CHAPTER TEN
1975: Fall Tournaments.
Since the Paddle Palace had publicized its Benihana Open for Nov. 8-9, it was pleased (see the Canadian TTA News, March, 1976, 12) that the Hungarian Memorial Open at Vancouver’s 5-table Douglas Park Club had not been scheduled for that same weekend. In a spirit of cooperation the Portlanders “announced their intention of busing a group up” to play in this Vancouver tournament. But then the British Columbia TTA did the unthinkable—changed this Hungarian Open to Nov. 8-9. Very disappointing—why they do this?
The unsigned BC write-up stressed the Men’s near-midnight final between Zoltan “Zollie” Pataky and Peter Joe who’d 19, -21, 18 eliminated Phil Cheng in the semi’s. Strategy was important in this match. “Had Zoltan steadily side-spinned back-from-the-table loops as he used to, Peter would likely have cut him apart with his fast backhand blocks.” Nor likely would it have done Zollie any good to try to stay close and match hitting with Peter. Instead, “he played a slow, passive game but prevented Peter hitting freely by pushing with great accuracy—fast, deep and heavy to the backhand corner. Peter couldn’t get loose. He pinned his hopes in the first game on making kills from that backhand slot but seldom moved fast or far enough and so went down swinging.”
However, in the second game Peter began “looping rather than killing”—toned down his play. “The increase of spin and consistency drew a number of errors from Zoltan (never the greatest blocker of the loop), allowing Peter a slight lead that increased his confidence and enabled him to finish the game hitting freely. In the third game, he was killing so well, was so loose, he didn’t even bother to loop. That is, for a while. “Then that indefinable something happened”—Peter cooled off, Zollie was able to revert back to his heavy push-placements, and now Peter couldn’t, in this game or the fourth, “kill his way out of that backhand strait-jacket.”
Other Results: Men’s Doubles: Pataky/George Stefanissin over Eric Calveley/Dub, -21, 15, 20, then over Eddy Lo/Peter Joe, 18, -20, -17, 15, 14. Women’s: Nimi Athwal over Parello Smith. A’s: Julius Gaspar over former Canadian TTA President Art Barran. A Doubles: H. Arndt/B. Vrabel over Chao/Liu. B’s: Vic Walsh over Nimi Athwal (from down 2-0). C’s: V. Lee over G. Schatzberg. Men’s Consolation: C. Poh over Arndt who’d outlasted Danny Ho, 21, -14, 26. Senior’s: Frank Karika over Hugh Ward in 5. Junior’s: Peter Joe over Roger Woo.
Lou Bochenski reports that for his Nov. 8-9 Open at the Paddle Palace, Benihana Restaurant, in addition to providing “framed certificates as permanent awards,” offered $90 in cash prizes for the Open event and dinners or lunches for all other events. Results: Open: Ron Carver (who’d lost to Peter Joe in the final of the Sept. Pepsi Cola Open at the Palace) over Joe Lee. Open Doubles: Lee/Masanori Yoshimura over Charlie McLarty/Dean Doyle. Women’s: Marie Mason over Katherine Ho. AA’s: McLarty over Doyle. AA Doubles: Muhammed Popoola/Jerry Vanecek over McLarty/Doyle, -21, 19, 18. A’s: Jim Scott over Ron Vincent. B’s: Chris Depee over Vanacek. B Doubles: Ritchey/Badger over Vincent/Popoola. C’s: Mike Oslund over Popoola who -23, 10, 20 struggled by Bon Kin Wong. D’s: Doug Bakke over Oslund, 24-22 in the 3rd. E’s: Jeff Frahler over Monty Karra. F’s: Karra over Ho. G’s: Joe Merz over Laura Barlow. Senior’s: Bob Ho over Jim Tisler. High School: Mike Bochenski over Brian Bircher. U-15’s: Dean Doyle over Mike LaMear.
In Oct., the Palace had run the Oregon Novelty Open, and Carver had won there too—the Singles (over Jay Crystal) and the Doubles (with Jeff Kurtz). The monthly Portland tournaments featured much the same events and much the same finalists—they could do with some imaginative events. But as there was no write-up for this Novelty Open one could only guess what novelties Bochenski had in mind.
However, we do learn from a local newspaper article (see TTT, Jan.-Feb., 1976, 17) quite a bit about 14-year-old Dean Doyle. His home away from home (every weekday from 4 to 10:30 p.m. and weekends too) is the 4th floor of what used to be the old Elks Temple in downtown Portland—yeah, of course in his enthusiasm he sprints up the stairs; a good conditioner, eh? “The Bochenskis act as surrogate parents, feeding Dean dinner and supplying coaching. He trades work around the establishment—handling ratings for all players in the Club and for tournaments, running the elevator; and doing repair jobs for his meals.” Not only his parents but his teachers feel his priorities are o.k. Indeed, he “takes much time off from school for tournaments—sometimes a week at a time.”
Lou Bochenski, “a past coach of baseball, football, basketball, and track,” thinks of Dean as a very smart player, one who’s always into strategy. Indeed, after spreading the virtues of table tennis to over 100 school assemblies, Doyle says he’s considering “teaching a table tennis class at Parkrose High.” He’d stress both the physical and mental aspects of play. Lou praises Dean as having “worked harder at his game than anyone I’ve known”—he has “indispensable dedication.” Having already accepted money in tournament play, Dean hopes “to make the sport his eventual profession.” As for the immediate future, his goals are clear: he wants to be the Oregon State Men’s Champion, and the U.S. Open U-15 Champion.
Rick Watkins stresses the Open Singles and Doubles events in his write-up of the Nov. 8-9 Huntington Beach Open—“the largest tournament on the West Coast since the 1971 Redondo Beach Western Classic.” All eight seeds advanced to the quarter’s. Danny Seemiller, who was in California for his “Challenge of the Sexes” match with Insook Bhushan the Monday after this tournament, beat Ron Von Schimmelman, 3-0, after Ron (from two match points down) had chopped his way through Mark Adelman’s loops to win in 5. In the companion quarter’s, the Raphel-Galardi match wasn’t decided until the 5th where it promised a replay-finish of their match at the Golden State Open six weeks earlier. Galardi’s win there had allowed him to reach the final and make a 19, -16, -19, -20 strong showing against Joong Gil Park. Here at Huntington Beach, “it appeared that Raphel won points when he hit out, but he was too reluctant to take the offense.” Galardi, however, relentlessly attacked—and, from 13-12 up, his 3rd-ball follows allowed him to take all five of his serves and score a final 21-14 win.
On the other side of the draw, Park’s consistent, patient loops won the day over Bhushan’s steady chops and occasional pick hits. Gil’s semi’s opponent? Ray Guillen, winner of two earlier CA tournaments over Raphel. Ray had been 26-24, 21-15, 10-3 leading Howard Grossman when Howie injured his wrist and couldn’t continue.
In the one semi, “Galardi seemed very nervous in the first game against Seemiller as, after he’d led 6-2, everything fell apart and Seemiller won 21-9.” Danny, leading 20-17 in the second, looked to go 2-0 up—and did, though not before the ever-improving Deano with his two-wing loops had deuced it. In the 3rd, Danny suffered a letdown? In the course of play Galardi ran off 8 points in a row for a 21-13 win. In the 4th, Danny was up 9-6 when Dean “began blocking, looping and retrieving some unbelievable shots” that enabled him to tie the match at two games apiece. An upset in the making? …Not quite—upset not made.
In the other semi, won by Guillen, 3-1, over Park, the 3rd game was the turning point: Park had just run off 8 straight points and led 17-13 when Ray finally decided to take the offense away from him. He took two steps back from the table and began spinning backhand and forehand.” Though Gil still led 20-18, he couldn’t close, and Ray went on to an easy win in the 4th.
Against Seemiller in the final, Guillen matched Danny with 3rd-ball attacks. But, though Ray was leading 19-16 in the 1st, Danny had the serve and was able to deuce it…but not to win it. From there, though, it “was all Seemiller as his determination appeared to break Guillen who seemingly gave up”—scored only 35 points the last three games.
The Open Doubles was won by Raphel/Glenn Cowan over Galardi/Dennis Barish, 19 in the 4th. But it was the Raphel/Cowan vs. Seemiller/Al Everett semi’s that “provided the most exciting match of the tournament.” “In an incredible first game, Cowan hit two amazing loops” from down 20-17 to deuce it. Then “point after point brought the fans out of their seats” until eventually Paul and Glenn prevailed 32-30. Not surprisingly their match extended into the 5th. There Danny’s loops put his team up 19-15. But now “Cowan hit two super angle shots and Raphel made a diving, tumbling save of an edge which caught Everett by surprise.” Then see-saw play at deuce “before a Cowan loop set up a Raphel kill and a 24-22 victory.”
Other results: Women’s: Insook (married to Shekhar for all of two weeks now) over Angelita Rosal, 14, 15, 6. Mixed: Danny/Insook over Park and backgammon enthusiast Patty Martinez who’d lost the Women’s in the Oct. San Diego Open to Angie. A’s: Chris Rosal over Ron Whitlock, -17, 20, 12, then over Jim Lane. A Doubles: Mike Carr/Ogata over Ricky Guillen/Russ Thompson, 21, 23, then over Stan Rosal/Whitlock. B’s: Chris Rosal over Keith Ogata in 5. B Doubles: John Stewart/Greg Plakos over Kent Lofthouse/Ogata. C’s: Lane over Mike Ban. C Doubles: Ban/Sequiros over LaLande/Lane. D’s: Frank McCann over Steve DeFrance. D Doubles: Gilbreath/Huber over Mark Corbett/Seaman. Esquire’s: Julius Paal over Dick Badger. Senior’s: Paal over Danny Banach, 17, -8, 20, 20. Senior Doubles: Banach/Thompson over Badger/Frank Suran in 5. U-17’s: Dennis Barish over Lane. U-15’s: Lane over Georgette Rideg. U-13’s: Rideg over Reagan Tom. Junior Doubles: Barish/Lee Lawson over Lane/Ian Davis in 5.
Thanks to Fred Danner, Table Tennis (featuring Danny and Insook) was one of 15 sports selected by CBS for their “Challenge of the Sexes” series (interviews by Vin Scully and Suzy Chaffee). At Mission Viejo, before an “audience of about 4000” (“I think they liked the table tennis better than any of the other sports,” said Danny, “’cause they cheered like crazy”), our superstars played a modified expedite match. In all 15 sports, “the man had to give the woman a slight handicap,” so Danny had to win the point by his 8th shot. Many times, he said, “I had to try all-out kills after Insook returned my 7th shot. This made the match exciting for the crowd and I think for television.” For his 21-14, 21-17 win, Danny earned $2500, Insook $1000. Of course all their expenses were paid, including 1st class airfare, and they got to be in the company of such famous sports figures as Bjorn Borg, Ilie Nastase, Virginia Wade, Evonne Goolagong, Doug Sanders, Hale Irwin, Bob Seagren, and Jerry West.
In writing up the Colorado Closed at Boulder, Kurt Evans pays homage to Jerry Skublicki, bad-luck victim of that fatal car accident, who’d thrilled Coloradans with his “fascinating game” and helped many players with “coaching tips.” Under Paul Cracraft’s debut direction, Polish supremacy was still apparent with Bohdan (Bob) Dawidowicz’s win in the Men’s over Dana Jeffries, and his daughter Kasia’s 6, 2, 2 win in the Women’s over Laura Redman who’d at least had a competitive 5-game semi’s match with Vivian Bjorklund. Bob also took both the Men’s Doubles with pick-hitter Jeff Bedell (over Brad Ritter/Paul Williams) and the Mixed with Kasia (over Ron Byers/Jan Polkinghorne).
Other Results: A’s: Kasia over Williams. A Doubles: Byers/Cracraft over Williams/Ritter, deuce in the 5th. B’s: double-flank attacker Cracraft over Mike Lewis. B Doubles: Keith Kalny/Evans over John Garnett/Rod Redman. C’s: Roger Kuseski over Bob Zarren. C Doubles: Kalny/Zarren over Matt Dillon/Brock (from down 2-0 and 21-all in the 3rd). D’s: Jarek Dawidowicz over Redman. D Doubles: Rothstein/C. Garnett over Roger/Rod Redman. E’s: Curt Heckert over Alan Abshire. E Doubles: Heckert/Gene Heater over Jim Cracraft/Steve Dillon in 5. Senior’s: Frank Heller over Dean Edmonds. Senior Doubles: Heller/F.B. Lucas over Bill Walsh/Edmonds. Boys U-17: Cracraft over Evans. Girls U-17 Singles: Kasia over Redman. U-17 Boys Doubles: Cracraft/Evans over Dillon/Rothstein. U-17 Mixed Doubles: Kalny/Kasia over Dillon/Redman. Boys U-15: Kalny over Dillon. Girls U-15: Kasia over Julia Jordan. U-15 Doubles: Kalny/Kasia over Dillon/Redman. U-13’s: Kalny over J. Dawidowicz. U-13 Doubles: Kalny/Jordan over J. Dawidowicz/R. Redman.
The Caprock Open was held Sept. 27 in Lubbock, TX. Results: Championship: Gary Fagan over Marc Whittington. (Best match: Steve Dodgen over Steve Arnold, 25-23 in the 5th.) Championship Doubles: Charles Butler/Fagan over Edgar Stein/M Mui. Women’s: Sue Sargent over Michele Haddix. Mixed Doubles: Dodgen/Norma Evans over Sargent/Meredith Elston. Texas Closed: Dodgen over J.C. Tenay who’d knocked out C. Nicholl in 5.
More Results: A’s: Stein over Tenay. A Doubles: Jerry Mell/Dodgen over Armold/Gary Garner. B’s: Mike Finnell in 5 over Johnny Cortez, then 18 in the 5th over V. St. Germain who’d eliminated James Rautis in 5. C’s: Nicholl 17 in the 5th over Les Enslin who’d gone 5 with Rich Puls. D’s: Marshall Gordon over Mike Roddy. Championship Consolation: Butler over Stein. Class Consolation: T. Huff over Paul Sumrall. Senior’s: Tenay over Stein in 5. Senior Doubles: Tenay/Arthur “Buster” Chase over Dave DeWald/Charles Griffin. U-15’s: Mark Stoolz over Roddy, 25, 19, 19, then over Cortez, 24-22 in the 5th. Junior Doubles: Stoolz/Cortez over Coons/Irl Copley.
Steve Grant points out (TTT, Nov.-Dec., 1975, 18) that the Magoo’s 10,000 Lakes Open was missing Wuvanich who was off “visiting a Thai friend in Massachusetts” (Surasak?). That of course left Chuchai Chan and Sears to fight it out in a 2/3 final. Sears with a 21-14 1st game and a 15-8 lead in the 2nd seemed the likely winner. However,… “The feeling came very slow,” said Chan afterwards, motioning with his hands toward his stomach.” (Does that mean he was gradually more and more “hungry” for the win?) But then came a rush of 7 points…11 of 12 in all, and he led 19-16. Then, in a reverse swing, was down match point. Now deuce. “Sears tossed the ball high and did an unusual backhand serve. One always cringes when the Thais try their special toss-up serve at crucial moments because they miss too many. This one went on though—but Chan won the point.” Chan’s ad—he “threw the ball into the lights and served into the net.” Still he managed to win the game. In the deciding 3rd, though Chuchai had insisted “I’m not a chopper,” he made some beautiful chops, and 21-14 earned the $100 1st prize.
Other Winners: Open Doubles: Chan/Sears over Mike Hoffland/(Mike Thomas?). Women’s: Takako Trenholme over Sheila O’Dougherty, 19 in the 3rd. A’s: Al Schmitt over Chuck Turchick. B’s: Scott Colesworthy over Nick Steblay in 5. C’s: Anders Olsson over Don Bratt, 19 in the 3rd. D’s: Gary Kerkow over Roy Wong. E’s: Kamel Saad over John Kline, 19 in the 3rd. Novice Doubles: Hanson/Ovellette over Kerkow/Brandon Olson. Junior’s: John Soderberg over Nick Steblay. U-15’s: Tom Soderberg over Olson. U-13’s: Olson over Swen Baker. High School Closed: Adam Gottesman over Jim Danielson. Novice Junior’s: Toni Baker over Doug Rigert.
Results of the Oct. 18-19 Tennessee Closed, played under the direction of volunteer Volunteer State Community College student Larry Thoman at Nashville’s Madison Community Center: Open: Larry Bartley over, first, Bill Edwards, then Lee Edwards, both 18 in the 5th. Championship Doubles: Lee Edwards/Sai Wing Kwok over Clay Whitelaw/John White in 5, then over Bill Edwards/Thoman. Women: Leslie Harris over Audrey Crain. A’s: Bob Flowers over Ernest Chin. A Doubles: Bob Flowers/Dennis Fritchie over Flip Carico/Lee Edwards. B’s: Fritchie over Bill Reaney in 5, then over Mitch Stephens. C’s: Stephens in 5 over Alain Leung, then over Reaney who eliminated Leslie Harris in 5. D’s: Leung over Everett Henry who’d stopped Ellis Newkirk in 5. Consolation: Raj Kumar over Jack Coppedge. Senior’s: Flowers over Hugh Lax. Student’s: Kwok over Reaney. Junior’s: Harris over Donnie Flowers.
Wendell Dillon, in covering the Oct. 25-26 $1400 Atlanta Fall Open, offered an apology to the players:
“…My apologies to those players who followed directions and parked next to the tournament hall. Saturday morning as we were about to call the first matches, the fairgrounds police chief came in and informed us that we would have to move all cars outside the fence because he had to lock our gate. His tact in passing on this pleasant information was about as delicate as a tournament director’s. He simply announced that any car not moved immediately would be towed away. This wouldn’t have been too hard to accept but for the fact that specific arrangements had been made to use that gate and to park inside. When confronted with the problem, the fairgrounds contractor replied casually, ‘Oh, yes, we had a function in another building and decided to lock that gate; sorry ‘bout that’—or words to that effect.”
Anything else Wendell had to apologize for? There was $1400 in prizes, and the unused to competition of the four semifinalists, Wuvanich, Chan, Danny and Ricky Seemiller. Insook? No, for whatever reason she wasn’t there. The Women’s went to Bev Patterson over Teresa Miller. There was no Women’s Doubles, no Mixed Doubles.
In the one Men’s semi’s, Danny had a relatively 10, 14, -17, 14 easy encounter with Chan ($50) who’d come off a demanding 19, -20, 13, 21 quarter’s match with Mike Bush. In the other semi’s, Ricky ($50) put up a ferocious -19, -19, 27, -18 fight against Wuvanich. The final between Danny and Charlie figured to be close—they’d split big matches previously. And the first two games were close—Charlie won them both at 19. But Danny wasn’t finished—he took the 3rd at 18, and was up 18-14 in the 4th. When…
“At that point, he [Danny] missed the table with a forehand drive and the umpire flipped the score to 18-15. But wait—Danny, and most of the spectators, claimed that Charlie had volleyed the ball; that would have made it 19-14. But no, the umpire didn’t see the ball hit (or miss) Charlie’s bat and the score stood 18-15. Danny apparently lost his concentration and Charlie pulled out the game and match, 21-19, winning $450. Danny had to settle for the runner-up’s $250.”
Other Results: Men’s Doubles: Seemillers ($100) over Wuvanich/Chan ($60). A’s: Monty Merchant over Steve Rigo. (Best matches: Jim McQueen, in “the upset of the tournament,” over Jerry Thrasher, -10, 20, 18; Wayne Daunt over Alan Sverdlik.) B’s: Herb Beckham over Ron “Babe” Luth in 5. B Doubles: Doyle Dye/Luth over Larry Bartley/Bruce Smith. C’s: Doug Wilcock over Gene Stephens (from down 2-0), 18 in the 5th, then (from down 2-0) over Ronnie Rigo, 25-23 in the 5th. D’s: Ron Rigo (“the most improved player in the South”) over Bill Brunson. Championship Consolation: Beckham over McQueen. Special Consolation: Larry Mills over John Conner. Senior’s: Sam Hoffner over Beckham, 17, -22, 20, -14, 16. Junior’s: Wilcock over Cecil Brooks.
Merchant’s Mobile T.T. & Rec Center hosted the Oct. 19 Southern Club League Matches. Seven teams participated, but not one from New Orleans—their absence again disappointed Monty. The climactic tie was between the Baton Rouge “Honkers” and the Mobile “Dynamites.” A big swing match occurred when Lance Steed of the Dynamites upset Bruce Smith of the Honkers. In the deciding 3rd, Lance led Bruce 19-11…then lost 8 straight points…but still won. Monty then beat Bruce to give his team 1st place.
Results of the Nov. 1-2 Triangle Open at Raleigh: Championship Singles: Danny Hill over Gerard Auvergne, 18 in the 5th, then in the final over Al Nochenson. Men’s Singles: Auvergne over Steve Hitchner, deuce in the 4th, then over Jim McQueen. Men’s Doubles: Auvergne/Fred King over Mark Gilliam/Bill Brown. Mixed Doubles: Gilliam/Melanie Spain over Tom Poston/Linda Sauls. A’s: Auvergne over Joe Griffin who downed Hitchner in 5. B’s: McQueen over Hill, 23-21 in the 4th. C’s: Clyde Vincent over Roger Girton in 5. Consolation: Tom Rice over Hitchner. Senior’s: Nochenson over Mac Meredith. Junior’s: Denny Stanley over Billy James.
Sam Steiner reports (TTT, Jan.-Feb. 1976, 25-26) that the Penn State Fall Open, directed by Keith Bair, was a Neal Fox-instituted Development tournament—“meaning that playing permits and rating fees were half price. Entry fees were low, considering that 4-5 matches were guaranteed in each round robin event.” Also, the draws were done with such great care that no one complained—though there was some criticism that the “bright orange ‘day-lite’ lighting in the new Penn State Intramural Athletic Building was not good for table tennis.” The idea behind this tournament that catered to the 1300-1700-rated players was to promote the Sport among non-USTTA members, and use a format that prevented “the too-common specter of some basement champion paying 3-4 dollars to get blitzed in the first round of a single elimination tournament and being sent back to the basement, perhaps never to venture out again.”
Results: Open: 1. Bloomsberg State College student Joe Schemo. 2-3. Sam Steiner. 2-3. Hank McCoullum. The two were tied for the moment depending on how a Rules official would treat the default in their round robin. Women’s: 1. Al Fine. 2. Barb McCoy. A’s: 1. Sam Steiner, 5-0 (beat Dickson II, deuce in the 3rd). 2. Dave Dickson II, 3-2 (8-6). 3. Damian Kotecki, 3-2 (6-6). B’s: 1. Stan (“Wolfman”) Wolf. 2. penholder Steve Li. 3. Bob VanZandt. 4. Tom VanZandt. Reportedly, Bob and son Tom are State Father and Son Doubles Champions—in tennis. C’s: 1. Joe Tarantino (“The Bald Seemiller”). 2. “feared letter-writer” Tom Steen. D’s: 1. Steve Tucker and his “mallet” forehand. 2. super-looper Dave Anderson. Handicap: Tom Pratt over Steen.
Phil Vidil in his Slippery Rock Open write-up (TTT, Jan.-Feb. 1976, 26) notes that, on the first day of play, events started at 10 a.m. Saturday and didn’t finish until 6 a.m. Sunday morning! Results: Open Teams: 1. Milda Milacek/Gary “Garbage” Martin. (They had a big 3-0 win over Davis/Neal Fox. “Normally a chopper, Milacek used an uncanny slow, spinny loop and some well-placed blocks” to down Davis.) 2. Mike Connelly/Larry Goldfarb (who’d lost to Milacek/Martin 3-1) won a 3-2 tie from Davis/Fox when Goldfarb beat Fox in the last match. A Teams: Connelly/Danny Tuden over Bill Davis/Jim Meredith (Mike upset Bill, 19 in the 3rd). B Teams: Tim Seemiller/Doug Addington over Sam Steiner/Keith Bair. 3. Peter Chesa/Bruce Fair. C Teams: Harry Hawk/Gary Mullen over Joe Tarantino/Steve Li.
Open Singles: 1. Davis. 2. Fox. 3. Goldfarb. 4. Tuden. Fox, exhausted, defaulted in the final to Davis who “went home with a trophy the size of a little Seemiller.” (After being down 19-11 to Goldfarb, Davis took nine straight points and eventually won the match. Milacek was upset by Tuden, 23-21 in the 3rd.) B-C Singles: Steiner over Tim Seemiller. 3rd: Nigerian Slippery Rock student Chesa. Women’s Singles: LaRue Jones over Irene Van Dyke. 3. Katie Simon. Frannie Plaza was “voted the Flake of the Tournament…for playing with her mouth taped shut for her benefit and all those within 200 yards of her.”
Herb Vichnin reports (TTT, Nov.-Dec., 1975, 25-26) on the Philly Nov. 8-9 Veteran’s Day Open—wait, check that, call it the Bill Sharpe Open. Vic and his buddies renamed it after Bill “was in the money in all six events he entered.” This tournament, said Vic, was “our best ever,” and Sharpe was sharp. Players will tell you that Bill “has no talent…no strokes, “and that “he can’t move very well. But he keeps getting the ball back…again and again and again. Bill also has what it takes in the clutch. He is most dangerous when he’s down late in the game.”
We’ll follow Bill beginning Friday night when he had to skip the Philly Closed Singles because of work (Bush beat the ex-Russian National Champion David Brodsky from down 2-0 in the final), but managed to play in the Closed Doubles with Rich Farrell. After beating Bush/Vichnin in the semi’s, they lost a 4-game thriller to Smolanowicz/Balamoun. The rest of Bill’s finals, after he’d advanced in Saturday play, were on Sunday, and as he was still in five events he’d be kept mighty busy. First up, the A Doubles, in which Bill and Barry Robbins lost a 5-game taxing final to Vichnin/Joe Rokop, -21, 13, -19, 20, -17. Next, the Men’s Singles, in which earlier he’d beaten both Sam Balamoun and Dave Sakai, but would lose to George Brathwaite in the semi’s.
Ah, his first win—the A Singles. In the semi’s he beat Randy Seemiller, 15, 2 (payback to Randy for upsetting Bill in the Sept. Philly tournament from 20-15 match-point down), and in the final Joe Rokop in straight games. Second win: Men’s Doubles with Tim Boggan—in the deciding 3rd over Rick Seemiller/Joe Rokop, then in 5 over Bush/Bruce Plotnick, then in 5 over Brathwaite/Vichnin who both agreed that Bill and Tim had “funny shots.” Last event: 8:45 p.m. AA semi’s over Plotnick in 5; 9:15: AA final—lost to Hamid Hayatghaib.
Other Results: B’s: Jeff Steif over Sid Jacobs (Jeff upset Ali Oveissi in the A’s). C’s: Robert Nochenson over Enoch Green (Robert upset Sol Schiff in the B’s). D’s: Bob Kaminsky over Glen Dong. E’s/F’s: Sam Steiner over Jim Mossberg. G’s: Richard Shrout over Doug Haynes. N’s: Tom Steen over Barry Margolius. Handicap: Eric Boggan over Scott Boggan. Senior’s: Boggan over Schiff, 18 in the 3rd. U-17’s: Plotnick over Stern. U-17A’s: Tommy Lee over Scott Boggan. U-15’s: Stern over Scott Boggan.
For another endurance contest we’d best look to the Princeton Blow-Pong Tournament. Here’s an excerpt from Michael Zielenziger’s article in the Philadelphia Inquirer (see TTT, Nov.-Dec., 1975, 26; 28):
“Princeton, N.J.—First a runner raced across the grassy playing field with a mock Olympic torch. Then a brass band played the National Anthem, plus a medley of selected beer jingles. Then the teams, coaches and cheerleaders—some in drag—were introduced.
And after the mock invocation, which included the spilling of ‘holy brew’ over the playing area, the fourth annual ‘Boot Classic’ blow-pong tournament was on.
…Blow-pong is Princeton’s unique—some would argue perverse—adaptation of table tennis. Eleven players from each team sidle up to a ping-pong table on their knees. A ping-pong ball is dropped in the center of the table, from which the net has been removed, and the team that manages to puff and blow it off the other’s side wins a point.
There is of course a catch. Each member of the team that lost the point must down eight ounces of beer within 30 seconds, or be disqualified.
It is the amount of beer consumed that is startling. In Saturday’s match between the arch-rival Cap and Gown and Cottage clubs, each player quaffed an average of a gallon and a quarter of beer in about an hour, enough to make any mortal ‘boot,’ or vomit, it up later. Which is why it is the Boot Classic….”
Bette Newman, a dog trainer, does an entertaining act with her preened pooches. She tells us she also has other ways of “having fun and meeting interesting people.” Bette is a member of the Lost Battalion Club Team that plays in the Greater New York League. Most of her teammates, Al Jacknin (Captain), Abe Spanover, Stan Winter, Bob Gabor, Bob Davidow, George Abdelsayed, and Joe Williams were around for the Nov. 2nd Open, held, with the help of Recreation Directors Jacknin and Irv Rosenberg, at the Lost Battalion Hall in Queens, N.Y. After top seed Sid Jacobs was upset by Jacknin, the winner was Henry Deutsch over Abe Spanover.
Results of the Oct. 18-19 Binghamton Open: Open: Dave Sakai over Jeff Zakarin, 18 in the 5th. Open Doubles: Sakai/Jim LaFemina over Dave Berard/Saeed Bokharee in 5. A’s: LaFemina over Joe Williams (from down 2-0 and deuce in the 3rd). A Doubles: Berard/Gene Cryzewski over Mark Brown/Rick Cooper. B’s: Brown over Bruce Calman. C’s: Cooper over Don Feltenberger in 5. D’s: Mickey Leung over Doug Hewitt. E’s: Dave Freeman over Tom Chan. Open Consolation: Vyto Petrauskas over Ross Vinocur. Senior’s: Sol Schiff over Sid Jacobs. U-17’s: Paul Gvildys over Dana Gvildys. 3. Steve Cox. Junior Doubles: Greg Garritano/Cooper over Gvildys/Gvildys.
Steve Piazzo, Jr. (TTT, Nov.-Dec., 1975, 29) clues us in on Men’s play at the Bean Pot Classic, held Oct. 4-5 in the Greater Boston Table Tennis Center. In early-round matches, Horace Roberts, down 1-0 and 19-16 against unheralded Mike Emery, rallied for the win. Then Horace found himself in the deciding 3rd against Ralph Robinson, “a defensive whiz who also possesses a strong topspin game.” Ralph forced the match into Expedite, and though down 15-11 at the time, he was able to win “ten of the last twelve points.” Roberts, “driven out of his defensive shell,” had to “attempt winning shots,” and couldn’t get them on.
Quarter’s: In a well-played match, Benfield Munroe outlasted “the good-natured” Robinson in 5. George “The Chief” Brathwaite advanced over Montreal’s Guy Germain in straight sets. Errol Resek didn’t lose a game against former Nigerian International Lekan Fenuyi, now living in Lowell, MA And Carl Danner, who’d “crushed” Sakai, looked to do the same to Lim Ming Chui, allowing him only 25 points the first two games. But then, what happened? Carl lost the next three. Semi’s: Ming went on to rally again, beating Resek, 10, -20, -14, 21, 19, with clutch play. Brathwaite dropped the first game to Munroe, but thereafter it was as though the “superbly conditioned” Chief could give him a 4-point start. Final: Brathwaite, 3-0, over Chui. George “overpowered all his opponents; he is a charismatic individual who radiates a quiet confidence that can be unsettling to his foes.”
Other winners: Men’s Doubles: Brathwaite/Resek over Sakai/Roberts. Women’s: Evelyn Zakarin, who plays weekly at her 10-table Woodmere, Long Island Club, over Anita Wu. A’s: Munroe over Jeff Zakarin. B’s: Bruce Abrams over Al Millet who’d 24, -22, 16 escaped Bob Quinn. D’s: Kirby over Bruce Hvasta. E’s: Charlie Hung over Schwartz, 23-21 in the 3rd, then over Kirby. F’s: Stu Kroll over Barry Margolius in 5. G’s: Deming over Braston. Handicap: Gauthier over Tony Vasquez. U-17’s: Steve Marceno over Hung.
Piazzo has an accompanying article on the Oct. 25-26 New England Closed, also held at the Greater Boston Center. Men’s quarter’s play: Ben Hull over Lew Martinello in 5; Dave Sakai over Haig Raky; Ed Raky (Haig’s brother) over Frank Dwelly; and Ralph Robinson and his backhand loops over an off-form Lim Ming Chui. Semi’s: Sakai over Hull, 3-0; Robinson over Ed Raky. Final: Sakai (off to an 11-0 lead) over Robinson in 4 (Ralph won the 3rd at 19).
Other Results: Women’s: Eileen Kelly over Anita Wu, the Center’s Champ. A’s: Robinson (though outscored) over Dwelly in 5. B’s: Hull over Ed Raky. C’s: Sparky James over Bruce Abrams. D’s: Stu Kroll. E’s: Paul Schuld. F’s: Kroll over Margolius (down 20-12, Barry won 8 straight, then lost the game at deuce). Senior’s: Irv Levine. U-17’s/U-15’s: Charlie Hung. Aspiring poet Bob Glass is praised—in the C’s he “outscored Bob Quinn in a real upset.” So it might be said Bob didn’t do himself justice in the following poem:
Winners at the Nov. 1 Nova Scotia Closed at Wolfville: Men’s: Neville Brabrook over Darrell Northcott in 5. Men’s Doubles: Brabrook/Northcott over Scott Milsom/Joe Fisher. Women’s: Janice Silver over Linda Knight, 18 in the 5th. Women’s Doubles: Meral Once/Lesley Brabrook over Silver/L. Rowledoe, 19 in the 3rd. Mixed Doubles: Neville/Brabrook over Richard/Linda Knight. B’s: Mike Stevens over Ron Cooper. Boys U-17: Mark Kent over Doug Pope. Girls U-17: Jennifer White over Judith Cooper. Boys U-15: Ian Kent over Jimmy King. Junior Doubles: Pope/Stevens over Mark/Ian Kent, 18 in the 3rd.
Rufford Harrison reports (TTT, Nov.-Dec., 1975, 7) that after decades of traditional play at the Niagara Falls Badminton Club, the Oct. Central Canadian Open was moved to Fort Erie. Had this been of interest to at least some U.S. players? Yes, because a grant provided by the Ontario government “enabled the Canadians to provide just about all the funds needed to transport, feed and house a U.S. Team there—much as was done in Toronto at the CNE.” Men’s Team Captain Charlie Disney was to meet four people at the airport (one of whom very likely was Rufford) but he never appeared, and never explained why he didn’t appear. Rufford, who was preoccupied with the Women’s matches, then asked Fuarnado Roberts to take over the Men’s Captaincy and report on the tie with Canada and on the tournament in general for Topics. Robbie agreed, but no write-up ever came.
Two who did arrive in Fort Erie to meet Harrison were ITTF President H. Roy Evans, making his first trip to North America, and ITTF General Secretary A.K “Bill” Vint. Rufford said they’d attended “a Montreal meeting of the General Assembly of National Sports Federations as a representative of the Welsh national body, then went on to “a meeting of the General Assembly of International Federations, of which the ITTF is a member.” Later, they’d be in New York with Rufford, Dick Miles, Boggan, and Roy Hylton, President of both the Jamaican TT Association and the Caribbean TT Federation. All of us having dinner and conversation (Miles was grilled on the U.S. possibly hosting the World’s) at the City’s best Jamaican restaurant.
Though there could have been better coverage of this Canadian tournament, Topics did receive the bare bones Men’s and Women’s Results. In Men’s Team play, the U.S. beat Canada, 5-3: Rick Seemiller downed Alan Heap, 22, 16, but lost to Errol Caetano, 18 in the 3rd; Mike Bush beat Derek Wall, 19, 18, but fell deuce in the 3rd (after leading 19-15) to Caetano; and Danny Seemiller swept all three of his matches—over Heap, 2-0, over Wall, 2-1, and over Caetano, 18 in the 3rd.
Men’s Singles: Final: Caetano (from down 2-0) over Danny Seemiller, 18 in the 5th. Semi’s: Caetano over Ricky Seemiller, 20, -13, 22, 12; Danny over Alex Polisois, 15, 18, 10 (Alex had knocked out Mike Bush in 4). Quarter’s: Caetano over Roberts in 4 (after Robbie had just gotten by Bill Davis, 19 in the 5th); Ricky over Guy Germain in 4; Polisois over Art Saltpeter, 3-0; Danny over Alan Heap, 3-0 (after Alan had advanced over Peter Gonda, 18, -16, 19, 19).
Notes by Neal Fox: Men’s: Davis upset Derek Wall in 4 in the 1st round. Buffalo’s Chuck Gorchek played well in the A’s and B’s, losing to the winners, though Neal doesn’t tell us who they were. C winner: Bob Brickell. Handicap/Boys U-15 winner: Steve Claflin from Port Huron, MI.
Women’s Singles: Final: Insook Na over Mariann Domonks, 6, 6, 21. Semi’s: Insook over Violetta Nesukaitis, 12, 11, 16; Domonkos over Irena Cordas, 15, 23, 19. Quarter’s: Insook over Suzanna Kavallierou, 15, 12, 11; Domonkos over Gloria Hsu, 17 in the 5th; Nesukaitis over Alice Green Sonne, 17, 19, 20; Cordas over Olga Soltesz, 9, 16, 21.
Women’s Team play: Canada beat the U.S. 5-3: Insook won all 3; Olga lost to Violetta Nesukaitis and Irena Cordas, both in 3; and Alice Green Sonne, in big swing matches, lost to Violetta, -17, -19, to Irena, -19, 18, -16, and to Gloria Hsu, -15, 13, -20. Olga opened against Violetta. “Why always me?” she said. “I was the first one out in Calcutta.” Rufford said, “Deep down inside, Olga had the right attitude,” and the right “roll-and-hit game” to beat chopper Nesukaitis. Alice, said Rufford, “can hit hard, but she can roll only weakly after a pushing rally”—and Irena was waiting to smack that high, soft ball in for a winner. Violetta, too, was ready to counter when Alice “too often opened her attack to the wings.” After losing the 1st, Alice was down 20-19 in the 2nd when the Expedite Rule came in. Since Alice had the serve, Rufford said, “I decided to be unethical” (who’d have thought it?). He called out to Alice, “Remember, you don’t have to hit the first ball.” So of course Violetta returned the ball slightly high, and of course Alice swung at it. Against Gloria, who was hitting well, Alice in the 3rd was down 19-12, but by “sheer determination” tied it up at 19-all, then “dropped the next point and once again evened the score, only to lose at 20.”
“Oh, for a replay,” groaned Capt. Harrison.