By Larry Hodges
Men's Singles - Round of 16
The Men's round of 16 had a number of interesting matches - and they were, for many, the "key" matches, as the winners advanced to the quarterfinal round robins; losers were out. Here's a rundown, from top to bottom of the draw:
Ilija Lupulesku d. Todd Sweeris, 8,4,3,-7,-8,6. Lupi didn't look to be in great physical shape, but his topspin touch was still better than anyone else's here as he romped for three games. Todd won the next two, but Lupi ended it in the sixth.
Eric Owens d. Shao Yu, -5,8,6,8,9. This was a battle of Eric's looping - mostly forehand - vs. Shao's backhand pips-out hitting. Shao dominated at the start, but Eric won the key points in the next four games.
Barney J. Reed d. Auria Malek, -12,2,0,10,8. This was a rather strange and streaky match. After Auria won the first, Barney took the next two, outscoring Auria 22-2! In the fourth, it was Auria's turn - or was it? Auria goes up 9-2, then 10-6 - but loses the next six in a row. He doesn't give up, battles all through the sixth and has chances to win - but can't convert.
Cheng Yinghua
d. Adam Hugh, -11,3,11,6,9. Probably the most interesting match, since
16-year-old Adam had upset 46-year-old Cheng at last year's Nationals. Would
the "old" Cheng of yesteryear show up, or would an "old"
Cheng show up? It was probably something in between. It was a battle of two
very steady players, with Cheng topspinning his backhand right off the
bounce over and over and picking his forehands, while Adam would use his
harder backhand to set up his forehand, which he'd play from well off the
table. The rallies were extremely long and furious. Cheng led 10-9 in the
first, then was down 10-11 and lost 11-13. After romping in the second 11-3,
Cheng led 10-8 in the third - and again couldn't hold it as Adam deuced it
and went up 10-11 again. But this time Cheng won 13-11. Cheng romped again
in the fourth, 11-6, and led 10-7 triple match point in the fifth. He forced
Adam off the table and smashed, Adam lobbed - and Cheng smashed off the edge
of his racket! Cheng next backhanded a net-ticker off, 10-9. But the
comeback ended there as Cheng blocked back several shots, and then suddenly
counterlooped a forehand winner to win the match.
Afterwards, Cheng talked to Adam about the match, and said, "You played
very well, but too soft. Otherwise, I have no chance today." Cheng was
referring to Adam's backing up to spin forehands over and over rather than
looping from closer to the table more aggressively.
Khoa Nguyen d. Chi-Sun Chui, 8,9,8,5. The two have played many times, and they have great rallies, but Khoa's two-winged attack is just too strong for Chi-Sun's steadiness and sudden attacks.
Han Xiao d. Darko Rop, 9,-7,8,5,-9,-7,3. A battle of Han's off-the-bounce power loops vs. Darko's steady loops from farther back, the match went Han's way as he went up 3-1. But Darko's a warrior, and battled back, forcing Han to play longer rallies than he'd like, often making him block or force his loops. But in the seventh, Han started out ripping winner after winner to lead 4-0, 8-2, 11-3. "I switched to a shorter toss on my serve in the seventh game," Han said. "He's a rhythm player, and it threw his rhythm off."
Mark Hazinski d. Freddie Gabriel, 9,11,6,4. Early on, it looked like the Freddie of old, before he took a multi-year leave of absence from table tennis, had shown and battled Mark even up. But in the end, a red-hot Mark looped at will in winning the last two easily.
David Zhuang d. Misha Kazantsev, 9,6,-8,4,5. Misha can play with inspiration, and there were times in first three games that it looked like he could battle with Zhuang. But Zhuang adjusts, and soon had Misha's loops timed perfectly as he blocked and pick hit his way to winning the last two games easily.
Men's Singles - Quarterfinal Round Robins
The final eight players were put into two groups of four, with the top two from each group making the National Team and advancing to crossovers to decide the final order of finish.
Group One - Ilija Lupulesku, Khoa Nguyen, Mark Hazinski, Han Xiao
This group was the "unexciting" one, as the first match played was 4-0, and the other five were all 4-1. In the end, the key match was Khoa Nguyen's win over Mark Hazinski, which essentially was the quarterfinals - with Khoa (2-1) advancing in second (along with Lupulesku, 3-0, in first), and Mark out. "He out-rallied me, my serves didn't work, and I missed some hangers," Mark said of the match. Results were as follows, in the order played:
Ilija Lupulesku d. Mark Hazinski, 9,9,6,4
Khoa Nguyen d. Han Xiao, 7,-10,7,7,9
Ilija Lupulesku d. Khoa Nguyen, 4,5,-7,10,9
Mark Hazinski d. Han Xiao, 7,4,7,-9,7
Ilija Lupulesku d. Han Xiao, 9,-13,7,8,6
Khoa Nguyen d. Mark Hazinski, 4,-9,7,8,9
Group Two - David Zhuang, Cheng Yinghua, Barney J. Reed, Eric Owens
This group was a bit more interesting. In match one, David Zhuang and Barney J. Reed had a seesaw match that climaxed in the sixth game. Barney led 3-2, but David was serving up 9-7. Barney scored both points, and now served for the upset win at 9-all. David took a timeout. They returned, and the crowd was silent as Barney served ... off the end! Down 9-10, he served long, David spun the ball back softly - and Barney passively blocked it off! Game to David, 11-9, who would go on to win the seventh, 11-5.
In the next match, Eric Owens battled with 46-year-old Cheng Yinghua to 2-2, but from there on it was all Cheng, moving Eric around with his off-the-bounce topspins and blocks and sudden forehand loops. Cheng doesn't have the power or speed he used to have, but he still knows how to play. Cheng followed this match up by defeating David Zhuang - losing the first 11-6, and barely pulling out the second, 15-13, and then coasting in the last three.
Barney and David both won 4-0 against Eric, knocking him out of the competition. So it came down to the last match, Cheng versus Barney. If Cheng wins, he advances in first, David second; if Barney wins, he advances in first, Cheng second. In the first game, Cheng leads 9-7, then it's 9-all. Cheng serves, and Barney dribbles the ball over the net - but Cheng reaches in, and "counter-dribbles" it right back over the net! Barney tosses his racket in disgust, getting yellow-carded, while his coach, Ludovic Gombos, calls a timeout that Barney doesn't seem happy about. When they return, Cheng blocks Barney around the table, and Barney loops off to lose, 9-11. Barney comes back to win game two, 11-5, but loses the next three in a row. So advancing is Cheng, 3-0, in first, and David, 2-1, in second. Results were as follows, in the order played:
David Zhuang d. Barney J. Reed, -9,5,-13,6,-7,9,5
Cheng Yinghua d. Eric Owens, -12,6,3,-3,6,8
Cheng Yinghua d. David Zhuang, -6,13,8,6,8
Barney J. Reed d. Eric Owens, 8,8,4,7
David Zhuang d. Eric Owens, 4,8,2,7
Cheng Yinghua d. Barney J. Reed, 9,-5,3,9,3
So the USA National Team is now set, with Ilija Lupulesku, Khoa Nguyen, Cheng Yinghua and David Zhuang. The four will play for the national men's singles title on Saturday night, with Lupi playing David, Cheng against Khoa. To use Star Wars terms, the Trials and Men's Singles have been "Table Wars: Return of the Veterans" as the average age of the men's team is 40.5! (Cheng, 46, but turning 47 in January before the Worlds; David, 41; Khoa, 38; Lupi, 37.)
Women's Singles
The round of 16 in women's was basically uneventful as the higher rated player won all eight matches easily, losing a cumulative two games. Simone Yang played two close but losing games before winning game three against Jasna Reed, but lost, 9,11,-7,6. Wendy Eav won the first against Virginia Sung, but Sung chopped her way to victory the rest of the way, -7,5,9,8. In other matches, Gao Jun defeated Michelle Do, 3,8,4; Chen Dongye defeated Laura Xiao, 6,7,6; Whitney Ping defeated Barbara Wei, 4,7,6; Tawny Banh defeated Ann Alvarez, 2,2,6; Jackie Lee defeated Judy Hugh, 2,2,6; and Lily Yip defeated Heather Wang by default.
Women's Singles - Quarterfinal Round Robins
Group One
This group was seemingly uneventful, with all six matches quick 4-0's. For the first five matches, things went as expected. Gao won her three matches easily to advance in first. In the final match, veteran and new Hall of Famer Lily Yip played Jackie Lee for the final spot - but Jackie, attacking furiously from right over the table, won 4-0 to to make the National team and advance to the semifinals. Results were as follows, in the order played:
Gao Jun d. Jackie Lee, 4,6,5,5
Lily Yip d. Chen Dongye, 9,7,10,9
Gao Jun d. Lily Yip, 6,8,5,7
Jackie Lee d. Chen Dongye, 7,3,8,5
Gao Jun d. Chen Dongye, 8,3,6,8
Jackie Lee d. Lily Yip, 10,9,4,8
Group Two
This group was the "exciting" one, with USA's top junior girl, Whitney Ping, pulling off a 4-1 upset of long-time USA team member Tawny Banh. Whitney played very smart - spinning loops to Tawny's backhand pips, slightly more aggressive to Tawny's forehand, where Tawny would often counterloop off. Whitney didn't try to overplay and bang out shot after shot, which is Tawny's game. In game five, down 6-9, Tawny tied it at 9-all, but Whitney won the last two.
But Tawny didn't let the match rattle her - in her very next match, she upset the groups #1 seed and defending National Women's Champion, Jasna Reed, 4-2. Often it was a battle of backhands - Tawny's quick and fast pips-out backhand, Jasna's powerful counterhitting and looping. In the sixth, down 8-9, Jasna served and backhand looped off, and fell to her knees yelling "NO!" Helped by a net, however, she scored the next two to reach deuce. But she serve and looped off, and Tawny won it with a stinging backhand.
Jasna and Whitney both defeated chopper Virginia Sung. In the final round, Whitney faced Jasna, and Tawny faced Virginia. Assuming Tawny won - she did, 4-1 - and assuming Jasna won - she did - there would be a 3-way tie between Jasna, Tawny and Whitney. If Whitney wins one game off Jasna, she would advance in second, ahead of Tawny, and make the national team. Later she said she didn't know that during the match, probably didn't want to know - but it didn't help as Jasna dominated, winning 4-0 easily, 5,4,6,4. And so Jasna, Tawny and Whitney all finished 2-1. In games among themselves, Jasna was 6-4 (.600), Tawny 5-6 (.455) and Whitney 4-5 (.444). And so by .011, Tawny advances in second over Whitney, with Jasna in first. Results were as follows, in the order played:
Jasna Reed d. Virginia Sung, 7,4,1,6
Whitney Ping d. Tawny Banh, -8,7,10,7,9
Tawny Banh d. Jasna Reed, 9,-8,3,-5,5,10
Whitney Ping d. Virginia Sung, 8,-8,9,8,8
Jasna Reed d. Whitney Ping, 5,4,6,4
Tawny Banh d. Virginia Sung, 4,6,4,-9,4
So the Women's National Team is Gao Jun, Jackie Lee, Jasna Reed and Tawny Banh. In the semifinals on Saturday night, Jasna Reed will play Jackie Lee, and Tawny Banh will play Gao Jun. Jasna is the defending champion, but Gao, who did not play last year, had won it seven years in a row before that.
Men's Doubles
The top seeds, Ilija Lupulesku and Mark Hazinski, mostly dominated the event, not losing a game until they were up 2-0 in the final against David Zhuang/Barney J. Reed, the #2 seeds. The teams would battle even up from there on, splitting the last two games - which is all Lupulesku/Hazinski needed as they won, 8,8,-11,9. In the semifinals, Lupulesku/Hazinski had defeated Santos Shih/Shao Yu (who had been helped by the Todd Sweeris/Brian Pace default, as Brian was a no-show due to a concussion suffered while biking). In the other semifinal, Zhuang/Reed had defeated Auria Malek/Misha Kazantsev, 6,4,-6,6.
Mixed Doubles
The match many had long waited for finally happened - Ilija Lupulesku/Jasna Reed versus Cheng Yinghua/Gao Jun. These two dynamo teams had never played. On one side, there was the left-righty combo Lupi and Reed, who were experienced playing together for many years, right back to when they used to be married. They are no longer married, but are still good friends, practice partners and doubles partners. On the other side was Cheng Yinghua and Gao Jun - Cheng, formerly the best player in the U.S. for ten years (but now 46 years old), and former Chinese doubles champion, and Gao Jun, the top U.S. women for many years. Lupi was a silver medalist for men's doubles at the 1988 Olympics; Jasna was a bronze medalist for women's doubles at the same Olympics. Gao Jun was a silver medalist for women's doubles at the 1992 Olympics. Yes, these players can play doubles! Lupi/Jasna started out strong, winning game one 11-7, but Cheng/Gao pulled out the second, 12-10, and won the next two to win the match, -7,10,7,4. Cheng and Gao were just too steady, with Gao's blocks and hitting, and Cheng's steady looping and blocking.
Junior and Cadet Team Trials
What a battle - a final complete round robin of eight for each category! In the end, the best way to see what happened, browse the results. The results also show that every game is important as two of the events (with junior girls still being decided with some matches postponed until today) were decided by ties.
In junior boys, Misha Kasentsev (7-0) upset Adam Hugh (6-1) for the top spot. Trevor Runyan (5-2) was third. For the fourth spot, in the last match, Earl James Alto upset Raghu Nadmichettu 3-0 to force a three-way tie between themselves and Joseph Cochran, all at 3-4. Earl had defeated Raghu, 9,6,8; Raghu defeated Joseph -8,-12,6,6,3; and Joseph had defeated Earl at 5,5,5. Among themselves, Earl was 3-3; Raghu 3-5, and Joseph 5-3 - and so Joseph got the fourth spot.
In cadet boys, Lin Jeff Huang dominated, not losing a single game (and only going to deuce once) in going 7-0, 21-0 in games. In second was Sean C. Lee at 5-2, with losses only to Jeff and Don James Alto. Third was Steven Chan at 4-3, winning head-to-head against Don, also 4-3.
In cadet girls, Jennifer Mast went 7-0 without losing a single game. In second was Stephanie Shih at 5-2, winning head to head against Olena Sowers, also 5-2. Colleen Lee and Alicia Wei were tied for the fourth spot at 4-3 - but Alicia won head-to-head to get the fourth spot.
Congratulations to the 2005 USA National Junior and Cadet Teams!
Junior Boys: 1st Misha Kazantsev; 2nd Adam Hugh; 3rd Trevor Runyan; 4th Joseph Cochran
Junior Girls - not yet complete
Cadet Boys: 1st Lin Jeff Huang; 2nd Sean C. Lee; 3rd Steven Chan; 4th Don James Alto
Cadet Girls: 1st Jennifer Mast; 2nd Stephanie Shih; 3rd Olena Sowers; 4th Alicia Wei
Over 60 Men - Final: George Brathwaite d. Richard Hicks, 6,5,5; SF: Hicks d. Tay Chong Keng, 11,8,8; Brathwaite d. Howard Grossman, 10,2,7; QF: Hicks d. Ron von Schimmelmann, 7,3,3; Tay d. Allen Silberman, 9,3,4; Grossman d. Lynwood Smith, 3,-6,5,3; Brathwaite d. Nick Mintsiveris, 10,-0,-9,6,7.
Over 70 - Final: George Brathwaite d. Nick Mintsiveris, 7,9,-5,2; SF: Brathwaite d. Grady Gordon, 10,-8,8,7; Mintsiveris d. Mark Shapiro, -11,4,9,7; QF: Brathwaite d. Hiep Cung, 11,7,3; Gordon d. Dick Peregrine, 3,1,10; Shapiro d. George Hendry, -10,-5,11,9,5; Mintsiveris d. Lynwood Smith, 8,4,3.
Over 50 Women - Final: Bella Livshin d. Charlene Liu, 4,5,9; SF: Livshin d. Donna Sakai, 8,8,3; Liu - bye.
Over 60 Women - Final: Ann Alvarez d. Barbara Kaminsky, -8,5,3,9; SF: Alvarez d. Danuta Andrzejewska, -5,3,9,5; Kaminsky d. Suzanne Sanders, -6,-11,9,9,5.
Over 75 - Final: Grady Gordon d. Dick Peregrine, 10,8,7; SF: Gordon d. Danny Kim, 5,-9,6,-11,6; Peregrine d. Si Wasserman, 10,7,6.
Over 40 Doubles - Final: Barry Dattel/Lily Yip d. Cheng Yinghua/Dave Sakai, 4,9,-8,-6,8; SF: Dattel/Yip d. Mitch Seidenfeld/Avishy Schmidt, 4,7,8; Cheng/Sakai d. Rudy Miranda/Loc Bao Ngo, -8,-9,4,7,8.
Over 50 Doubles - Final: Jiri Hlava/Lim Ming Chui d. Richard Hicks/Henry McCoullum, -9,4,12,10; SF: Hlava/Chui d. Jim McQueen/Ray Mack, 4,4,8; Hlava/Chui d. Dave Sakai/George Brathwaite, 5,4,10.
Over 70 Doubles - Final: Grady Gordon/George Hendry d. Lynwood Smith/Dick Peregrine, 9,-5,6,-5,4; SF: Gordon/Hendry d. Marty Reisman/Dean Johnson, -5,9,13,6; Smith/Peregrine d. George Brathwaite/Cornelius Smyth, 9,-6,9,-6,7.
All Hardbat matches are games to 21.
Hardbat Singles - Final: Courtney Roberts d. Loc Bao Ngo, -14,18,13,16; SF: Roberts d. Lim Ming Chui, -13,19,15,-17,13; Ngo d. David Umel Jr., 18,-18,18,18; QF: Roberts d. Rudy Miranda, 18,11; Chui d. Phillip Lim, 12,19,-19,16; Umel d. Ren Yong, -14,-23,15,18,18; Ngo d. James Therriault, 17,13.
Under 1500 Hardbat - Final: Jim Weisbecker d. Jeff Louie, 20,14; SF: Weisbecker d. Andrew Wai, 11,-17,13; Louie d. Bob Reising, 19,19.
Under 1800 - Final: Chang-Shing Hsu d. Richard Mercado, -6,8,7,-10,8; SF: Hsu d. Chihchen Jack Hsu, 5,9,9; Mercado d. Sam Ignazzitto, 9,7,-11,9.
Under 1600 - Final: Dan Seemiller Jr. d. Thomas Nguyen, 6,9,13; SF: Seemiller d. Andy Pelshe, 9,-6,5,5; Nguyen d. Alex Horvath, -10,9,8,9.
Under 1500 - Final: Thomas Nguyen d. Le Giang, -9,-10,4,10,7; SF: Nguyen d. Scott Roberts, -10,8,-10,1,8; Le d. Vincent Banh, -6,-8,10,8,8.
Under 1300 - Final: Tomas Fuentes-Afflick d. Brian Louie, 2,-10,7,9; SF: Fuentes-Afflick d. Ariel Hsing, -8,5,-2,9,10; Louie d. Alicia Sanchez, 4,6,8.
Under 1000 - Final: David Flores d. Mengzhe Ma, 2,4,5; SF: Flores d. Danny Bryan Jr., -9,-9,7,8,9; Ma d. Paul Ishimitsu, def.
Unrated - Final: Raymond Wang d. Wilheim Adoremos, 11,4,-10,9; SF: Wang d. George Okutani, 6,4,8; Adoremos d. Liu Yanjun, 6,8,3.
Wheelchair Open Singles - Final: Stuart Ronald Caplin d. Andre Scott, 5,8,-8,5.
Wheelchair Doubles - Final: Andre Scott/Jennifer Johnson d. Stuart Ronald Caplin/Jon Redman, 7,8,8.
Standing Disabled Doubles - Final: Daniel Bryan/Gene Chiu d. Norman Bass/Robert Bowlander, 13,8,7; SF: Bryan/Chiu d. Chris Puls/Liang Liung, def; Bass/Bowlander d. Jeffrey Glazer/Wilfredo Castillo, 6,4,9.
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