2003 USA Table Tennis World and Pan Am Trials

Atlanta, GA • March 17-22, 2003

Final Twelve - Round Seven

By Larry Hodges

Women

• Tawny Banh d. Judy Hugh, 4,5,-14,4,2

• Moji Kuye d. Amanda Dubina, -11,2,6,5,8

• Lily Yip d. Jackie Lee, 8,-7,15,-16,5,-5,5

• Simone Yang d. Virginia Sung, 8,6,8,10

The big match this round was Lily Yip's 7-game win over Jackie Lee. The two play extremely fast rallies, so the points rarely lasted more than 2-3 shots at most. The two split the first two games. In the third, Lee led 11-10, 13-12, 14-13 and 15-14 - but Yip led 10-9, 12-11, and most importantly, 16-15 and, with a point-winning jab-block to Lee's forehand, 17-15. But this was a "short" game, compared to game four. This time, Yip led 12-11, 15-14 and 16-15 - but Lee led 10-9, 11-10, 13-12, 14-13, 17-16, and most importantly, when Yip serve and looped off, 18-16. With the match now tied at 2-2, things settled down: Yip scored five in a row from 6-5 to win the fifth 11-5; Lee ran away with the sixth, also 11-5; and Yip then got the high-five by winning the seventh, also 11-5. What a match between the up-and-coming Lee (17) and the veteran Yip!

Lily's daughter, Judy Hugh, won a long, 16-14 third-game duel with Tawny Banh, but the rest of the time it was all Banh, 4,5,-14,4,2. 

Moji Koye won her match over Amanda Dubina. Photo by Michael Wetzel ©2003.

Moji Kuye's quick pips-out backhand countering and forehand smash were the key against Amanda Dubina. Dubina is a looper, but her opening loops were often too soft, and Kuye was able to attack them consistently. Dubina has a nice backhand loop, but too seemed willing to push, and let Kuye open with a backhand hit. Dubina won the first, but the rest of the way Kuye dominated, -11,2,6,5,8.

Simone Yang knows how to play choppers. Against Virginia Sung, she'd play long, steady rallies, with lots of high-arcing loops, willing to play steady until she had an easy one - and then very efficiently kill it. Near the end, Sung became more aggressive, especially when serving. In the fourth, down 7-10, Sung came back, scoring twice in a row by serving and attacking at 8-10. At 10-all, Yang played a long, steady rally, with a number of soft loops, until Sung finally looped one off. Yang immediately called a timeout, "to rest," she said later. When she returned, Sung served the same inside-out forehand serve that she'd used effectively earlier, Yang spun it up, and Sung smashed off. Match to Yang, 8,6,8,10.

Men

• David Zhuang d. Adam Hugh, 6,7,4,-9,6
• De Tran d. Jiachen Wang, 5,7,12,8
• Eric Owens d. Brian Pace, 8,5,7,6
• Mark Hazinski d. Ashu Jain, 9,6,7,7
• Darko Rop d. Khoa Nguyen, 6,9,-6,6,-7,2

Darko Rop spends much of his time off the table spinning, but here we catch him over the table. Photo by Ray Swords Photography ©2003.

The "Big" match this round was Darko Rop's upset of Khoa Nguyen, which could open the door to the team to Rop or others. Rop just keeps playing better and better as the tournament moves along. Nguyen may be the smoothest looper in the U.S., but Rop may be the hardest-working one, as he races around the court looping from both wings, but mostly with the forehand. For a big man like him (6'1"), it's surprising how much ground he can cover, and how fast he can twist his body to loop forehands. He doesn't have the graceful form of Nguyen, but he is looping (and blocking with surprising consistency) with such workmanlike efficiency that, after his long layoff and return to table tennis 18 months ago, and he seems perhaps even better than before. In this match, he dominated on serve & receive, and seemed able to loop or counterloop anything, from both wings. Nguyen often seemed caught off guard when his best loops kept coming back just as strong as when he looped them, and the lefty Rop looped balls from all over the court to wide angles. In the last game, Rop led 4-1, then at 4-2 ran off the last seven points. Match to Rop, 6,9,-6,6,-7,2.

David Zhuang had a hair-raising experience, but you know that forehand hit. He continues to roll along at 6-0. photo by Ray Swords Photography ©2003.

Adam Hugh gave David Zhuang a run for it, and his control and shot-making won one game, but Zhuang is simply too strong, to experienced. But you could see signs of future rivalry between these two New Jersey stars. 

De Tran looped his way past Jiachen Wang. "He was looking tired," said Tran. Both Tran and Wang had had to qualify, and both had been playing since Monday morning - and the strain was starting to show.

Mark Hazinski shows the touch off short serves that enable him to get his big power game into play. photo by Ray Swords Photography ©2003.

Mark Hazinski continued his roll, with his quadruple-match-point-up loss to Lupulesku still his only loss. This round he defeated Ashu Jain, 9,6,7,7. Hazinski dominates with his two-winged power, but he only is able to get it into play because his serve and return of serve keep getting better.

Eric Owens had lost to Brian Pace at the Teams last year, the last time they'd played, and Pace, a big power looper, generally likes playing players of that style, such as Owens. However, in this match, "He didn't seem to be focused," said Owens. Pace made far too many mistakes. An easy win for Owens this time, 8,5,7,6.

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