Lily Yip in the semifinals - 3,10,4! Simone went on to win the final, 8,2,6, over Chen Dongye.
Wednesday Completed Results
Under 22 Men - Final: Mark Hazinski d. Adam Hugh, 9,5,10; SF: Hazinski d. Misha Kazantsev, 4,-8,4,-9,10; Hugh d. Han Xiao, 9,-10,-5,3,6; QF: Hazinski d. Auria Malek, 6,7,-7,3; Kazantsev d. Pan Lin, -10,5,-3,9,8; Hugh d. David Umel Jr., -7,9,4,4; Xiao d. Samson Dubina, -7,8,9,-5,10.
Under 22 Women - Final: Jackie Lee d. Whitney Ping, 7,9,8; SF: Lee d. Judy Hugh, 5,-7,-7,1,8; Ping d. Michelle Do, -9,5,5,9; QF: Lee d. Laura Xiao, 7,2,5; Hugh d. Jennifer Mast, 7,4,3; Do d. Amanda Dubina, 9,9,4; Ping d. Katie Poon, 5,5,8.
Over 40 Men - Final: Cheng Yinghua d. Barry Dattel, 7,0,2; SF: Cheng d. Yong Ren, 9,-6,9,9; Dattel d. Loc Ngo, -5,11,6,8; QF: Cheng d. Avishy Schmidt, 5,8,4; Ren d. Michael Wang, 3,5,6; Ngo d. Santos Shih, 7,8,9; Dattel d. Jiri Hlava, 4,-8,-8,6,6.
Over 40 Women - Final: Simone Yang d. Dongye Chen, 8,2,6; SF: Yang d. Lily Yip, 3,10,4; Chen d. Charlene Liu, 8,2,2.
Over 40 Hardbat - Final: Steve Berger d. Ray Mack, 13,12; SF: Berger d. Timothy Kelly, 13,-19,14; Mack d. Larry Hodges, 15,17; QF: Hodges d. Zoltan Boldy, 16,16; Mack d. Scott Gordon, 14,19; Kelly d. Lim Ming Chui, -14,15,13; Berger d. Bruce Liu, 20,-20,15.
Hardbat Doubles - Final: Timothy Kelly/Ray Mack d. Bruce Liu/Marty Reisman, 11,18; SF: Kelly/Mack d. John Pratt/Noel Huermann, 9,12; Liu/Reisman d. Hermann Luechinger/Al Papp, 19,19.
Over 60 Doubles - Final: Howard Grossman/Richard Hicks d. Ragnar Fahlstrom/George Brathwaite, -4,7,-6,9,4; SF: Grossman/Hicks d. Samuel Liang/Nick Mintsiveris, 4,8,5; Fahlstrom/Brathwaite d. Andy Phan/Chong Keng Tay, 4,9,9.
Under 4200 Doubles - Final: James Therriault/Scott Gordon d. Loc Ngo/Alicia Wei, -10,9,7,8; SF: Therriault/Gordon d. Trevor Runyan/Derrick Poon, 4,-9,7,9; Ngo/Wei d. David Samuelson/Wade Sun, 10,10,-6,-3,8.
Under 3700 Doubles - Final: Simon Ng/Vincent Tai d. Cesar Serna/Jeffrey Torres; SF: Ng/Tai d. David Taylor/Bernard Savitz, 4,-11,9,10; Serna/Torres d. Ken Trinh/John King, 5,8,-8,5.
Under 3200 Doubles - Final: Julian Waters/Toby Kutler d. Ed Cohen/Franck/Gascoin, 10,4,4; SF: Waters/Kutler d. Daniel Bryan/Felix Shtorper, 5,-7,9,-4,9; Cohen/Gascoin d. Willy Castillo Jr./Wilfredo Castillo, 9,-6,7,7.
Day Two - Thursday, Dec. 16
By Larry Hodges
Men's Singles
In the first two rounds of men's singles - rounds of 64 and 32 - there were only two matches that went the distance - and both involved Florida's Kit Jeerapaet (2196). In the first round, he upset Yong Ren (2319), barely holding off Ren's comeback, 9,9,-4,-7,9. In the second round, against former U.S. junior champion Chi-Sun Chui, he almost pulled off the upset, leading 3-1 in a best of seven, with a lot of sevens: -7,7,-7,-7,6,7,7. Other than Kit's upset of Yong, there weren't any serious upsets in these first two rounds, although John Beaumont was up 2-1 on Khoa Nguyen before losing at -9,7,-9,6,4,3.
Men's Doubles
In the eighths, the "comeback kids" of Freddie Gabriel and Peter Zajac - former top juniors from just a few years ago who no longer look like kids - went up 2-0 on Texas Wesleyan's Eric Owens and Courtney Roberts, and had match point in the fourth. But it was not to be as Owens/Roberts came back, winning -9,-8,9,12,10. Three of the quarterfinals were straightforward, with Ilila Lupulesku/Mark Hazinski over Khoa Nguyen, 9,5,4; Santos Shih/Shao Yu over Hrach Javadian/Robert Shahnazari, 8,6,9; and David Zhuang/Barney J. Reed over Eric Owens/Courtney Roberts, 8,6,2. In a battle of the U.S. Junior Team, Misha Kazantsev/Auria Malek upset Han Xiao/Adam Hugh, 9,10,-5,7.
Women's Singles
Only one round of women's singles was played, with most of the top seeds getting a bye. All three matches actually played were quick 3-0's as the women came down to the final 16.
Women's Doubles
Top seeds Gao Jun & Tawny Banh romped, getting a bye in the quarters, a default from Michelle Do/Kyna Fong in the semifinals, and winning the final - their first match - at 9,6,7 over mother/daugher duo Lily Yip/Judy Hugh. It was still a good day for Lily, who was inducted into the USATT Hall of Fame that night.
Mixed Doubles
They played into the semifinals with no upsets - but one match almost didn't go as seeded. Barry Dattel/Judy Hugh won the first two games against #3 seeds Eric Owens/Tawny Banh, were up match point in the third, and led 7-3 in the fifth before losing in the quarterfinals, -8,-9,11,5,10. In the other quarterfinal matches, #1 seeds Cheng Yinghua/Gao Jun defeated Mark Hazinski/Whitney Ping, 8,5,-8,12; #2 seeds and defending champions Ilija Lupulesku/Jasna Reed defeated Auria Malek/Jackie Lee; and #4 seeds Adam Hugh/Lily Yip defeated Barney J. Reed/Michelle Do, 5,8,9.
Junior and Cadet Team Trials
The Junior and Cadet Team Trials for boys and girls played out to the quarterfinals, where there would be a final round robin group of eight. See Final Eight for each event.
Under 2400
After coasting through the first three rounds, #1 seed Samson Dubina found himself down 1-2 in games in the quarters, semis and final. In fact, in all three matches he won the first, then lost the next two. In the quarters, he barely pulled it out, 3,-8,-10,9,9 over Ren Yong. In the semis, it was 9,-8,-5,4,6. In the final he faced red-hot Jackie Lee, fresh off winning Under 22 Women the day before. Just as the day before, she'd battled it out with Judy Hugh in the semis, winning again, this time at 10,5,-10,9.
The final was a streaky match between the two-winged looping Samson versus the at the table, all-out attack of Jackie. Samson won the first 11-7. The key to the whole match may have come at 7-7 in the second when Jackie popped up an easy one - and Samson missed! Starting with that point, Jackie went on an 18-2 run, winning game three 11-1, and going up 3-1 in the fourth. For two rounds in a row, Samson had made his move here, winning the last two games. Once again he made his move, winning 6 of the next 7 go lead 7-4. But then it was Jackie's turn - 5 in a row, and she's leading 9-7! Samson takes a timeout, then wins the next point. Then Jackie serves off, 9-9! But serving up 9-9, it was not to be as Jackie won the next two points and the match, -7,7,1,9.
Thursday Completed Results
Over 50 Men - Final: Henry Chan d. Ray Mack, -4,8,-9,8,6; SF: Chan d. Henry McCoullum, 5,-8,3,9; Mack d. Eric Stamp, 7,4,-7,4; QF: Stamp d. Alireza Hejazi, 7,7,-9,8; Mack d. Richard Hicks, 9,6,9; McCoullum d. Tay Chong Keng, -11,-3,7,9,14; Chan d. George Cooper, 8,7,3.
Over 80 - Final: George Hendry d. Arthur Chase, 5,5,4; SF: Hendry d. Wiley Butler, 7,7,1; Chase d. Thelma Tybie Sommer, 5,7,5.
Under 2400 - Final: Jackie Lee d. Samson Dubina, -7,7,1,9; SF: Lee d. Judy Hugh, 10,5,-10,9; Dubina d. Courtney Roberts, 9,-8,-5,4,6; QF: Dubina d. Ren Yong, 3,-8,-10,9,9; Roberts d. Rudy Miranda, -7,7,6,9; Hugh d. Barry Dattel, 9,-10,10,8; Lee d. Tri Dinh, 7,-4,10,4.
Under 2300 - Final: Avishy Schmidt d. James Therriault, 7,5,9; SF: Schmidt d. David Umel Jr., 5,8,4; Therriault d. Tung Phan, -8,8,12,6; QF: Therriault d. Peter Zajac, 5,9,8; Phan d. Pan Lin, 7,2,-5,7; Umel d. David Rosenzweig, -9,8,9,9; Schmidt d. Virginia Sung, 10,6,8.
Under 2000 - Final: Victor Leung d. Ma Trung, 5,3,4; SF: Leung d. Don Alto, 10,-10,5,6; Ma d. Tai Nguyen, 9,7,-14,3; QF: Ma d. Julian Waters, 5,-7,6,0; Nguyen d. Matthew Lee, -6,11,6,11; Alto d. Parul Engineer, 8,10,15; Leung d. Ron von Schimmelmann, -7,7,7,-9,5.
Under 1900 Women - Final: Danuta Andrzejewska d. Chang Wan Yin, -8,7,7,6; SF: Andrzejewska d. Colleen Lee, -9,5,-5,9,4; Chang d. Luz Cordero Castro, 8,11,5.
Under 1400 - Final: Tomas Fuentes-Afflick d. Kevin Spencer, 6,9,7; SF: Fuentes-Afflick d. Ramon Giron,k 5,5,-6,-7,9; Spencer d. Anton Tullisov, 5,-7,8,-7,6.
Under 2000 Hardbat - Final: Noel Huermann d. Allen McDermott, 15,19; SF: Huermann d. James Rautis, 18,17; McDermott d. John Harrington, 14,8.
Day Three - Friday, Dec. 17
By Larry Hodges
Men's Singles - Round of 16
The Men's round of 16 had a number of interesting matches - and they were, for many, the "key" matches, as the winners advanced to the quarterfinal round robins; losers were out. Here's a rundown, from top to bottom of the draw:
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Ilija Lupulesku d. Todd Sweeris, 8,4,3,-7,-8,6. Lupi didn't look to be in great physical shape, but his topspin touch was still better than anyone else's here as he romped for three games. Todd won the next two, but Lupi ended it in the sixth.
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Eric Owens d. Shao Yu, -5,8,6,8,9. This was a battle of Eric's looping - mostly forehand - vs. Shao's backhand pips-out hitting. Shao dominated at the start, but Eric won the key points in the next four games.
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Barney J. Reed d. Auria Malek, -12,2,0,10,8. This was a rather strange and streaky match. After Auria won the first, Barney took the next two, outscoring Auria 22-2! In the fourth, it was Auria's turn - or was it? Auria goes up 9-2, then 10-6 - but loses the next six in a row. He doesn't give up, battles all through the sixth and has chances to win - but can't convert.
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Cheng Yinghua d. Adam Hugh, -11,3,11,6,9. Probably the most interesting match, since 16-year-old Adam had upset 46-year-old Cheng at last year's Nationals. Would the "old" Cheng of yesteryear show up, or would an "old" Cheng show up? It was probably something in between. It was a battle of two very steady players, with Cheng topspinning his backhand right off the bounce over and over and picking his forehands, while Adam would use his harder backhand to set up his forehand, which he'd play from well off the table. The rallies were extremely long and furious. Cheng led 10-9 in the first, then was down 10-11 and lost 11-13. After romping in the second 11-3, Cheng led 10-8 in the third - and again couldn't hold it as Adam deuced it and went up 10-11 again. But this time Cheng won 13-11. Cheng romped again in the fourth, 11-6, and led 10-7 triple match point in the fifth. He forced Adam off the table and smashed, Adam lobbed - and Cheng smashed off the edge of his racket! Cheng next backhanded a net-ticker off, 10-9. But the comeback ended there as Cheng blocked back several shots, and then suddenly counterlooped a forehand winner to win the match.
Afterwards, Cheng talked to Adam about the match, and said, "You played very well, but too soft. Otherwise, I have no chance today." Cheng was referring to Adam's backing up to spin forehands over and over rather than looping from closer to the table more aggressively. -
Khoa Nguyen d. Chi-Sun Chui, 8,9,8,5. The two have played many times, and they have great rallies, but Khoa's two-winged attack is just too strong for Chi-Sun's steadiness and sudden attacks.
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Han Xiao d. Darko Rop, 9,-7,8,5,-9,-7,3. A battle of Han's off-the-bounce power loops vs. Darko's steady loops from farther back, the match went Han's way as he went up 3-1. But Darko's a warrior, and battled back, forcing Han to play longer rallies than he'd like, often making him block or force his loops. But in the seventh, Han started out ripping winner after winner to lead 4-0, 8-2, 11-3. "I switched to a shorter toss on my serve in the seventh game," Han said. "He's a rhythm player, and it threw his rhythm off."
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Mark Hazinski d. Freddie Gabriel, 9,11,6,4. Early on, it looked like the Freddie of old, before he took a multi-year leave of absence from table tennis, had shown and battled Mark even up. But in the end, a red-hot Mark looped at will in winning the last two easily.
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David Zhuang d. Misha Kazantsev, 9,6,-8,4,5. Misha can play with inspiration, and there were times in first three games that it looked like he could battle with Zhuang. But Zhuang adjusts, and soon had Misha's loops timed perfectly as he blocked and pick hit his way to winning the last two games easily.
Men's Singles - Quarterfinal Round Robins
The final eight players were put into two groups of four, with the top two from each group making the National Team and advancing to crossovers to decide the final order of finish.
Group One - Ilija Lupulesku, Khoa Nguyen, Mark Hazinski, Han Xiao
This group was the "unexciting" one, as the first match played was 4-0, and the other five were all 4-1. In the end, the key match was Khoa Nguyen's win over Mark Hazinski, which essentially was the quarterfinals - with Khoa (2-1) advancing in second (along with Lupulesku, 3-0, in first), and Mark out. "He out-rallied me, my serves didn't work, and I missed some hangers," Mark said of the match. Results were as follows, in the order played:
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Ilija Lupulesku d. Mark Hazinski, 9,9,6,4
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Khoa Nguyen d. Han Xiao, 7,-10,7,7,9
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Ilija Lupulesku d. Khoa Nguyen, 4,5,-7,10,9
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Mark Hazinski d. Han Xiao, 7,4,7,-9,7
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Ilija Lupulesku d. Han Xiao, 9,-13,7,8,6
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Khoa Nguyen d. Mark Hazinski, 4,-9,7,8,9
Group Two - David Zhuang, Cheng Yinghua, Barney J. Reed, Eric Owens
This group was a bit more interesting. In match one, David Zhuang and Barney J. Reed had a seesaw match that climaxed in the sixth game. Barney led 3-2, but David was serving up 9-7. Barney scored both points, and now served for the upset win at 9-all. David took a timeout. They returned, and the crowd was silent as Barney served ... off the end! Down 9-10, he served long, David spun the ball back softly - and Barney passively blocked it off! Game to David, 11-9, who would go on to win the seventh, 11-5.
In the next match, Eric Owens battled with 46-year-old Cheng Yinghua to 2-2, but from there on it was all Cheng, moving Eric around with his off-the-bounce topspins and blocks and sudden forehand loops. Cheng doesn't have the power or speed he used to have, but he still knows how to play. Cheng followed this match up by defeating David Zhuang - losing the first 11-6, and barely pulling out the second, 15-13, and then coasting in the last three.
Barney and David both won 4-0 against Eric, knocking him out of the competition. So it came down to the last match, Cheng versus Barney. If Cheng wins, he advances in first, David second; if Barney wins, he advances in first, Cheng second. In the first game, Cheng leads 9-7, then it's 9-all. Cheng serves, and Barney dribbles the ball over the net - but Cheng reaches in, and "counter-dribbles" it right back over the net! Barney tosses his racket in disgust, getting yellow-carded, while his coach, Ludovic Gombos, calls a timeout that Barney doesn't seem happy about. When they return, Cheng blocks Barney around the table, and Barney loops off to lose, 9-11. Barney comes back to win game two, 11-5, but loses the next three in a row. So advancing is Cheng, 3-0, in first, and David, 2-1, in second. Results were as follows, in the order played:
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David Zhuang d. Barney J. Reed, -9,5,-13,6,-7,9,5
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Cheng Yinghua d. Eric Owens, -12,6,3,-3,6,8
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Cheng Yinghua d. David Zhuang, -6,13,8,6,8
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Barney J. Reed d. Eric Owens, 8,8,4,7
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David Zhuang d. Eric Owens, 4,8,2,7
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Cheng Yinghua d. Barney J. Reed, 9,-5,3,9,3
So the USA National Team is now set, with Ilija Lupulesku, Khoa Nguyen, Cheng Yinghua and David Zhuang. The four will play for the national men's singles title on Saturday night, with Lupi playing David, Cheng against Khoa. To use Star Wars terms, the Trials and Men's Singles have been "Table Wars: Return of the Veterans" as the average age of the men's team is 40.5! (Cheng, 46, but turning 47 in January before the Worlds; David, 41; Khoa, 38; Lupi, 37.)
Women's Singles
The round of 16 in women's was basically uneventful as the higher rated player won all eight matches easily, losing a cumulative two games. Simone Yang played two close but losing games before winning game three against Jasna Reed, but lost, 9,11,-7,6. Wendy Eav won the first against Virginia Sung, but Sung chopped her way to victory the rest of the way, -7,5,9,8. In other matches, Gao Jun defeated Michelle Do, 3,8,4; Chen Dongye defeated Laura Xiao, 6,7,6; Whitney Ping defeated Barbara Wei, 4,7,6; Tawny Banh defeated Ann Alvarez, 2,2,6; Jackie Lee defeated Judy Hugh, 2,2,6; and Lily Yip defeated Heather Wang by default.
Women's Singles - Quarterfinal Round Robins
Group One
This group was seemingly uneventful, with all six matches quick 4-0's. For the first five matches, things went as expected. Gao won her three matches easily to advance in first. In the final match, veteran and new Hall of Famer Lily Yip played Jackie Lee for the final spot - but Jackie, attacking furiously from right over the table, won 4-0 to to make the National team and advance to the semifinals. Results were as follows, in the order played:
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Gao Jun d. Jackie Lee, 4,6,5,5
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Lily Yip d. Chen Dongye, 9,7,10,9
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Gao Jun d. Lily Yip, 6,8,5,7
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Jackie Lee d. Chen Dongye, 7,3,8,5
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Gao Jun d. Chen Dongye, 8,3,6,8
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Jackie Lee d. Lily Yip, 10,9,4,8
Group Two
This group was the "exciting" one, with USA's top junior girl, Whitney Ping, pulling off a 4-1 upset of long-time USA team member Tawny Banh. Whitney played very smart - spinning loops to Tawny's backhand pips, slightly more aggressive to Tawny's forehand, where Tawny would often counterloop off. Whitney didn't try to overplay and bang out shot after shot, which is Tawny's game. In game five, down 6-9, Tawny tied it at 9-all, but Whitney won the last two.
But Tawny didn't let the match rattle her - in her very next match, she upset the groups #1 seed and defending National Women's Champion, Jasna Reed, 4-2. Often it was a battle of backhands - Tawny's quick and fast pips-out backhand, Jasna's powerful counterhitting and looping. In the sixth, down 8-9, Jasna served and backhand looped off, and fell to her knees yelling "NO!" Helped by a net, however, she scored the next two to reach deuce. But she serve and looped off, and Tawny won it with a stinging backhand.
Jasna and Whitney both defeated chopper Virginia Sung. In the final round, Whitney faced Jasna, and Tawny faced Virginia. Assuming Tawny won - she did, 4-1 - and assuming Jasna won - she did - there would be a 3-way tie between Jasna, Tawny and Whitney. If Whitney wins one game off Jasna, she would advance in second, ahead of Tawny, and make the national team. Later she said she didn't know that during the match, probably didn't want to know - but it didn't help as Jasna dominated, winning 4-0 easily, 5,4,6,4. And so Jasna, Tawny and Whitney all finished 2-1. In games among themselves, Jasna was 6-4 (.600), Tawny 5-6 (.455) and Whitney 4-5 (.444). And so by .011, Tawny advances in second over Whitney, with Jasna in first. Results were as follows, in the order played:
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Jasna Reed d. Virginia Sung, 7,4,1,6
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Whitney Ping d. Tawny Banh, -8,7,10,7,9
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Tawny Banh d. Jasna Reed, 9,-8,3,-5,5,10
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Whitney Ping d. Virginia Sung, 8,-8,9,8,8
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Jasna Reed d. Whitney Ping, 5,4,6,4
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Tawny Banh d. Virginia Sung, 4,6,4,-9,4
So the Women's National Team is Gao Jun, Jackie Lee, Jasna Reed and Tawny Banh. In the semifinals on Saturday night, Jasna Reed will play Jackie Lee, and Tawny Banh will play Gao Jun. Jasna is the defending champion, but Gao, who did not play last year, had won it seven years in a row before that.
Men's Doubles
The top seeds, Ilija Lupulesku and Mark Hazinski, mostly dominated the event, not losing a game until they were up 2-0 in the final against David Zhuang/Barney J. Reed, the #2 seeds. The teams would battle even up from there on, splitting the last two games - which is all Lupulesku/Hazinski needed as they won, 8,8,-11,9. In the semifinals, Lupulesku/Hazinski had defeated Santos Shih/Shao Yu (who had been helped by the Todd Sweeris/Brian Pace default, as Brian was a no-show due to a concussion suffered while biking). In the other semifinal, Zhuang/Reed had defeated Auria Malek/Misha Kazantsev, 6,4,-6,6.
Mixed Doubles
The match many had long waited for finally happened - Ilija Lupulesku/Jasna Reed versus Cheng Yinghua/Gao Jun. These two dynamo teams had never played. On one side, there was the left-righty combo Lupi and Reed, who were experienced playing together for many years, right back to when they used to be married. They are no longer married, but are still good friends, practice partners and doubles partners. On the other side was Cheng Yinghua and Gao Jun - Cheng, formerly the best player in the U.S. for ten years (but now 46 years old), and former Chinese doubles champion, and Gao Jun, the top U.S. women for many years. Lupi was a silver medalist for men's doubles at the 1988 Olympics; Jasna was a bronze medalist for women's doubles at the same Olympics. Gao Jun was a silver medalist for women's doubles at the 1992 Olympics. Yes, these players can play doubles! Lupi/Jasna started out strong, winning game one 11-7, but Cheng/Gao pulled out the second, 12-10, and won the next two to win the match, -7,10,7,4. Cheng and Gao were just too steady, with Gao's blocks and hitting, and Cheng's steady looping and blocking.
Junior and Cadet Team Trials
What a battle - a final complete round robin of eight for each category! In the end, the best way to see what happened, browse the results. The results also show that every game is important as two of the events (with junior girls still being decided with some matches postponed until today) were decided by ties.
In junior boys, Misha Kasentsev (7-0) upset Adam Hugh (6-1) for the top spot. Trevor Runyan (5-2) was third. For the fourth spot, in the last match, Earl James Alto upset Raghu Nadmichettu 3-0 to force a three-way tie between themselves and Joseph Cochran, all at 3-4. Earl had defeated Raghu, 9,6,8; Raghu defeated Joseph -8,-12,6,6,3; and Joseph had defeated Earl at 5,5,5. Among themselves, Earl was 3-3; Raghu 3-5, and Joseph 5-3 - and so Joseph got the fourth spot.
In cadet boys, Lin Jeff Huang dominated, not losing a single game (and only going to deuce once) in going 7-0, 21-0 in games. In second was Sean C. Lee at 5-2, with losses only to Jeff and Don James Alto. Third was Steven Chan at 4-3, winning head-to-head against Don, also 4-3.
In cadet girls, Jennifer Mast went 7-0 without losing a single game. In second was Stephanie Shih at 5-2, winning head to head against Olena Sowers, also 5-2. Colleen Lee and Alicia Wei were tied for the fourth spot at 4-3 - but Alicia won head-to-head to get the fourth spot.
Congratulations to the 2005 USA National Junior and Cadet Teams!
Junior Boys: 1st Misha Kazantsev; 2nd Adam Hugh; 3rd Trevor Runyan; 4th Joseph Cochran
Junior Girls - not yet complete
Cadet Boys: 1st Lin Jeff Huang; 2nd Sean C. Lee; 3rd Steven Chan; 4th Don James Alto
Cadet Girls: 1st Jennifer Mast; 2nd Stephanie Shih; 3rd Olena Sowers; 4th Alicia Wei
Friday Results
Senior Events
Over 60 Men - Final: George Brathwaite d. Richard Hicks, 6,5,5; SF: Hicks d. Tay Chong Keng, 11,8,8; Brathwaite d. Howard Grossman, 10,2,7; QF: Hicks d. Ron von Schimmelmann, 7,3,3; Tay d. Allen Silberman, 9,3,4; Grossman d. Lynwood Smith, 3,-6,5,3; Brathwaite d. Nick Mintsiveris, 10,-0,-9,6,7.
Over 70 - Final: George Brathwaite d. Nick Mintsiveris, 7,9,-5,2; SF: Brathwaite d. Grady Gordon, 10,-8,8,7; Mintsiveris d. Mark Shapiro, -11,4,9,7; QF: Brathwaite d. Hiep Cung, 11,7,3; Gordon d. Dick Peregrine, 3,1,10; Shapiro d. George Hendry, -10,-5,11,9,5; Mintsiveris d. Lynwood Smith, 8,4,3.
Over 50 Women - Final: Bella Livshin d. Charlene Liu, 4,5,9; SF: Livshin d. Donna Sakai, 8,8,3; Liu - bye.
Over 60 Women - Final: Ann Alvarez d. Barbara Kaminsky, -8,5,3,9; SF: Alvarez d. Danuta Andrzejewska, -5,3,9,5; Kaminsky d. Suzanne Sanders, -6,-11,9,9,5.
Over 75 - Final: Grady Gordon d. Dick Peregrine, 10,8,7; SF: Gordon d. Danny Kim, 5,-9,6,-11,6; Peregrine d. Si Wasserman, 10,7,6.
Over 40 Doubles - Final: Barry Dattel/Lily Yip d. Cheng Yinghua/Dave Sakai, 4,9,-8,-6,8; SF: Dattel/Yip d. Mitch Seidenfeld/Avishy Schmidt, 4,7,8; Cheng/Sakai d. Rudy Miranda/Loc Bao Ngo, -8,-9,4,7,8.
Over 50 Doubles - Final: Jiri Hlava/Lim Ming Chui d. Richard Hicks/Henry McCoullum, -9,4,12,10; SF: Hlava/Chui d. Jim McQueen/Ray Mack, 4,4,8; Hlava/Chui d. Dave Sakai/George Brathwaite, 5,4,10.
Over 70 Doubles - Final: Grady Gordon/George Hendry d. Lynwood Smith/Dick Peregrine, 9,-5,6,-5,4; SF: Gordon/Hendry d. Marty Reisman/Dean Johnson, -5,9,13,6; Smith/Peregrine d. George Brathwaite/Cornelius Smyth, 9,-6,9,-6,7.
Hardbat Events
All Hardbat matches are games to 21.
Hardbat Singles - Final: Courtney Roberts d. Loc Bao Ngo, -14,18,13,16; SF: Roberts d. Lim Ming Chui, -13,19,15,-17,13; Ngo d. David Umel Jr., 18,-18,18,18; QF: Roberts d. Rudy Miranda, 18,11; Chui d. Phillip Lim, 12,19,-19,16; Umel d. Ren Yong, -14,-23,15,18,18; Ngo d. James Therriault, 17,13.
Under 1500 Hardbat - Final: Jim Weisbecker d. Jeff Louie, 20,14; SF: Weisbecker d. Andrew Wai, 11,-17,13; Louie d. Bob Reising, 19,19.
Rating Events
Under 1800 - Final: Chang-Shing Hsu d. Richard Mercado, -6,8,7,-10,8; SF: Hsu d. Chihchen Jack Hsu, 5,9,9; Mercado d. Sam Ignazzitto, 9,7,-11,9.
Under 1600 - Final: Dan Seemiller Jr. d. Thomas Nguyen, 6,9,13; SF: Seemiller d. Andy Pelshe, 9,-6,5,5; Nguyen d. Alex Horvath, -10,9,8,9.
Under 1500 - Final: Thomas Nguyen d. Le Giang, -9,-10,4,10,7; SF: Nguyen d. Scott Roberts, -10,8,-10,1,8; Le d. Vincent Banh, -6,-8,10,8,8.
Under 1300 - Final: Tomas Fuentes-Afflick d. Brian Louie, 2,-10,7,9; SF: Fuentes-Afflick d. Ariel Hsing, -8,5,-2,9,10; Louie d. Alicia Sanchez, 4,6,8.
Under 1000 - Final: David Flores d. Mengzhe Ma, 2,4,5; SF: Flores d. Danny Bryan Jr., -9,-9,7,8,9; Ma d. Paul Ishimitsu, def.
Unrated - Final: Raymond Wang d. Wilheim Adoremos, 11,4,-10,9; SF: Wang d. George Okutani, 6,4,8; Adoremos d. Liu Yanjun, 6,8,3.
Disabled Events
Wheelchair Open Singles - Final: Stuart Ronald Caplin d. Andre Scott, 5,8,-8,5.
Wheelchair Doubles - Final: Andre Scott/Jennifer Johnson d. Stuart Ronald Caplin/Jon Redman, 7,8,8.
Standing Disabled Doubles - Final: Daniel Bryan/Gene Chiu d. Norman Bass/Robert Bowlander, 13,8,7; SF: Bryan/Chiu d. Chris Puls/Liang Liung, def; Bass/Bowlander d. Jeffrey Glazer/Wilfredo Castillo, 6,4,9.
{mospagebreak}
Day Four - Saturday, Dec. 18
By Larry Hodges
Complete results of Men's and Women's singles.
Men's Singles - Semifinals
Ilija Lupulesku vs. David Zhuang
It was the ultimate contrast in styles, with the lefty two-winged spinning & lobbing "Lupi" versus the at-the-table pips-out-penholder blocker/hitter David. Lupi was the defending champion, winning the past two years, while David was a four-time champion - but at 41, four years older than Lupi's 37.
For the first three games, Lupi mostly served short, and David would drop it short, usually to the forehand. This would bring Lupi in, and then David would attack his backhand. The result was David won the first three games, although not easily. David won the first 11-8. In the second, it was 8-8, then 11-8 again. Lupi seemed to get it together in game three, leading 8-5 - but he'd only score one more point that game. David, who usually plays a lot of change of pace, was playing a much faster game, blocking hard side to side, making Lupulesku move all over. Lupi seems to have gained some weight this past year, and was noticeably slower, with less range. Yet Lupi often seemed to dominate the rallies, and yet was down 0-3. Could he stage a comeback?
Lupi started serving more out in game four, taking away David's short receive. Lupi went up 5-0, and while David pulled to 7-5, Lupi won 11-7. In game five, David led 7-6, but didn't score another point. Amazingly, in losing 11-7, David scored five points when Lupi missed his serve - otherwise, he'd have lost 11-2! David was mixing in short, angled serves to Lupi's forehand - outside the forehand corner, usually just off the side - and deep serves to the backhand.
Now down only 3-2, Lupi was back in the match, and he seemed once again to be dominating the rallies. But in the sixth, David's side-to-side blocking wore Lupi down, and from 3-3, David - helped by an edge - went up 6-3. Lupi played two great points to get to 6-5. Soon David led 9-7, but Lupi tied it on his serve, 9-all. So David would be serving for the match. And with two quick points, the match is David's, 8,8,9,-7,-7,9. David jumped in the air in victory, and raced to his wife/coach Joannie Fu's arm's, followed by a victory lap around the court where he shook hands with all six umpires/officials, as well as Lupi and his coach, Sasa Drinic.
Cheng Yinghua vs. Khoa Nguyen
This was a match of Cheng's all-around steady game versus Khoa's greater power. Ultimately, Cheng's control was too great, and he was only threatened once in the match, in the first game. Up 7-5, Cheng lost four in a row as Khoa led 9-7, then 10-9. But Cheng backhand spun Khoa's serve off the bounce to deuce it as Khoa blocked off, and the rally was repeated exactly two points later when Khoa served from down 10-11 as Cheng won game one, 12-10. In the next two games, Cheng would dominate, winning at 7 & 6. Cheng was all over the court looping, while Khoa was erratic. Cheng's forehand flip was also taking its toll as he relentlessly went after most balls that Khoa dropped short. In the fourth, Cheng led 8-5, but Khoa - perhaps spurred on by the cheering California section of the crowd - battled back to 9-all. But it was not to be as he popped up Cheng's serve, and then backhand looped off as Cheng won, 10,7,6,9.
Men's Singles Final: Cheng Yinghua vs. David Zhuang
How many times have these two played? Who knows. Cheng had defeated David the day before, 4-1, but this was a whole new day as they prepared to play for the umpteenth time.
Is this the first men's (or women's) final ever between two players over age 40? Cheng and David, age 46 and 41, had defeated youngsters Nguyen and Lupulesku, age 38 and 37, in the semifinals - with the average age of the four semifinalists/U.S. team members 40.5. Average age of the finalists? 43.5. Not a great day for USA youth development, but a great day for seniors - there is hope!
This would be the first men's (or women's) final between two current members of the USATT Hall of Fame.
Cheng started out routing David, leading 7-2, then 9-7, 10-7, 10-9.
Cheng's starting nearly every rally to David's forehand (both returning serves there, and serving long there), and then blocking back to the backhand - the classic way of playing penholders. He's doing it over and over and over and over to the point where sometimes David's waiting for it - and yet it's still effective. What fueled David's comeback here, and the difficulties Cheng would face over the next few games, were a new strategy David and coach/wife Joannie Fu had cooked up.
The day before, Cheng had also gone after David's forehand to start the rallies, and David's pips-out returns hadn't been effective. What 90% of the audience probably didn't notice, but what Cheng definitely noticed, and had great difficulty with, was that just as Cheng would serve, David would flip his racket to the inverted side, and loop with his forehand. Said wife/coach Joannie Fu, "Yesterday, Cheng served to David's forehand over ad over, and David's pips returns weren't very good. So we decided to use the inverted and loop many of his serves." Sometimes Cheng would have to deal with a pips-out loop or drive, sometimes an inverted loop, and he didn't look too comfortable against it. The new strategy worked, fueling Zhuang's near-comeback in game one, and leading to his 11-6 win in game two. Sometimes David would loop two in a row with inverted before switching back to the pips. David also started using sudden reverse penhold backhands - with the inverted side - and this too caught Cheng off-guard. Cheng wouldn't miss these shots too much, but his returns became tentative, and David would become the aggressor.
But you can only ride a strategy like this so far, and while it was effective throughout the match, Cheng grew used to it, and the two battled it out. Cheng led throughout game three in winning 11-8, but David led throughout game four, also winning 11-8. However, at 10-6 for David, he called a time-out - a pulled groin muscle in his right leg. After the one-minute time-out was over, he was given an injury time-out, and had Joannie work on it for three minutes. Then David limped back to the table in noticeable pain. Cheng won the next two points, but David won 11-8.
Over the next two games, David limped between points, often hopping on one foot between points. He seemed fast enough during the points, but it looked like he was in pain as he winced when he was moving, often very loudly. Cheng's strategy of moving him side to side didn't help - and David seemed to especially have trouble moving to his wide forehand, where Cheng liked to attack. Still, David stayed with Cheng, blocking and hitting, but Cheng slowly pulled away in winning 11-8. In the sixth, Cheng leads 8-5, but David pulls to 8-all, and actually limps to a 10-9 lead. But Cheng's loops and counters are just to steady, and helped by a net ball at 10-10, Cheng wins the game and match, 9,-6,8,-8,8,10.
It is Cheng's fourth Men's Singles title, and the least likely. Who really thought that at age 46, he'd be able to go through the tournament undefeated in singles? He'd also win Over 40 Men's Singles and Mixed Doubles with Gao Jun. He didn't play Men's Doubles, but he played Over 40 Doubles with Dave Sakai, losing in the final to Barry Dattel/Lily Yip, his only loss of the tournament. But Cheng said he had extra incentive: he wanted to both be on the USA National Team and be National Champion when the 2005 Worlds are held in his native China.
Of his match with David, Cheng said, "I served deep to his forehand and middle, and sometimes his backhand, sometimes topspin, sometimes backspin. It's because I have no power off his push, so I let him open and move him around."
Men's 3-4 Playoff
There was a scheduled playoff between semifinalists Ilija Lupulesku and Khoa Nguyen, but Khoa defaulted, so Lupi came in third, Khoa fourth.
Men's 5-8 Playoffs
There is an unfunded fifth spot on the U.S. team. The crossovers were between the four players who finished 3rd and 4th in the quarterfinal round robins. In the first crossover, Han Xiao defeated Barney J. Reed 4-0, while Mark Hazinski defeated Eric Owens by default. However, Mark had an injury and defaulted his match to Han, so the final order of finish was:
5th Han Xiao; 6th Mark Hazinski; 7th Barney J. Reed; 8th Eric Owens
Women's Singles - Semifinals
Gao Jun vs. Tawny Banh
"To really have a chance against her, I need to play her more often," said Tawny Banh of Gao Jun. Gao's change-of-pace game does take time to get used to, and Gao doesn't usually give opponent's much time as she makes short work of them, mixing in jab blocks, dead blocks, sidespin blocks, quick pushes, and the ever-ready sudden forehand smash. "She smashed more than usual this time," Tawny said of Gao's hitting. Add in great serves and a probably even better return of serve, and it's no wonder Gao hasn't lost to a U.S. player in eight Nationals. Match to Gao, 5,7,4,9. But Tawny could take pride that she'd score more points - 25 - then Jasna would in the final....
Jasna Reed vs. Jackie Lee
...But first Jasna would need to reach the final, and Jackie was hot this tournament. For two games, Jack stayed with Jasna, losing the first at 8, but storming back to win the second easily, 11-5. But from there on, Jasna's all-around topspin game, with forehand looping and backhand hitting and looping, dominated as she won the last three games easily in winning the match, 8,-5,5,5,2.
Final: Gao Jun vs. Jasna Reed
Like Tawny, you could see that Jasna simply wasn't comfortable against Gao's varied pips-out blocks and sudden hits. She warmed up for the match with coach Sasa Drinic, who was using inverted; perhaps they should have gotten a sheet of pips for her to warm up against? On the other hand, she did start out fast.
Jasna went up 6-3 in the first, but would only score another 16 points the rest of the match as Gao won, 8,5,3,6. In game three, Gao led 10-1; in game four, Gao led 10-4 - and while many expected an exhibition point to end it, Jasna fought back, winning the next two points with nice rallies before Gao took the last point.
It was Gao's eighth USA Women's Singles title, to go along with eight Women's Doubles titles (winning here with Tawny Banh) and seven Mixed Doubles titles (winning here with Cheng Yinghua, but not playing in it one year). Overall, she's 23 for 23 in events entered at the USA Nationals - a somewhat unbelievable record.
Said Gao of her undefeated play, "I was so nervous!" When asked why she, who so dominated the competition, would be nervous, she said, "It's been two years since I played in the Nationals, and so I was worried about winning." She has been a student/athlete in China for three years (at the Eastern China University of Science and Technology), studying Economics Trade, and has one more year to go. (She still spends a month or so each year in Maryland, where she lived for six years before starting school in China.) She also said that this might be her last Nationals, although she's not yet sure what she'll do after she graduates. But she mentioned that the women's competition in the U.S. would be going up the following year, even in her absence, with Wang Chen and Crystal Huang both expected to become citizens by then.
Women's 3-4 Playoff
Tawny Banh went up 2-1 in games against Jackie Lee, but had to come back the next two games. In game four, Jackie led 10-9 and 12-11, but Tawny wins, 14-12. In game five, Jackie again leads, this time 9-4 and 10-8, but helped by Jackie's missed smash at 10-9, Tawny wins, 12-10, to win 4-1 and finish 3rd. (Game and point scores for this match is not available, but will be added later.)
Women's 5-8 Playoffs
In the crossovers, Lily Yip defeated Virginia Sung, while Whitney Ping defeated Chen Dongye. In the match for 5th, Lily defeated Whitney. In the match for 7th, Chen defeated Virginia. So the order of finish was: 5th Lily Yip; 6th Whitney Ping; 7th Chen Dongye; 8th Virginia Sung. Here are the actual results:
Over 30
In the absence of the four semifinalists in Men's Singles - all well over age 30 - Shao Yu romped through the events, not losing a game. Tuan Le pushed him in the semifinals, but Shao won at 3,15,10. In a spectacular final, Shao defeated lobber/all-around topspinner James Therriault, 2,5,7.
Junior Girls' Trials
These Trials had started the night before, but didn't finish until today. As expected, top-seed Judy came in first at 7-0, but she had to overcome a shaky start to do so. In the first match of the trials, she played Wendy Eav, and lost the first two games at 5 & 4! But she won the next three at 6,8,3. Coming in second was Barbara Wei, 5-2, who had come in seeded seventh. She'd been a hitter for many years, but had been working hard on looping for the past year, and after a number of poor showings, finally made a major breakthrough. She said her return of serve was also greatly improved. Coming in third was Laura Xiao, also 5-2, but losing to Barbara head-to-head. Taking the last spot at 4-3 was Sophia Dan Dan Yi. So the final 2005 USA Junior Girls Team is: 1st Judy Hugh, 7-0; 2nd Barbara Wei, 5-2; 3rd Laura Xiao, 5-2; 4th Sophia Dan Dan Yi, 4-3. (See complete results of these and the other junior & cadet team trials.)
Boy's Primary School (Under 13) Singles
Marcus Jackson defeated Justen Yao in the final (-7,9,8,6), but it was in the semifinals, against sometimes-practice partner Joseph Wang, that he almost fell. Joseph won the first two games, and was up 10-8 match point in the fifth before Marcus pulled it out, -9,-8,6,4,11.
Boys' Elementary School (Under 10) Singles
Neither Austin Preiss nor Alexander Yao lost a game in reaching the final, and the two dynamos (seeded #1 and #2) clashed in the final, which went the full distance, with Austin winning, 8,-10,4,-8,6.
Girls' Primary School (Under 13) Singles
#2 seed Alicia Wei didn't lose a game in reaching the final, while #1 seed Olena Sowers lost only one (and pulled out a 15-13 game in winning the semifinal over Willa Tammy Gu, 1,13,8). In the final, after splitting a pair of 11-6 games, Sowers won the last two easily in winning at 6,-6,7,7.
Girls' Elementary School (Under 10) Singles
In an all-Bay Area matchup, Ariel Hsing defeated Lily Zhang in the final, 3,9,-8,4. Ariel earlier had won Under 1100 in front of a huge cheering crowd over a good-natured and three time her size Jon Shields, who hopefully got Ariel to autograph the photo of the two so he'll have it someday when Ariel goes on to table tennis greatness.
Other Happenings
Ruben Kairy won the Dr. Michael Scott Umpire award, while Julian Waters once again won the Ironman Award for playing the most USATT tournament matches for the year. And USATT Vice President George Brathwaite, on winning Over 70 Singles and feeling charitable, donated his $300 prize money as prize money for the disabled events.
Other Saturday Results
Under 2200 - Final: Earl James Alto d. Michael Wang, 6,10,11; SF: Alto d. Lloyd McQueen, 3,5,9; Wang d. Roland Bozo, -11,3,2,9; QF: Alto d. Ray Mack, -9,9,-9,9,5; McQueen d. Vineet Agarwal, 5,5,7; Bozo d. John Allen, def.; Wang d. Kit Jeerapaet, 8,-11,-8,17,7.
Under 2100 - Final: Kevin Phung d. Joseph Cochran, 7,-4,12,9; SF: Phung d. Wallace Liu, 5,9,9; Cochran d. Matthew Lee, -11,6,5,-5,9; QF: Lee d. Victor Leaung, -6,7,6,10; Cochran d. Don James Alto, 9,9,7; Phung d. Brent Swanson, 13,-4,10,10; Liu d. Masaru Hashimoto, -5,8,-9,7,7.
Under 1900 - Final: Brana Vlasic d. Josh Kuhn, 7,-9,-11,9,13; SF: Vlasic d. Gordon Cochran, 3,-8,9,9; Kuhn d. Chris Doyle, 8,10,-6,6.
Under 1700 - Final: Robert Trudell d. Willy Castillo Jr., 6,12,7; SF: Trudell d. Dan Seemiller Jr., 9,-9,-10,14,3; Castillo d. Jerry Marcum, 15,-11,7,13.
Under 1600/Over 40 - Final: Ronald Albright d. Jim Raymond, 4,2,3; SF: Albright d. Winston Ngai, 5,9,2; Raymond d. Martin Ventura, 8,7,-14,6.
Under 1100 - Final: Ariel Hsing d. Jon Shields, -9,15,6,8; SF: Hsing d. John James Alto, 7,9,8; Shields d. Arkadiy Ravin, 5,-9,7,7.
Standing Disabled Class 6-7 - Final: Norman Bass d. Robert Bowlander, 10,6,6
Standing Disabled Class 8-10 - Final: Ashraf Moustafa d. Mitch Seidenfeld, -12,11,-0,5,7.