2003 U.S. Team Trials

There were two interesting matches this round: Tawny Banh versus Virginia Sung, and Jasna Reed versus Lily Yip. Judy Hugh versus Gao was also interesting, since we see a glimpse of the what might be some very serious matches in a few years - but that's in the future.

Banh won the first easily against Sung, and led 10-7 in the second. Sung became a bit more aggressive at the end, and she tied it at 10-all. Banh had leads of 11-10 and 12-11 before a great rally at 13-12, with Banh looping very hard over and over, and Sung finally chopping one off, 14-12. The last two games were actually the best, because by this time, Sung's chopping was really warmed up, and she was chopping just about everything back, even Banh's smashes. But Banh was also a bit looser now, after winning the first two, and she also was playing better. Match to Banh, 4,12,9,8. On how she plays a chopper like Sung, Banh said, "Just be patient. Some points I rush and make mistakes. When you play a chopper, you have to take your time." With this win, and her head-to-head wins over Yip and Yang, Banh has locked up her spot on the U.S. team.

Reed and Yip was a seesaw match, with the momentum constantly changing, and either player sometimes running off a string of points. In generaly, Reed's backhand often dominated, but other times Yips quick backhand and forehand smash dominated. Reed went up 2-1 in games. In the fourth, Yip led 7-3, but Reed scored 8 in a row to win. In the fifth, it was 7-all, but Yip scored four in a row to win. The sixth was all Reed, who led 7-1 on her way to an 11-7 win. With this win, she almost locks up her spot on the U.S. team - all she needs to clinch is one more win in her three upcoming matches against Amanda Dubina, Simone Yang or Tawny Banh. After the match, Reed said, "Lily is the hardest to play - I always have trouble playing that style. It's scarier than playing Gao, since Lily goes for so many shots. If she gets a 2-0 lead in a game, then anything can happen in a game to 11.

Men

Eric Owens and Khoa Nguyen both play similar games - very athletic, fast-on-their-feet looping from both wings, with big forehands. However, Owens won the battle of serve & receive here, and got the first attack in first more often. But it was a streaky match Owens was down 10-1 in the second, and then got to 6 before losing. Match to Owens, 8,-6,9,4,6. This improved Owens' record to 4-3, and back in the running for the team. Nguyen dropped to 4-4, still in contention.

David Zhuang and Mark Hazinski was a match many were waiting to see. Hazinski is playing extremely well this tournament. However, the experienced Zhuang constantly changed the pace on his blocks, keeping Hazinski off balance. Hazinski had his changes, especially up 10-9 in the second, but Zhuang won, 9,10,6,8, improving his record to 7-0. Hazinski dropped to 6-2.

In the longest match of the round, Jiachen Wang broke the ice with his first win, over Ashu Jain, -3,3,-9,4,-8,7,5. "You can't let Wang play his game, or he'll kill you," said De Tran, watching the match. "When he gets to loop, he can compete with anyone."

Lupulesku had his usual fishing trip, spinning from well off the table and generally getting everything back while throwing winners whenever he felt the urge. Adam Hugh played well, but needs a little more time before he's ready for Lupi. Match to Lupulesku, 11,8,4,3.

Brian Pace is having trouble winning close games, and his record in games that are 1-9 or closer is 3-9. Once again he had his chances - 1-1 in games, and up 10-9 in the third - but from there on De Tran dominated, winning three in a row here, and the last two games at 4 and 6. Tran can take complete control of a match with his constant looping from both wings, and when he loops his backhand off the bounce, it's often unreturnable.

Current Standings
Note - the matches played by Priscilla Umel and Shashin Shodhan no longer count in the standings, due to their defaults from the tournament, and so their matches have been taken out of the results.
Men			Women
1-2	Ilija Lupulesku	7-0	1	Chang Jun Gao	7-0
	David Zhuang	7-0	2	Tawny Banh	6-0
3	Mark Hazinski	6-2	3	Jasna Reed	5-1
4-5	Eric Owens	4-3	4	Lily Yip	4-3
	De Tran	4-3	5-6	Virginia Sung	3-4
6	Khoa Nguyen	4-4		Jackie Lee	3-4
7	Darko Rop	3-4	7	Simone Yang	2-4
8	Adam Hugh	3-5	8	Judy Hugh	2-5
9-10	Ashu Jain	1-6	9	Moji Kuye	1-5
	Jiachen Wang	1-6	10	Amanda Dubina	0-7
11	Brian Pace	0-7

2003 USA Table Tennis World and Pan Am Trials

Final Twelve - Round Eight

Women

Men

Current Standings

Men

Women