2002 Western Open

Saturday, 18 May 2002

Balboa Park Activity Center San Diego, CA May 18-19, 2002 Why are we drawn to watch sporting events?  What is the source of the American fascination with great athletes and games?  I believe that sports give us, as spectators and participants, the opportunity to know what is possible.  Is it possible that Table Tennis will one day be a mainstream sport in the United States?  Is it possible to come from behind, trailing 9-5 in the deciding game?  Is it possible to defeat that marvelous player, Fan Yi Yong?  Answers to these questions were found at the Western Open in San Diego, the first stop of the 2002 STIGA North American Tour. Now in its third year, the NA Tour has opened a new realm of what is possible for our sport.  In addition to the 200+ entrants, 200 non-playing spectators responded to pre-tournament publicity to watch Open Singles on Sunday.  Two TV stations aired video and results of that event.  NATT once again had flawless on-time tournament performance and outstanding playing conditions on SDTTA's home turf, the Balboa Park Activity Center. People make all the difference.  Tournament President Richard Lee and Tournament Director Fong Hsu did outstanding work assisted by Wendy Troy at registration.  Referee Linda Hsing and her corps of Umpires, Saul Weinstein, Len Winkler, Mas Hashimoto, Larry Hodges and Stan and Olga Kahan, provided competent, uncontroversial support to play throughout the weekend.  Mitch Rothfleisch of Table Tennis Pioneers provided sponsorship and a retail presence for the players.  The players themselves were outstanding, well behaved, and displayed their best games.  It was a great start for the third year of North American Tour operation. Whitney Ping showed that there are new possibilities in store for her, as she knocked down Michelle Do to win the Women's Singles crown.  Whitney also took the Under 18 Girls title away from Alina Khasinova, but came second to Michelle in Under 22 Women.  She played well and deep into several of the ratings events as well. Adding to the tournament excitement were three Hungarian players, gunning for "their share" of the $5,000 in prize money.  Attila Turbok, Robert Pagonyi and Dezso Racz trekked down from their new home in the LA area to challenge American powerhouses like Jim Butler, Eric Owens and Fan Yi Yong for the Western Open Singles title. In NA Tour Open Singles, the Top 12 rated players are given byes to a "Second Stage RR," while 36 others contested four open slots for challengers.  By Saturday afternoon, our 16 players for Stage 2 were set and ready to go. Group One Defending Tour Champion and Western Open Champ Fan Yi Yong did not drop a game in his three matches, but as the scores attest, it was no walkover.  He defeated Attila Malek, (10,10,7,3); Ashu Jain, (10,2,10,2); and Courtney Roberts (10,9,6,3).  Malek nailed down the second spot and a ticket to the Sunday Quarterfinal by upsetting Ashu Jain, 10,10,9,4.  Courtney Roberts broke back against Ashu in the 4th and 5th games, but ultimately landed fourth in the group. Group Two U.S. Men's Singles Champion Eric Owens reigned supreme here, taking down Dezso Racz, (4,4,5,-9,6); De Tran (10,6,6,5) and Sean O'Neill (7,7,8,-9,6).  Racz won a six-game tussle with De Tran, making his match with O'Neill pivotal.  It went to deuce in the 7th game before Racz closed out Sean's possible future, (-12,8,7,-4,8,-8,10).  De Tran and O'Neill then staged a rematch of the U-2500 final, with Tran reversing the earlier result, (-7,-6,7,8,-8,5,12) and placing himself a close third. Group Three Is it possible that Jim Butler has completed his recovery from the back injury that has hampered him since 1999?  It appears so, as he triumphs over Tuan Le (8,-12,5,4,12); Tri Dinh (8,3,7,7) and most impressively, over Robert Pagonyi after trailing 2-1 (7,-8,-7,7,10,5).  The flashy Pagonyi easily dispatches Le (7,4,4,4) and Dinh (9,9,8,8) to advance. Tri Dinh won the bragging rights match with Le (6,6,-8,9,-8,7). Group Four Attila Turbok, the NA Teams veteran, is a master of spin and soft blocks, an all-round player whose defects are hard to find.  He showed it by beating Lee McCool (8,8,-5,6,7); a fighting Tahl Leibovitz (9,10,-6,14,7) and, most shockingly, Khoa Nguyen (6,9,9,7).  Khoa managed to hold on to the second spot by notching a five-gamer against Tahl and a six-game struggle with McCool, but clearly was not at his best.  Leibovitz relegated McCool to the four spot (12,-9,9,7,10). The Quarterfinals ran concurrently on Table 1 through 4, with $60 going to the defeated players. Fan vs. Racz: It was a cruel coin flip that landed Deszo against the defending champ, and Fan made it quick work, (6,8,2,6,5) in the best of nine game match.  "My blade is too slow" Racz gave by way of explanation after the match.  Fan makes a lot of people feel that way, Deszo. Butler vs. Nguyen: Khoa looked fresher and more energized than the day before, taking the first game at 9.  But hear this!  Butler is back.  His movements are more natural and his backhand more fluid than they have been in many years, and he comes back from a 10-8 deficit in the second game to win.  Four in row?  It's possible.  Khoa answers the cheers and exhortations of his large and loud Southern Cal fan club with a 11-4 point victory in the third game.  Jim answers by taking the next game at 3.  This is a total battle now, with Khoa powering his way to an eventual 4-3 lead, deuce victory in the 7th game.  If only Khoa had been able to steer home that 10-8 second-game lead!  Jimmy puts it away with 8 and 4 point wins in Games 8 and 9 as Khoa's forehand simply deserts him. Turbok vs. Malek: In total contrast to the power display on table two, Attila and Attila have a seesaw spinfest, with drop shots, misdirection and "forced errors" the order of the day.  Head to head, it becomes easy to see the similarities in the Hungarian's games.  In the end, the younger man prevails, Turbok in 6, (4,5,6,6,-9,6). Owens vs. Pagonyi: Wow.  Certainly the best match of the quarters.  Pagonyi works Eric side to side, and scores by catching him in transition.  The play is simply breathtaking between these two closely matched opponents.  Pagonyi takes three of the first four games and builds a commanding 3-1 lead, losing only the second game, at deuce. But Eric makes the shot of the tournament in the fifth game. Robert drives a Loop straight into Owens' elbow, catching him moving to his wide forehand.  Somehow, miraculously, Eric stops and bringing his paddle up behind his ear blindly blocks that vicious shot down the line for a winner.  The crowd erupts in appreciation, as they do repeatedly throughout the match.  Now Eric rips off a string of victories in games 5, 6, and 7 to take the lead 4-3.  Both of these athletes are in top condition, and they needed to be for what they gave us next.  Pagonyi refuses to go away, and powerloops his way to a 10-point victory in the 8th game.  Tied at four games apiece, and the only match still in progress, the determined players battle to 5-all in the ninth game.  Pagonyi exhorts himself to new heights and is in a commanding 9-5 position as Owens serves, hard, fast and deep, fearlessly into Robert's backhand corner. Pagonyi steps around and OH! just misses scoring that 10th point.  9-6.  Is it possible?  The crowd is screaming on every point as Owens shows a lionheart, scoring 5 in a row to lead 10-9.  Pagonyi gets the deuce and the crowd goes nuts.  Seesaw, no quit, and in the end, a huge roar for Owens!  He solidly won the crowd with this one, (-9,10,-3,-7,9,6,11,-10,14!). Semifinals: Side by side on Tables 1 and 2, with $250 to the defeated players. Fan vs. Butler: Since Fan's loss to Hazinski at the Buckeye, a door to a new world of possibilities has been opened.  Butler seems poised to step through that door when, after five games, he leads 3-2.  Fan is flat, shaking his head between games, as if weary.  There is also the strange sight of Butler playing into Fan's backhand and winning!  Jimmy's "stick" is working viciously and driving Fan from the table. Once he's a couple of steps from the table, Fan is not the monster he is when welded to the endline.  As the match progresses, Fan plays more and more into Jimmy's wide forehand, dragging him to the right to expose the open table.  He wins the last three games in a row to move past Butler.  Fan goes to the final. (11,-8,10,-8,-6,11,8,5) Owens vs. Turbok: Eric is in prime condition, and he needs to be, having almost no turn-around time after his 9-gamer with Pagonyi.  Turbok is a smart player, exploiting his opponent's tendencies, but quickly trails 2-0.  He ties matters up at 2-all, and following two deuce games, 3-all.  His service game is clicking and he is determined to reach the Final, puts himself on the doorstep, 11-9 in the 7th.  The crowd has adopted Eric, and he rises to the their expectations, his back to the wall as he overpowers Turbok in games 8 and 9.  (10,3,-5,-9,10,-10,-9,9,5) Final: $1500 for first, $750 for second. Fan vs. Owens: Again, moving from one match straight to the next, Eric meets Fan for the title. Fan's service game is deceptively effective, with top players totally fooled by the amount of underspin he can create (or not create!) with the same easy motion. But after three games, Owens leads 2-1 and the crowd is humming.  Is it possible?  Well of course it is.  But is today the day?  Fan brings himself to new heights of efficiency as he refuses to let Eric into games 4, 5 and 6.  He not only wins the points; he is attempting to drain his hard-working opponent as he does so. Feeling it all slip away, Owens reaches deep and staves off elimination with a heroic 7th game 15-13 win!  But it is the last drop in the tank, and Fan grabs the title in the 8th.  (4,-7,-7,5,8,4,-13,1!) Four hundred smiling spectators head for the exits, thirty STIGA Expert tables head for the truck and the NA Tour heads for its next stop, the Stiga Open in Delaware in June.  The air is charged with possibility, as America's only Pro series of events kicks off its third season in high style. Open Singles - Final: Fan Yi Yong d. Eric Owens, 4,-7,-7,5,8,4,-13,1; SF: Fan d. Jim Butler, 11,-8,10,-8,-6,11,8,5; Owens d. Attila Turbok, 10,3,-5,-9,10,-10,-9,9,5; QF: Fan d. Dezso Racz, 6,8,2,6,5; Butler d. Khoa Nguyen, -9,10,-4,3,-6,6,-10,8,4; Turbok d. Attila Malek, 4,5,6,6,-9,6; Owens d. Robert Pagonyi, -9,10,-3,-7,9,6,11,-10,14. Women's Singles: 1st Whitney Ping; 2nd Michelle Do. Over 40: 1st Rudy Miranda; Phillip 2nd Caillaud. Over 50: Bill Ryan d. Ralph Guillory, 4-0. Over 60: Ragnar Fahlstrom d. Suresh Kanekar, 4-0. Under 22 Men: 1st Lee McCool; 2nd Auria Malek. Under 22 Women: 1st Michelle Do; 2nd Whitney Ping. Under 18 Boys: 1st Auria Malek; 2nd Michael Amren. Under 18 Girls: 1st Whitney Ping; 2nd Alina Khasinova. Under 16 Boys: Earl James Alto d. Scott Crane, 4-0. Under 16 Girls: 1st Victorya Birioukova; 2nd Veronika Birioukova. Under 13: Veronika Birioukova d. Sean Lee, 4-0. Under 10 Boys: 1st Don James Alto; 2nd Jonathan Chen. U2500: Sean O'Neill d. De Tran, 4-0. U2375: De Tran d. Lee McCool, 4-2. U2250: David Umel, Jr. d. Mas Hashimoto, 4-1. U2125: Doan Le d. Harold Gomez, 4-1. U2000: Michael Gift d. Robert Hallquist, 4-3. U1850: Tom Wintrich d. Hugh Lu, 4-2. U1700: Hiep Nyguen d. Bang Tran, 4-2. U1550: David Kelly d. William Cooper, 4-0. U1400: Richard Kim d. George Zillmer, 4-2. U1250: George Zillmer d. Jeff Crane, 4-2. U1100: Raymond Garcia d. William Wong, 4-1. U950: Mani Chinnaiah; Kenneth McCormick. U800/Novice: 1st Richard Vattione; 2nd Bogdan Rygalski. U4200 Doubles: Vuong/Ngyuen d. Farah/Nikoi, 4-1. U3200 Doubles: Alto/Clune d. Escobar/Michelson, 4-1.

Last Updated ( Wednesday, 05 January 2005 )

 

< Prev