CHAPTER ONE

           

            1975: Beginning-of-the-Year Tournaments.

 

            Might as well start off this new Volume with a bizarre story covered by, first, the Seattle Post-Intelligencer (Feb. 12, 15, 17, 1975), then picked up more than three weeks later by the N. Y. Times (Mar. 6). National Table Tennis League President Windsor Olson, after a Feb. 3, 1975 match in Hubbard, OR, “ordered the Taiwan Team to forfeit the [World Professional] championship [to the Seattle Sockeyes].” Why? Because, according to Taiwanese Team Captain Chiang Pai Ching, his players were accused of applying “toothpaste to the ball” to gain some kind of advantage—one they hardly needed since they say Olson himself had asked Chiang to please have his players dump some matches, maybe even allow the Americans to win, to make the contest more exciting to the spectators. The charge is “ridiculous,” said Chiang, whose Team won the match 5-1, thus boosting their three-year record against the American players to 18 and 1. “It is evident that we can easily defeat the United States without employing tricks….Besides, it is unheard of to use toothpaste on a ball. Furthermore, if white toothpaste was used, it would immediately be noticed on the red or blue paddles.”

             Olson said that the Taiwanese “are very nationalistic” and used this foreign substance “for fear of ‘losing face’ in a defeat.” He said, “After the matches, when we put up the table, we found [that], underneath, it was smeared with toothpaste.” Olson said, “I took pictures, and tasted it myself.” 

Perhaps Olson, who didn’t level his criticism against the Taiwanese until they’d left for home, was just trying to generate some publicity. Certainly that’s what his early-April National Table Tennis League Newsletter was trying to do:

 

“…The National Table Tennis League just finished a West Coast tour, including Anchorage and Juneau, Alaska, with very excellent paid attendance gates, the largest gate being over $8,000.00.

The National Table Tennis League is getting world publicity, not only through UPI, AP but also Reuthers [sic] News Service and extended coverage in the Far East.

The National Table Tennis League now has professional teams playing in Africa, South America, Canada, United States and the Far East….”

 

No stoppin’ them now, huh? But who would want to? Meanwhile, Lou Bochenski says that a match held at the Paddle Palace between the Seattle Sockeyes and the Portland Kings was a “flop.” Too near to home perhaps. Tom Ruttinger and Joe Lee will soon have to vacate their Seattle Ping Pong Parlor. Their lease is up, and they’ve not yet found another place. Maybe they and their other Sockeye, Rob Roberts, will opt to tour the Far East—as World Champions they should be much in demand.

            As for the Paddle Palace, Lou Bochenski (TTT, May-June, 1975, 11), while pleased with having their players’ league and tournament ratings up to date, and encouraged by their increased mailing list, points out that Club improvements are needed. Especially since Lou and crew have just signed a new 5-year lease (which includes an apartment in the building that allows Lou’s wife Dotty “to move back and forth with ease as she is needed”). Since the acoustics are bad, a better PA system would help. Also, in addition to the excellent Sitco Robot they have, they’d like a videotape machine for use in coaching. “Showers are needed, but location, plumbing, electricity, etc. are major problems.” Since Earl Adams has offered to work at lowering the lights, that should reduce the Club’s $125 a month electric bill. Still, a “lighted sign for out front” might be worth the expense.

            Leagues are “the backbone of the Paddle Palace.” What works for Lou are not the Team or Handicap leagues that have been popular, say, at Magoo’s, but the “round robin ability groupings” that move players up or down. Handicap leagues encourage pushing; the ability groupings encourage all-out attack The latter seems to be increasing the in-depth strength of the club. Lou works hard at trying to get publicity, and repeatedly gives “dozens of exhibitions in school assemblies, shopping centers, half time of ball games, etc.” After handling about “80 or 90 school assemblies this year,” Lou says “we have a list of several hundred students who marked down their name, phone number and age on sheets saying that they are interested in table tennis at the Paddle Palace.” Hopefully we can get them to play this summer.

            Meanwhile, Lou continues to put on monthly tournaments—touting John Gold, who takes part in school exhibitions, as his newest young “find”; John will accompany other Club players to the Houston National’s. Results of the Jan. Funpak Open: Open Singles: Han Vo Qui in 5 over Dave Davallou, then over Danny Mattson, deuce in the 4^th, after Danny had upset Ron Carver, 18 in the 5^th. Women’s went to Marie Mason, ranked U.S. #1 in Girls U-13, over Selena Kyes. Marie will win the Oregon Closed over Robin Hammond, but will have no chance against Elsie Spinning in the Feb. Sportcraft Open. Open Doubles: Dunbar Carpenter/Paul Chang over Bob Ho/Davallou, deuce in the 3^rd, then over Mike Bochenski/Ed Ng. Senior’s: Bob Ho over Jim Tisler. College: Charlie McLarty over Mattson (home on vacation from far away Drury College in Springfield, MO). High School: Bochenski over Mike Sheffer, -19, 21, 15, then over Jay Crystal. Handicap: Dean Doyle over M. Bochenski.

            A’s: Jan.: Mattson over Vancouver’s Alan Bajkov, 19 in the 3rd, then over Carpenter. Mattson thus becomes “a member of the exclusive ‘Master’ rating class.” B’s: Eric Weisenborn over Crystal. B Doubles: Vazquez/Bruce Douglas over Dick Dubonne/Olson, 18 in the 3^rd. C’s: Doyle over Dubonne, -11, 21, 20, then over Mason, 18, 24. D’s: Scott Levitin over Peter Kreisler who’d knocked out Doyle, 19 in the 3^rd. E’s: Mike LaMear over David Orr. F’s: Bill Popp over Mike Menashe. Unrated: Ron Wetz over LaMear, 24-22 in the 3^rd, then over John Fredrickson.

The Mar. Oregon Closed Open winner was Carver—who, Greg Brendon tells us, is in his mid-20’s, married, and “a full-time fish-hatchery employee for the state”—over Carl Cole, after Carl in a gutsy –15, -16, 17, 21, 20 performance had rallied by Judy Bochenski. Jeff Kurtz had two good 5-game wins in this three-tournament stretch—over Han and Dunbar Carpenter. Open Doubles: the brother/sister duo of Mike/Judy Bochenski over Carver/Kurtz. Senior’s: Ho over Earl Adams. College: Ed Ng over McLarty. Under 15’s: Doyle over David James, deuce in the 3^rd. Handicap: Mike Mahoney over Brian Wright. A’s: Carpenter over Adams. B’s Bill Mason over Ken Adair, deuce in the 3^rd, then over Crystal who beat Art Schuff, 19 in the 3^rd. C’s: Adair over Kevin Young. D’s: Wetz over Warren Palin. E’s: Gene McManus over Eric Lugert. F’s: McManus over Terry Miller. G’s: Mike Mahoney over Steve Hall. Warm Up’s: Muhammed Popoola over Lugert, 19 in the 3^rd, then over Marie Mason. All Comers: Doyle over Douglass, 19 in the 3^rd.

San Francisco held its Winter Open Mar. 8-9 with the following results. Open: Dean Galardi, 20, 21, -14, 12 over Al Everett who went 5 with Dave Chan. Women’s: Jai Howard over Pam Ramsey. Open Doubles: Everett/Henry Fung over Galardi/Rob Lange, deuce in the 5^th. Mixed: Shonie Aki/Lyn Kienitz over Lange/Ramsey. A’s: Joe Sanchez over Lange. B’s: King Tom over Masaaki Tajima in 5. C’s: Frank Chang over S. Chan in 5. B-C Doubles: Tito LeFranc/Kohler over Tom/Tajima. D’s: Phat over Witaker. D Doubles: Dee-Dehdashti over Ross/Ed Hogshead, 18 in the 5^th. Senior’s: Azmy Ibrahim over Harry Nelson. Junior’s: Galardi over Fung.

At the Hollywood Club’s Jan. 11-12 New Year’s Open, Paul Raphel won the Men’s—in succession over Eric Thom in 5, over Galardi in 4 (after Dean was down 2-1 to Everett), and over Ray Guillen, 20, 18, 20. Women’s went to Angelita Rosal over Pat Crowley. Julius Paal took the Senior’s from Danny Banach, 18 in the 5^th. Senior Doubles: Carmen Ricevuto/Frank Suran over Banach/Jerry LaLande. U-17’s: Galardi over LeFranc. U-15’s: Robert Livingston over Jim Lane. U-13’s: Lane over Reagan Tom, 32-30 [sic] in the 3^rd, then over Mike Chapman. Junior Doubles: LeFranc/Tom over Craig Manoogian/Mas Hashimoto.

A’s: Mike Carr over Sanchez, -10, -20, 17, 20, 17. A Doubles: Carr/Keith Ogata over Yeung/Dieter Huber. B’s: Manoogian over Kent Lofthouse. B Doubles: Scott McClure/LeFranc over LaLande/Richard Banagas. C’s: LeFranc over Jim Boatman. C Doubles: Templeton/DeFrance over Ron and Rick Watkins, 18 in the 5^th. D’s: Ricky Guillen over Greg Plakos. D Doubles: Livingston/Huber over Sneddon/Kittle.

Changes are going on at a couple of the California clubs. Gene Wilson tells us that on Jan. 23 the Burbank Club “was opened for play for the 600^th time.” And it’s open only on Thursday nights! Thanks go to George Kelemen who “plans, schedules, and runs tournaments with engineering accuracy.” Since the usual Olive Rec. Center gym is being remodeled, the Club meets at the McCambridge Center. Gene says that the Club has gotten to be too popular—with the result that it’s been “necessary to restrict members to players who live or work in Burbank.”

Fran Lipsker announces that now there’s a Southern California Club in Long Beach. “After knocking down cement-block walls, hand-cutting and refinishing the floor, painting the 3700 square feet of walls, carving out a super-comfy lounge area and setting up a permanent food and equipment area”—presto!—a new Club was born. It’s open weekday evenings, and Saturday afternoons. It features “a Club ladder, Coaching (Tuesday nights), Handicap tournaments (Wednesday nights), Team matches (every six weeks), and USTTA and CTTA approved Tournaments throughout the year.” Sounds great—but very soon Fran and her husband Steve DeFrance will have to close up shop after losing “several thousands” on this venture. On Feb. 1-2, the Club held its first Open and drew 75 players. Here are the results:

Men’s: Guillen over Galardi. Women’s: Cheryl Albright over Diane Stephens. Open Doubles: Everett/Pat Cox over Galardi/Lange, 25-23 in the deciding 3^rd. A’s: P. Nakatsura over S. Yeung. A Doubles: Carr/Ogata over Banagas/Harold Kopper. B’s: Yeung over Ogata. B Doubles: Lofthouse/Ogata over Boatman/Yeung. C’s: J. Stewart, 24-22 in the 4^th, over Hashimoto who survived Boatman, 23-21 in the 3^rd. C Doubles: Boatman/Stephens over Richard Valentine/Scott McClure. Senior’s: Suran over Ricevuto. U-17’s: Galardi over Ron Lee. U-15’s: Lee over Lane. U-13’s: Lane over Tom. Junior Doubles: Hashimoto/Paul Groenig over Galardi/Lee Lawson.

            Galardi and Lange, with the help of Lou Dubin, have formed a “Quicksport” exhibition partnership. At the Feb. 15-16 Arizona Open, played in Phoenix’s luxurious Salvation Army Gym, they gave a short demonstration of how they’re preparing to entertain at the “Sportsman and Recreation Show” in April at the L.A. Convention Center. Pam Ramsey describes how they played “with 1 ball, then 2, then 3, then 4, then 5 in a continuous rally, and then decreased the amount of balls back to 1.” They also demonstrated “Lange’s fast powerful slams and the consistency of Galardi’s 20-foot lobs.”

            The 16-year-old Galardi, showing what Phoenix Club President Forrest Barr called “remarkable concentration” while audibly celebrating with a “That’s it!” after every winning point, bested former Arizona State Champion Al Everett in a thrilling 5-game final. Pam Ramsey, 4 months into playing again after a 6-year absence, almost pulled off a rally after going down 2-0 in her Woman’s final with Liz Gresham, but lost in 5. Pam, however, did win the Mixed with Everett, former Phoenix local now living in California. Open Doubles, with Galardi successfully attacking his opponents’ serves, went to the Quicksport duo over Everett/Cox.

            Other results in this 97-entry tournament: A’s: Al Martz over Richard Badger. A Doubles: Final: Ed Stein/Mui over John Harrington/Bill Guerin. Semi’s: Stein/Mui over Lange/Davis, 23-21 in the 3^rd; Harrington/Guerin over Kopper/Livingston, 19 in the 3^rd. B’s: Martz over W. Livingston. B Doubles: Turek/Weich over Mui/Stein in 5-games, three of which went deuce. C’s: Neil Christensen over Mohammed Habib. D’s: B. Rider over G. Fitch, 17, -18, 22, 22. Consolation’s: Richard Alden over Barr. Esquire’s: Stein over Badger, 23-21 in the 4^th. Senior’s: Stein over Sy Kenig who’d outlasted Jim DeMet, 19 in the 5^th. U-17’s: Galardi over Woodmere, N.Y.’s Jeff Zakarin. U-15’s: Chuck Zakarin over Peter Braun.

            Ray Johnson reports (TTT, Mar.-Apr., 1975, 8B) on the Jan. 18-19 Irving, TX Open, held at the Senter Park Rec Center. “Wear your rubber off your racket” was the weekend’s theme with 20 MATCHES guaranteed for every player. Seventy-two singles entries competed on 12 tables—which meant, initially, 12 round robin groups of 6, and hence in each group 6 LEVELS of finish. Thus, the 12 #1 finishers, the 12 #2 finishers, the 12 #3 finishers, and so on, fell into 6 separate events, Championship through Class E. Each event divided its 12 players into two round robins, thus producing 6 classes of finalists. The Doubles followed a similar format.

            Results: Singles: Championship: Richard James over Joe Cummings in 5. (James would later at Lubbock be the runner-up to Irl Copely.) A’s: Don Weems over Jack “Buddy” Melamed. B’s: Richard Puls over Dave McMillan. C’s: Larry Puls over Jeff Wise in 5. D’s: Lou Braddock over Joe Brazil. E’s: Robert Hindman over Bill Matter. Doubles: Championship: Paul LeBlanc/Cummings over Perry Schwartzberg/Weems. A’s: Grady Gordon/D.G. Van Vooren over Chuck Griffin/James Cross. B’s: Meredith Elston/Larry Puls over Tim Parker/R.C. Watkins. C’s: Dan Rodriguez/Catarino Adame over McMillan/Steve Arnold, 19 in the 3^rd. D’s: Brazil/Hindman over Jerry McElveen/Matter. E’s: Mike Roddy/Doug Whitwood over Terry Ziegler/Larry Melamed. Special Sportsmanship Awards went to Anna Lynn and Larry Schuessler.

            The Topics Mar.-Apr, 1975 Club of the Month (9B) goes to…Sloan, Iowa (pop. 800—that’s the whole town; the Club has about 30 members). United Congregational Church of Christ Pastor Vic Engelmann tells us that he and his wife Irene had played recreational ping-pong for 20 years when they’d arrived in Sloan in 1972. Since their 9-year-old son had won some YMCA trophies and so showed promise, they all went off to a Sweeris training camp in Grand Rapids. When they came back, Vic got some financial backing and the approval of the Town Council to use the town’s Community Hall as a Club venue. Then he and a core-group of players, encouraged and emboldened, decided in the fall of ’73 to hold the Iowa Open. But then, just as everything was falling into place, something unexpected happened. Here’s Vic to explain:

 

“I ended up in the hospital with a slow heartbeat that caused me regular fainting spells. Lying in the hospital with heartbeats down to about 20 per minute, I never gave up the idea of carrying out the plans for the tournament. I praise God to this day for the miracle that he wrought in me through medical science when a pacemaker was installed and I was soon back on my feet again.”

 

            In the two playing seasons since, the Sloan Club has invited Jeff Smart for a coaching clinic and been able to maintain a league with six three-man teams. By 1975, with Vic’s dogged persistence in getting publicity, their Sloan Iowa Open drew 130 entries. The affable U.S. Team Captain/Coach Houshang Bozorgzadeh agreed to partner Vic in the A’s and Vic’s son Mark in the B’s. He came early, gave two school exhibitions, and was a houseguest of the Engelmanns. It wasn’t until Saturday that he got a chance to practice with Mark. They found another doubles pair, and started in. Surprisingly, the boy “had a strange way of holding his paddle and so Houshang suggested he hold it differently”—which he obligingly did during their hour or so of practice. Later, out on court for their match, Houshang didn’t want to put any pressure on the kid, so told him if he wanted to hold his racket the “old” way that would be alright. When Mark looked at him quizzically, didn’t know what he was talking about, Houshang realized the look-alike he’d been practicing with hadn’t been the real Mark that was standing beside him now.

            It was great that players came from “as far as Moline, IL, 350 miles to the east; Minneapolis, MN, 290 miles to the north; and Lincoln, NE, 150 miles to the southwest.” But this Open offered 18 events, and Vic had too few tables. Alas, he said, “on finishing around 2 a.m. Sunday morning, we concluded that perhaps having big city ideas in a small town club is O.K. but maybe in another year we will have to make it a two-day affair instead of one.”

            Results: Men’s: Bozorgzadeh over Pete Tellegen who’d eliminated Don Larson, deuce in the 4^th. Women’s/Girls U-17: Diana Myers over Sheila O’Dougherty. Men’s A’s: Gellner over Mark Kennedy, 19 in the 5^th. Women’s A’s: E. Risch over V. Heller. A Consolation: M. Walsh over D. Jones. A Doubles: Greg Redmond/Gellner over Bozorgzadeh/Engelmann. B’s: J. Hinde over Walsh. B Doubles: Bozorgzadeh/Engelmann over Hall/Kennedy. Novice: Terry Medina over Mark Engelmann, deuce in the 3^rd. Senior’s: L. Harris over D. Cunningham. Boys U-17’s: Redmond over Todd Petersen. U-17 Doubles: Redmond/John Stillions over Kennedy/Myers. Boys U-15’s/U-13’s: Petersen over Stillions. U-15 Doubles: Myers/Petersen over Stillions/Tom Luxford. Boys U-11’s: Tom Soderberg over G. Hicks. Junior Novice: Luxford over Billy Gulick.

            Winners at the Jan. 25-26 Minneapolis Winter Carnival Open: Team’s: Larson/Chapman over Steve Strauss/Al Schmitt. Men’s: Manitoba’s Charles Chow over Mike Thomas. Women’s: Sheila O’Dougherty over Takako Trenholme. Open Doubles: Chow/Ranier over Sinykin/Chuck Turchick. Mixed Doubles: Larson/Trenholme over Strauss/O’Dougherty. A’s: Chow over Ed Smook. B’s: Gus Kennedy over O’Dougherty. C’s: Fred Yarusso over Dave Glaister. Esquire’s: Al Faulkner over Chester Halpern. Senior’s: Don Bratt over Halpern. U-17’s: John Soderberg over Greg Mosio. U-15’s: Mosio over Herb Heichert. U-13’s: Brandon Olson over Tom Soderberg. Novice Junior’s: Gary Kerkow over Steve Herrick. Father-Son Doubles: Don/Joel DeRider over Gus/Roger Kennedy.

            The Feb. 1-2 Wisconsin Closed saw Paul Wong win the Men’s over Tony Poulos. Women’s went to veteran Mona Buell over Jill Larmore. Men’s Doubles winners: Wong/Geoff Graham over Poulos/Ted Stomma. Mixed: Wong/P. Chan over Stomma/Buell. A’s: Graham over Laszlo Keves. A Doubles: Keves/Graham over Pfalz/Mayer. B’s: Running over Burlew. Senior’s: Russ Sorenson over John Pfalz. Parents: Schweinert over Nelson. U-17’s: Ben Kunin over Graham. Boys U-15’s: Stein over Pelligrina. Girls U-15: Roxanne Mayer over Lucy Chan. Boy’s U-13’s: Lovett over Weggen. Girls U-13: Cheryl Dadian over Mary Thornton. (In 3 years, Cheryl will be the U.S. Open Girls U-15 Champ.) Junior Doubles: Kunin/Michael over Graham/Ellis.

            Garrett Donner reports (TTT, Mar.-Apr., 1975, 13B) that the Mar. 1 Second Annual Coldwater, MI Open showed appreciable improvement over the First. This year’s tournament drew 91 entries (as opposed to 55 last year), and was played on 12 (not 9) tables. “Local sponsorship was up over 150%”—contributors were “McDonald’s, K Mart, Western Auto, the area banks, the Little King Motel, the Coldwater Recreation Department, and of course Donner Realty.” That allowed cash and trophies given out to increase from $400 to $570. Garrett thanks his wife Joyce and all those who helped them, particularly with the job of unloading and reloading the tables.

            Results: Open: Insook Na over (in a 3-way tiebreaker) runner-up Mike Veillette ($60) in 5 games, and over 3^rd and 4^th-Place finishers Bozorgzadeh (18 in the 4^th) and Paul Pashuku (both $20). Veillette, 19, 20, -16, 17, downed Bozorgzadeh, but 21, -15, -20, -19, lost to Pashuku, who was beaten by Houshang. Jim Davey had been –13, -14, 22, -19 eliminated by Insook, but came out 1^st ($20) in a round robin played among the losing quarterfinalists. Rochester’s 20-year-old Jim Shoots (called—as if for already being a very good pool player?—“The Shooter”) put up a good 20, -20, -20, -16 fight against Veillette. (Last month in a Rochester 1-star Jim upset U.S. #15 Jim Dixon, deuce in the 5^th.) Insook won the Women’s over Barb Taschner (a meager $10), and so upped her weekend winnings to $175.

            Men’s A’s: Mike Baber ($30) over Dan Robbins ($10). Women’s A’s: Donner over Genevieve Hayes. A Doubles: Larry Wood/Jeff Smart over Baber/Tom McEvoy, deuce in the 3^rd, then over Graig Burton/Gary Whiddon. B’s: Shiou-san Kuo over Whiddon. C’s: Larry Wong over John Stillions. C Doubles: Steve Wasik/Burton over Whiddon/Mike Matz. D’s: Gary Calkins over Mike Moriarty, 19 in the 3^rd. Novice: Bob Lichtenheld over Harold Garman, deuce in the 3^rd, then over Rick Conaway. Handicap: Pete Kelly over Torsten Pawlowski, 53-51. Senior’s: Kelly over Bong Ho. Under 17’s: Baber over Lloyd. Under 15’s: Stillions over Wasik  

            The Grand Rapids Woodland Club is now being managed by a group of eight local players, including Dell Sweeris who, earlier, hoping he could make a living from table tennis, had first opened this Club. They had back-to-back Jan.-Feb. tournaments. Results: Open: Jan.: Veillette over Baber. Feb.: Jeff Smart over Bob Hazekamp. Jan.: Women’s: Faan Yeen Liu over Amy Hopping. Feb.: Taschner over Donner. Open Doubles: Jan.: Veillette/Smart over Tom Hall/Shenk. Feb.: Baber/Dave Krizman over Smart/Wood.   Over 40: Jan.: Bill Rapp over C. F. Liu. Feb.: Ho over Larry Ryel. U-17’s: Jan.: Baber over Faan Hoan Liu. Feb.: Lloyd over Baber. U-15’s: Jan.: Faan Hoan over Faan Yeen Liu. Feb. U-13’s: Pawlowski over John Austin.

            A’s: Jan.: Paul Lamse over Hall. Feb.: McEvoy over Hazekamp. B’s: Jan.: Gary Peters over McEvoy. Feb.: Cody Jones over McEvoy. B Doubles: Jan.: F. H. Liu/McEvoy over Shenk/Hopping. Feb.: Lloyd/Brock Huler over McEvoy/Sakoski. C’s: Jan.: G. Donner over Bruce McGee. Feb.: Huler over G. Donner. D’s: Jan.: Ralph Ackerman over Calkins. Feb.: John Missad over Dan Hayes. Handicap: Jan.: A. Hopping over Debbie Payotelis. Feb.: Harry Mikelsons over Pawlowski. Novice: Jan.: Ackerman over Frank Raniville. Feb.: Rich Kintigh over Raniville.

            Frank Sexton covers (TTT, Mar.-Apr., 1975, 12B) the Feb. 15-16 Michigan Closed at Detroit’s Cobo Hall. With Dell Sweeris’s retirement, there was much interest in who would be the new State Men’s Champion. It turned out to be Mike Veillette—though it wasn’t easy for him. In the quarter’s, Sexton himself took him into the 5^th; then in the semi’s Mike had to get by “17-time Michigan Men’s Singles Champion Chuck Burns,” which he did in 4. That brought him to Bill Lesner who’d eliminated Pete Kelly and Danny Robbins. Frank was enthusiastic over a point Bill played against Danny, whose defensive prowess had once taken him to the semi’s of the U.S. Open. “Lesner smashed and looped five balls into Robbins’s backhand then blasted one deep into his forehand. By now, more than 20 feet back from the table, Robbins lined one of his patented hard low chops that Lesner was forced to push. Robbins raced in to retrieve the ball—only to have Lesner smash in a forehand.”

Mike and Bill played a taut 5-game final in which Sexton said, “Veillette displayed an amazing ability to come from behind on the strength of some very fine services and a consistently deadly forehand.” In the end-game 5^th, down 17-19, “Lesner missed a hard backhand”—and that was the match.

Results: Men’s Doubles: Kelly/Ed Brennan over Kuo-Ho in 5, then over Whiddon/Burton. Women’s: Maureen Farmer over Michele McKinstry. Women’s Doubles: Cathy Payotelis/ Ruth Johnson. Mixed Doubles: McEvoy/Farmer. Esquire’s: Chuck Burns over Bill Rapp. Senior’s: Kelly over Ho. Senior Doubles: 1. Burns/Kelly. A’s: Wood over McEvoy. A Doubles: Wood/Ryel over Bob Tunnell/Bob Quinn in 5. B’s: Tunnell (from down 2-0) over George Buben, 19 in the 5^th. B Doubles: McEvoy/Andy Hopping over Whiddon/Tunnell (from down 2-0). C’s: D. J. Sheth over Ron Tate. Boys U-17: Baber over Kurt Lloyd. Girls U-17: C. Payotelis over McKinstry in 5. U-15 Boys: Pawlowski over Steve Veillette. U-15 Girls: C. Payotelis over Hopping in 5. U-13 Boys: Steve Claflin over Pawlowski who’d escaped Alan Kuhel, 19 in the 4^th, 18 in the 5^th. U-13 Girls: Hopping over McKinstry.

             Winners at the Feb. 22-23 Indiana Closed held in Greenfield: Men’s: Richard Hicks over Mark Wampler in 5, then over runner-up Homer Brown who’d stopped both Harry Deschamps, 24, 20, -17, 18, and Wampler (after being down 2-0). Women’s: Sally Webster over Cindy Marcum. Webster’s toughest match? Her 19 in the 3^rd win over Delcie Jones who also lost a –21, 19, -23 killer to Kim Farrow. Mixed Doubles: Dick/Norma Hicks over Ruben Dreszer/Webster. A’s: Dreszer over Terry Miller (from down 2-0 and at deuce in the 3^rd). B’s: Al Grambo over Ricky Hicks, Jr. who’d eliminated Jack Pangburn. C’s: Syed Ali over Kris Pangburn. Senior’s: Deschamps over Bob Miller. U-17’s/U-15’s: Hicks over Tim Yates. U-13’s: R.R.: 1. Tony Marcum. 2. Jeff Pangborn. 3. Webster. 4. Mark Pfeffer. Jr. Doubles: Ali/Rick Slocum over Hicks/Kris Pangburn.

            Thanks to efforts by both the Columbus Love Club and the State University Club at Starkville, the Mississippi Open was held Mar.1st in East Columbus. Results: Bruce Smith over Homer Brown. Open Doubles: Brown/Larry Bartley over Smith/Ricky Bello. A’s: Charles Klestadt over Robert Chamoun. B’s: Chamoun over B. St. Clair. Senior’s: John Jordan over Stegall, 21, 22 and W. V. Plue, -18, 22, 12. Junior’s: Melinda Varner over Brent Ayers.

            That same weekend, North Little Rock held its Arkansas Open, drawing “over fifty players from Oklahoma, Tennessee, and Texas.” Results: Men’s: Penholder Peter Tang’s attack won out over Val Eichmann’s defense—though along the way in R.R. play, Peter lost a match to Bob Flowers, Sr. in 5, and Val lost one to Hugh Lax in 5. Men’s Doubles: Lax/Flowers over Tang/Cheung. Women’s: Leslie Harris over Nancy Hill, 18, 19. Mixed: Lax/Harris over Nevil/Hill. A’s: Lax over Tang. A Doubles: Tang/Cheung over Duke Stogner and Texan Mike Finnell who brought with him the tournament trophies. B’s: Tang over Dennis Fritchie, then over Flowers. C’s: Mark Stoolz over J. Cortez. D’s: J. Brazil over J. Coppedge. U-17’s: Stoolz over Jamey Hall, 19 in the 5^th.

            Monty Merchant’s Mobile, AL Club hosted, as it did back in Oct., a 7-team, 4-city (including Pensacola, FL) Southern Club League (entry fee $15; prize money to the winner $105). First Place went to Mobile “A” (Merchant, Lance Steed, and Bernie Dittman). Strange: though New Orleans “A” (Reggie Barrus, Wally Putnam, and Glenn Piper) beat Mobile “A,” they lost handily to both runner-up Baton Rouge “A” (Bruce Smith, Jim Kemp, and Ricky Bello) and New Orleans “B” (Alan Long, Jay Hakes, and Carrie Joseph) when Carrie won all 3 of her matches! Monty was very pleased to see the New Orleans teams, for their absence at his earlier tournament puzzled and bothered him (especially since they’d helped him with his registration papers).

Tom Baudry thanks Ann Klestadt for running a smooth Mar. 9th Louisiana Open at the Municipal Auditorium in Baker. Results: Men’s: New Orleans’ John Quick over Houston’s Dave Harville who’d upset #2 seed Bruce Smith in Bruce’s 1^st match. Men’s Doubles: Quick/Baudry over Merchant/Long in 5. Women’s: Joseph over Melinda Varner. A’s: Harville over Jay Hakes in 5. B’s: Robert Chamoun over Long who’d knocked out Baudry, 16 in the 5^th. Senior’s: Barrus over Ed Barrios. U-17’s: Keith Friley over C. Naus. U-15’s: Naus over J. McDonald.

            Winners in the Jan. 18 Orlando Winter Open: Championship Singles: Greg Gingold over Bernie Bukiet, 19 in the 4^th. Championship Doubles: Richard McAfee/John Wimbish over Blake Chamberlain/Marv Leff, -17, 21, 19, then over Gingold/Wayne Daunt. Ladies (not Women’s) Singles: Bev Hess over Nancy Newgarden. Mixed: Pat Patterson/Hess over McAfee/Caron Leff. In winning her “first Table Tennis trophy ever,” Caron credits not only her partner Richard (who’s taken to putting on exhibitions at grade schools in the Miami area with Caron’s husband Marv), but also Newgy resident coach Marty Prager. Marty, she says, in her “Corner” column, will just “walk up and stop people who are playing—strangers as well as intimates—to show them what they’re doing wrong. Although he’s very critical, nobody minds…much.”)

A’s: Daunt over Bev Hess. A Doubles: Chamberlain/Bard Brenner over Daunt/Ross Brown. B’s: Brown over Chamberlain. B Doubles: Brown/Chamberlain over Hess/Joe Newgarden, Sr. Novice: Ron Rigo over A. Schenzinger. Senior’s: Laszlo Bellak over Sam Hoffner. U-17’s: John Elliott over Hess. U-15’s: Ron Rigo over Joey Newgarden.

Patrons at Newgy’s, says columnist Caron (TTT, Mar.-Apr., 1975, 14B), have been given a few laughs thanks to a recent arrival there, the 27-year-old Russian, Vladimir Kamenco (Kah-me-YEN-ko), who maintains he made a living in the Soviet Union playing t.t. At Newgy’s, however, he’s but one of Bernie Bukiet’s lined-up customers:

 

“...‘Ahhh! Duh ROOOOshki is here!’ says Bernie. The scores [in any of their games] go wildly back and forth from English to Polish to Russian….

Kamenco, who thinks Bernie stinks but can’t take any quarters from him, has an amazing backhand—maybe the best I’ve ever seen in this country. Bernie, though, is too steady for him (‘I hit one here, I hit one there, and…BINGO!’).

Just a recent Sunday ago, Newgy’s held its first annual benefit for the Variety Children’s Hospital. Top celebrities dropped over to the club—like Miami’s mayor Steve Clark [and some well-known pro football stars]….Channel 4’s Weaver the Weatherman [played  pro-am doubles with Marv]….

…Vladimir and Bernie tried to put on the only Singles exhibition of the day—at least Vladimir tried. The Russian, swearing to himself between points, kept trying to lob balls—which Bernie would either hit off the table or grimly put away. [Bernie really is a wonder. Right now he’s got something wrong with his heel—and though he can play table tennis, he can’t walk on one foot.].”

 

            California-based Leon Ruderman tells the story that when the well-known Israeli Coach Yosef Yeshua had heard that Bernie was living confinedly in the back room of a table tennis club, he pleaded with him to come to Israel. “Our Association will find you a decent place to live,” he said. “You’ll coach our kids. You’ll live out your last years as a respected Jewish hero.” But Bernie refused. “I have to play here,” he said. “My friends are all here.” And, he might have added, “They all know my past, know me as a winner.”

            What could Yeshua, or anyone else, say to that?

             In writing up Raleigh’s Mar. 22-23 Crabtree Valley Mall Open, I begin with both George Brathwaite’s and Insook Na’s much talked about accomplishments. In his Open semi’s, “The Chief” upset Danny Seemiller (20-1 at the Calcutta World’s) who hadn’t been beaten by any U.S. player for nearly a year. As for Insook, she took top honors in—are you ready?—Women’s (over Olga Soltesz), Class A, AND the Open Championship itself. “How can a woman beat our men?” said one long-time player torn between amusement and disgust. But beat them she did and clearly deserved her $370 in prize money.

            Insook, in varying her spin beautifully, chopped her way to a two-game lead over Brathwaite who, trying to come on strongly, proved unable to hit through her. At the beginning of the 3^rd game though, it occurred to the now rather desperate but ever thinking “Chief” that he ought to go for the Expedite Rule. Na, seeing George’s intention, began pick-hitting much more—and missing. Thirty seconds before the Rule would have gone in at the end of the 3^rd, Insook quickly missed two shots and lost that game at 18. Then, after being outplayed in the 4^th, she, in turn, changed her strategy—and stopped pick-hitting. As a result, the Expedite Rule finally came in—but not until Insook was 20-15 match point up! At which point, adding insult to injury, she smacked one, like a karate punch, into George’s guts.

            Almost upstaging Insook was New York’s enfant terrible, Rutledge Bermingham Barry III (no offense to the South, but here Bermingham is spelt with an “e”). In the A’s, young “Squeegee,” still eligible for the U-13’s, finished me in 5, then dropped a 19-in-the-5^th final to Insook! Rutledge also beat Seemiller (“Ricky or Danny?” someone asked) to win the Junior’s—with Ricky losing another U-17 match to runner-up Mike Johnson. Men’s Doubles went to Brathwaite and Errol Resek (who’d been blanked in the Men’s by Joe Rokop) over Danny Seemiller and Boggan. Mixed to Resek/Soltesz over Brathwaite/Shelby Jordan. B’s: T. Rice over Pete May, 17, 19, -21, -15, 20, then over B. Shur. C’s: Hou-min Chang over Joe Griffis. Consolation’s: Ron “The Babe” Luth over Steve Hitchner. Senior’s: Bill Sharpe over Boggan.

            Two reasons why the professional-minded players came to Raleigh from as far as 12 hours and too many speeding tickets drive away. One, they came to play under pleasant but non-professional conditions because they were paid hundreds of dollars to give seven hours of Saturday afternoon and evening exhibitions in the center of the big Crabtree Shopping Mall. And, two, they came because the Tournament Committee—read local Triangle Club President Jim McQueen, Tournament Chair Hou-min Chang, and Tournament Referee Tommy Tarrant, as well as helpers Steve and Anita Hitchner and Tom and Jean Poston—had cared enough about them to find a way to raise the $900 in prize money.

            I, for one, enjoyed myself—did much of the exhibition announcing and some of the playing. Danny and Ricky Seemiller in their red, white, and blue daredevil Evel Knievel-like stars and stripes uniforms were sensational-America in every exhibition—better even than in the tournament. Mike Babuin, who 30 years later would be running an annual 4-star prize money tournament in nearby Cary that would attract some of the U.S. and Canada’s leading players, recalls, in a Sept. 27, 2005 letter to me, his Crabtree Mall debut:

 

“The most memorable loss of my life came at the age of 16 when I played in my first large tournament in 1975…one conducted by Jim McQueen at the Crabtree Valley Mall in what is now considered North Raleigh. In the first round [of the Junior’s]… I got paired with this guy I never heard of before from up north named Ricky….Since I had a really good block/smash game I was feeling pretty confident going into the match. That level of confidence soon evaporated as I saw 2/3rds of every shot I returned get returned back or smashed past me around 95 mph. I lost 0-2 but did manage to get to 12 points each time. The quality of the shots from my opponent was simply amazing, and while I clearly lost, I was almost honored to have lost in that manner because it opened my eyes to a level that I had never before seen. The athlete I played was Ricky Seemiller—then the #1 Junior in the USA.”

 

I, too, was surprised—to run into an old Ohio table tennis friend of 20 years ago, Hal Gifford. Hal had seen the full-page story and pics in the Raleigh Times, and these had awakened his Rip Van Winkle memories of the old hard bat sport (“The Game seems so much faster now”). Encouragingly, Hal discovered he’s not too old to start all over again—and was game to try a new sponge racket hustled him by an ever-smiling Melba Martin. Also, I note that Greensboro’s Dick Tucker, after a 3-week bout of the flu and a “5-day fast on distilled water,” was back playing.

            The Mar. 8-9 Delaware Junior Team’s had the advantage of receiving from Rufford Harrison “a tremendous amount of advice to the juniors who ran the tournament.” The first showdown in the Team event saw Berwick leading Maryland, 3-2 when “a hot Tom Van Zandt upset Maryland’s Alan Evanson, 24 in the 3^rd.” Then, after Joe Scheno had also stopped Alan “with superior reflexes and all-around steady play,” Dave Dickson III and Van Zandt added two more on the plus side to give Berwick a 6-3 win and momentum to move on to meet the also undefeated Delaware team. This tie, however, went 6-3 to Delaware, led by Joe Tanzer with help from his able teammates Carl Willis and Bert Poole, Jr. Maryland had a last chance to create a 3-way tie, but Baltimore’s Tanzer, Willis, and Kevin Giles were too 6-3 strong for them.

            The Doubles went to Scheno/Van Zandt, “looping, blocking, and outwitting their opponents.” Runner-ups Giles/Phil Traynor reached the finals by outlasting Evanson/Dave Driggers, 23-21 in the 3^rd.

            In the Singles, top-seed Tanzer, who’d beaten Scheno and Evanson in the Team’s, was upset in the 8^th’s by Van Zandt. Scheno, seeded #2, was in trouble against Traynor, but rallied from 11-16 down in the 3^rd. The uncontested semi’s saw Evanson defeat Van Zandt, and Scheno stop Dickson who’d upset Driggers in 3 in the quarter’s. The looked-forward to final just wasn’t close. Scheno was an easy winner.

            Results of the Feb. 15-16 New Carrolton Maryland Open: Men’s: Robert Earle, 18 in the 4^th, over George Brathwaite who’d been down 2-0 to Gary Wittner in the quarter’s before rallying to win, 19 in the 5^th. (With “George leading 20-19, Wittner got an edge ball which appeared impossible to return, but Brathwaite somehow managed to get his bat on it—the ball hit the net and dropped in giving George the point and the match!”). Other quarter’s matches of note: Bruce Plotnick over Dave Philip, 23-21 in the 5^th, and Mike Bush over Roger Sverdlik, 24-22 in the 4^th. Women’s: Barbara Kaminsky over Louise Chotras Nieves. Men’s Doubles: Earle/Philip over Brathwaite/Steve Berger. Women’s Doubles: Kaminsky/Yvonne Kronlage over Nieves/Bernadine Hinds. Mixed Doubles: Earle/Hines over Jerry Fleischhacker/Nieves. Esquire’s: Jim Verta over Dick Stakes. Senior’s: long-pips attacker Bill Sharpe over Verta.

            Men’s A’s: Carl Kronlage over Mike Ng. Women’s A’s: Young over Jackie Heyman. A Doubles: Caplin and Silverstein (once Mal Anderson mistakenly called Ken Silverstein “Silvertone” and got the reply, “I am not a radio”) over Ng and Manny Moskowitz, then over Kronlage/Evanson, both 19 in the 3^rd. B’s: Walter Soffer over David Rhone. C’s: Harold Rosen over John Tebbe. D’s: Eldon Linn over Tom Golab. Men’s Consolation: Evanson over Baskett. Women’s Consolation: Kay Young over McKay. Boys U-17: Evanson over Driggers. Girls U-17: Heyman over Jennifer Butler. Boys U-15: Curt Kronlage over Phil Shaw. Girls U-15: Heyman over Virginia Backaitis. Under 11’s: Brian Masters over Wayne Greenberg. Under 9’s: Greenberg over Mark Masters.

            Philadelphia put on back-to-back Jan.-Feb tourneys: Men’s: Jan.: Philip over Rich Farrell in 5, then over Roger Sverdlik. Feb.: Bill Sharpe in three successive struggles: in 5 over Sverdlik, 19-in-the-4^th over Brathwaite, and –16, 24, 21, 19 over Hamid Hayatghaib who’d advanced by Sam Balamoun in 5. Men’s Doubles: Jan.: Philip/Wittner in 5 over Hamid/Ali Oveissi who’d knocked out Balamoun/Herb Vichnin, 18 in the 5^th. Feb.: Sverdlik/Horace Roberts or Balamoun/Stan Smolanowicz? Semi’s of note: Sverdlik/Roberts over Wittner/Dan Green, 19, -21, 19. Senior’s: Jan.: Sharpe over George Rocker. Feb.: Karl Szakacs over Sharpe. U-17’s: Jan.: Robert Nochenson over Bruce Plotnick, 19 in the 3^rd, then over Mike Stern. Feb.: Rutledge Barry over Plotnick, 19, -19, 19. U-17 A’s: Jan.: Nochenson over Marcus. Feb.: David Margolin over Morris. U-15’s: Jan.: Stern over Plotnick. Feb.: Stern over Jeff Steif, 23-21 in the 3^rd, then over Barry. U-13’s: Jan.: Dickson over Chuck Zakarin. Feb.: Brian Eisner over Paul Gvildys, -19, 19, 20.

            A’s: Jan.: Dan Green, who’d rallied in the semi’s (from down 2-0) to beat Ali Oveissi, over two-time Iranian National Doubles Champ Parviz Mojaverian. Feb.: Mike Bush over Berger who’d gotten by Fleischhacker, -18, 20, 22, 13. A Doubles: Jan.: Hamid/Oveissi over Green/Wittner. Feb.: Green/Vichnin over Rocker/Szakacs, then over Eliot Katz/Wittner. B’s: Jan.: Barry Robbins over Jeff Zakarin. Feb.: Fleischhacker over Green, -17, 19, 21, then over Zakarin. C’s: Jan.: Rocker over John Locke. Feb.: Tom Vainius over Hank McCoullum. D’s: Jan.: W. Huang over Marv Plevinsky. E’s: Jan.: Schwar over Wong who’d outlasted Locke, deuce in the 3^rd. Feb.: Wong over Don Garlanger. F’s: Jan.: Seymour Shenkman over Weitzen. Feb.: Gil Prickett over Tony Gegelys. G’s: Jan.:Cole over Niedzielski. Feb.: Harry Hawk over Don Feltenberger. N’s: Jan.: Dickson III over Cole. Feb.: Sisti over Tom Steen. Handicap: Jan.: Dickson III over Fleischhacker. Feb.: Robbie Robinson over Plotnick. Handicap Doubles: Jan.: Sid Jacobs/Sol Schiff over Marcus/Sampson. Feb.: Steif/John Sisti over Marcus/Sampson.

            The 7^th Annual Pennsylvania Team Championships, sponsored by the Berwick YMCA TTC, were held Feb. 22-23 at the Central Columbia Senior High School Gym in Bloomsburg. Philadelphia #1 (Smolanowicz, 14-0 and MVP; Balamoun, 14-0; and Robbins, 12-3) was the never threatened winner. Runner-up: Pittsburgh #1 (Mike Connelly; Scott Feldman; and Larry Goldfarb). 3^rd: Pitt #2 (Russ Wyatt; 14-year-old Steve Lowery; and Pennsylvania TTA President Dr. Bill Walk). 4^th: Philly #2 (Szakacs; Rocker; Debbie Wong; and Tom Shisler). 5^th –6^th: Berwick #1 (Scheno; Ellis Alley; Dennis Kishbaugh; and Fred Kistler) and Pitt #3 (Randy Seemiller; Martin Obeldobel; and Scott Rodgers).

            Bill Cross, reporting on the Feb. 8^th Open at Westfield, N.J., tells us that, “A player survey showed that the players occasionally enjoy a tournament with no doubles events because it allows for more singles play and for a decent finishing time. This format is a Westfield specialty.” So…the Singles results: Open: Horace Roberts over Bill Sharpe who’d survived a deuce in the 5^th quarter’s match with U. S. Intercollegiate Champ Dave Philip, then stopped George Brathwaite, 3-zip. Earlier, George, the top seed, had twice been down match point to Rutledge Barry who both times missed a finishing forehand kill. The #3 seed, Robert Earle, was upset by Gary Wittner. Women’s: Muriel (the variant generally preferred by recorders to Murielle) Stern over Judy Boucard. Esquire’s: Manny Moskowitz over Sid Jacobs. Senior’s: Sharpe over Gene Wonderlin who took out Stan Winter in 3.

            A’s: Bruce Plotnick over Eliot Katz. (Manny Moskowitz had a great 1^st round straight-game win over young Barry.) B’s: Steve Berger over Robert Nochenson. C’s: Sid Jacobs over M. Lempert. U-17’s: Mike Stern over Plotnick (from down 2-0 and at 24-all in the 3^rd). U-15’s: Stern over Plotnick, 18 in the 3^rd. U-13’s: Brian Eisner over Paul Gvildys. Where, you might wonder, was Rutledge? Squeegee’s got a “reputation for superior intelligence,” says Cross. But, uh, he “took the wrong bus and was a few hours late.”

 .            Winners at the Nassau-Suffolk Open, held Jan. 18-19 in Hempstead, Long Island: Men’s: Philip over Resek. Matches of note: Roger Sverdlik over Brathwaite, deuce in the 5^th; and Wittner over Oveissi in 5. Women’s: Louise Nieves over Judith Boucard. Men’s Doubles: Resek/Jeff Zakarin over Fleischhacker/Sverdlik who’d eliminated Brathwaite/Oveissi, 22, -13, 19, 24. Women’s Doubles: Nieves/Terry Green over Boucard/Bernardine Hinds. Mixed Doubles: Philip/Green over Fleischhacker/Nieves.

A’s: Wittner over Eliot Katz, 20, 24, -18, 17, then over Barry in 5. B’s: Peter Krebs over Dan Green. B Doubles: Final: Mike Lardon/Dan Green, 19 in the 3^rd in the semi’s over Stu Caplin/Robert Levin (send Robert the Eastern Regional Director’s list of upcoming tournaments, please), and in the final over Jeff Steif/Ron “Babe” Luth. C’s: Steve Greenwald over Jacobs who’d advanced over Lost Battalion Open winner Bruce Abrams. Men’s Consolation: Jeff Zakarin over Greenwald. Women’s Consolation: Joan VanDavelaar over Yvonne Selwood. Esquire’s/Senior’s: Marcy Monasterial over Jacobs. Senior Doubles: Zakarin/Boggan over Irv Wolf/Al Gill. U-17’s: J. Zakarin over Jeff Steif. U-15’s: Steif over Brian Eisner. U-13’s: Eisner over Eric Boggan. Junior Doubles: Lardon/Zakarin over Steif/David Margolin. Simon Jacobson said his Junior Doubles entry was clearly in before the deadline, but he and his partner were rejected; then, to compound the injury, Simon watched a later pair’s entry accepted. 

Bob Green reports (TTT, Mar.-Apr., 1975, 21B) that, thanks to “the efforts of an enthusiastic junior player named Rick Cooper,” the “first New York State Closed in ten years” was sponsored by Binghamton’s Tri-Cities Club and held Feb. 22-23 at the local YMCA. For 28 years Bob, who ran the famous 1948 Columbus, Ohio National’s with its great Miles/Reisman final, kept his vow not to get involved in putting on any more tournaments, but he couldn’t resist young Cooper.

The Men’s was won by diminutive Robert Earle “with great reflexes and coordination. He does everything well, chops, loops, blocks, counters, and has many inventive shots.” Earle had an easy win in the final over Brathwaite, but both Robert and George had to work in the semi’s—Robert finishing off Buffalo’s Jim Dixon in 5, and “The Chief” rallying from down 2-0 to advance over Dave Philip. Earlier George had eliminated local star Ray Mack who’d come from two games down to defeat Jeff Zakarin, the U-17 winner over Tom Vainius. Women’s went to Cortland’s Irene Stepan over Potsdam’s Darlene Galliadi, 19 in the 4^th. Men’s Doubles winners were Brathwaite/Dixon over Philip/Earle, 17 in the 5^th. Sol Schiff took the Senior’s in 5 from both Pranas Gvildys and Don Coluzzi. Jacobs had a good deuce in the 3^rd win over Bob Brickell. U-15’s was won by Chuck Zakarin over Paul Gvildys. The Zakarin brothers also proved dominant in the Junior Doubles, besting Cooper and Scott Plakon.

A’s: Looper Frank McCann, Jr. over blocker Vic Meredith. B’s: Ed Smith over Alex Sze, then Dan Wasson. C’s: Smith again over Chuck Zakarin. D’s: And (RINGER!) Smith again over Paul Gvildys. Ed didn’t have a rating, so he was allowed to enter the B’s, C’s, and D’s, and when he was found to be “not just ‘hot’ but really much too good for these events,” it was deemed “too late to do anything about it.” Sure? Why allow him to play the C and D finals? Except was he “much” too good? In the D’s, he barely beat G. Engel, 19 in the 3^rd. B Doubles: Dave Barrad/Wasson over Chuck Zakarin/Plakon.

            Robert Fariss reports that the Mar. 8-9 Pioneer Valley Open was played at the new National Guard Armory in Northampton, MA. Men’s winner: Robert Earle in a dominating “acrobatic attack,” culminating in a 19 in the 4^th final over Errol Resek. “Surely stronger than his 2203 rating,” Earle paired with Benfield Munroe to take the Doubles from Dave Sakai/Ralph Robinson. Women’s went to Bernadine Hinds over Kim Kirschberg.

A’s: Robinson, provided with “an unbelievably low rating” by Neal Fox, over Carl Danner. A Doubles: McCann/Berard over Claude Peltz/Harry Morris. B’s: Danner over Kulkarni in 5. B Doubles: Paul Dise/Steve Marceno over Apostolou/Ferri, deuce in the 5^th. C’s: Frank McCann over Apostolou who’d advanced over Mike “Woody” Allen, -20, 21, 18. D’s: Apostolou over Hanscom. E’s: Ferri over Kochan, 18 in the 5^th. Over 50’s: Ben Hull over Irv Levine, 18 in the 3^rd. Over 40’s: Frank Studley over Hull, deuce in the 3^rd. U-17’s: Danner over Peltz. U-15’s: Shaun Hebert over Steve Marceno in 5. U-13’s: Jimmy Marceno over Glenn Rubeck.

Dave Sakai says, he’d never done it before, scribbling down stuff in between matches, but “it’s kind of fun.” And, indeed, Dave’s enthusiasm for the job, his playfulness, comes through as he fashions for us a sense of the Jan. 4-5 Milford, N.H. Grandmasters Open—a tournament played amid the “luxurious surroundings offered by the Hampshire Hills Racquet and Health Club” (“2,000 tennis-playing members here”?). Of course, to give us coverage, Dave, who’d recently opened his U.S. Table Tennis Center in Waterbury, had to first get to the tournament. And along the way, he and his Connecticut contingent, including the visiting Rick Seemiller, “came within an ace of losing their lives in a freak accident.” Eli Koulis’s car in which they were riding “came to a fiery end.”…

 

“Seemiller, with lightning-like backhand and forehand reflexes, was able to save all the baggage while the car was still burning. The first thing he grabbed was our rackets, thank goodness.

With 10 of us then in Henry Castellano’s car [talk about a stretch: 10! and everyone with a t.t. sports bag?] we managed to chug along to Waltham, where Ben Hull graciously offered us all a place to stay in his office before we came on to the tournament.”

 

            Dave, too, was gracious—this, he said, was a tournament “specifically designed to please the better players,” one that offered a “spirit of camaraderie.” He thanked “the tournament workers, especially Mike ‘Woody’ Allen, Lester Wong, and Al Millet who were all just fantastic. They were led by multi-lingual (speaks 9 languages)…Leo Hieblinger who, most of the time, made himself understood. Ha, just kidding, Leo. Smile or scowl, you were great.”

O.K., on with—what Dave exclusively covers—the Men’s matches. He begins with the most notable of the 8^th’s. Chris Yuen, “freshly arrived from Vegas and looking to win some money here,” over “D.P.”—Dave Philip—in 5. Jim Shoots—moving better with that weight loss—over Fuarnado Roberts in 4. Gary Wittner over—no, check that, almost over—Chui who pulled out the 5^th. And Rick Seemiller—“playing both wings very well”—over Rory Brassington, “just back from a vacation in Trinidad,” who a fella said, “was 7 points off his regular game.” In quarter’s play: (“How’s it goin Lim Ming Chui/What’s gonna happen when I play you-i?”) Bush the poet, er, doggerel rimester, over Shoots. Chui over Yuen in 5—“the match was all hops and hits.” Seemiller over Alex Shiroky—“blocking all his hopes.” And Dixon over Sakai in 5. In the semi’s, “Seemiller sort of clobbered Bush, and Chui got by Dixon in 4.”

            Before the final , “many players retired to the cocktail lounge above, where they more and more enjoyed the view of the [Chui-Seemiller] match through a wall-high, smoke-colored glass window directly overlooking the court.” And what did they see?…

 

“Chui, snapping his penholder wrist, off to a Kung Fu start, taking the first 2 games rather easily. But then Seemiller did an awful lot of thrusts and blocks himself and won the next 2—the 4^th at deuce. Then got off to a lead in the 5^th and held it….Maybe all the work Lim put into the tournament had something to do with the turnabout here, but Rick looked absolutely great. Many onlookers were speculating that at the next World’s, in ’77, in England, there’d be two Seemillers on the Team.”