The Sichuan Team Champions, L-R: Chou Ye Ke, Chen Junjie, Ye Routing. Photos by John Oros Copyright 1999.

At the annual North American Team Championships, held Thanksgiving weekend in Baltimore's Inner Harbor Convention Center, the Defending Sichuan I Men's team, with its returning teenage stars Chen Junjie and Ye Routing, again defeated the (father-coach/son-player) Zoltan Varga-led Hungarian team, re-formed and re-named this year to "Portland" because of the addition of Chinese-expatriate Fan Yi Yong, not only the Northwest's but the U.S.'s #1-rated player. First place was worth $6,000, second $2,400.

Last year's winning Sichuan Women's team didn't enter this year, but a China University I team from Shanghai, championed by 1993 World Women's Doubles holder, QiaoYunping, helped showcase play by taking the title and the sole prize of $1200 from China's Guangdong Province team.

This was Richard Lee's second Baltimore extravaganza - 199 teams, 770 players, 143 Bowie Martin-provided Butterfly tables (a number of which, for the Elite teams, were spaced on Taraflex flooring) - and, since Johnny Hess's software quickly let me see the players and their ratings, I had to conclude that no such Championship in U.S. history had so strong an in-depth field, most noticeably among the women. (Problem was: granted the elite players weren't forced to wear flimsy, cheapening identification numbers on their backs, how could a non-initiate care enough to try to match names and faces without photos and bios of these seldom if ever seen players?) Ably supporting Richard were tournament co-directors Fong Hsu and Alan Williams. Among those assisting were Alan's brother Dave, the McAfee family - Richard, Diane, and Sarah - Registration Director Wendy Troy, Richard's family (parents Patrick & Therese Lee and sister Vivian) and a corps of visiting umpires, mostly Japanese, under the guidance of Tournament Referee Zhaoming Yang and Assistant Referee Joe Lee.

The Washington-Baltimore 2012 Olympic Coalition, pleased to show they could help promote such a large international sports attraction in the area, hosted a Friday night reception for the tournament staff, and was graciously thanked by attending USATT President Sheri Pittman who seized the opportunity to urge further USATT - 2012 Olympic Coalition cooperation. Not surprisingly on Sunday morning a local TV channel came bright and early to provide a little hype for the day's upcoming finals, and the Sunday Baltimore Sun had a front-page color photo of matches-in-play at the Convention Center, along with an accompanying article.

Certainly from opening Turkey Day on, there was quite a bit of color on and off the courts. Pete May's resplendent, buttoned-to-the-neck, color-coordinated suspender-outfits so broke with Boos Brother tradition that he may have won the Best Dressed Award from Marty Reisman. Although both Pete and Marty wore soft, natty hats as part of their hardbat ensemble, the crown literally had to go to Viking Jim Williams of the Hammer of Thor team. His horned helmet was adorned in the middle with a figured trophy - perhaps of Thor himself, though with more ping-pong racket than hammer in hand, especially since Jim himself was carrying the hammer, inscribed "Return to Sender." Mythology was definitely in the air, for, as Roger Persaud explained to me, his team's name "Chupacabras" referred to a creature, something approximating a wolverine, that sucked the blood of goats and other animals. The analogy was not lost on me, even if I wanted it to be, for Roger emphasized that - beware, Tahl Leibovitz! - he and his were about to suck the blood of players.

The Hungarian/Portland Juic-sponsored Finalists, L-R: Attila Vitsek, Zoltan Varga, Fan Yi Yong. Photo by John Oros Copyright 1999.

Preliminary Play
Since the great majority of teams had no real aspirations about vying for the six money prizes, I'd like to follow, at least for a while, their fun - one wit, observing Dickie Fleisher rubbing an orange on his pips, wagged an official finger at him and said, "That's not one of the 7 USATT-approved fruits." But of course I've space here only to concern myself with those title-contending Division I 16 teams that survived Preliminary play and the four seeded ones they joined. So carefully were the teams placed originally according to the sum of their top-three-players ratings, that, in the advance to the second stage of four round-robin groups of five, there was only one mild upset: the Maccabbi USA team rallied to beat the Augusta team, 5-4.

The Augusta #1, Randy Cohen, back in the States after sojourning in Sweden, saw his 2499 rating begin to tumble when, after losing the first at deuce he fell in three to 2283-rated Barry Dattel. Then in the 7th match of the tie, with his Augusta team leading 4-2, he was again being threatened in the 3rd - this time by Levi Idan, a former Israeli Junior Team member. Idan, having settled in Dallas, had found himself a 2332-rated diamond in the rough and so had persuaded '95 U.S. World Team member Razvan Cretu to join him there. Since the two of them played every day, Levi's game by Baltimore had acquired enough polish both to beat Derek May earlier in the tie, and to now be at 19-all in the 3rd against Cohen. Fearlessly Randy attacked, looped in a low ball, which Levi rather luckily got back via a net ... and thereafter the game, the match, and the tie swung to the Maccabbi team.

The deciding 9th match pitted Eyal Adini - who in an earlier tie had lost to Diana Gee (now, after retiring in '95, preparing to try to become a three-time Olympian) - against Scott Butler, a winner over both Dattel and Idan. Scott had been brought back into competing at these Team's because his 9-year-old son Ethan wanted to play. Although he said he'd never lost to Adini, he managed to do just that in this tie-determining match, and with the greatest of ease. Thirty pounds or more Scott had gained since I saw him last: "Good eating," he said and laughed, "plus a fat banker's job and lots of golf."

Round Robin: Group I
From each of the Division I four round robin groups two teams would qualify for the third, single elimination stage. In Group I play, the Under 18 Sichuan Men's I team didn't lose a match, and the Canadian men, Team 2008, also easily advanced.

The only contested action centered on Dave Sakai's Senoda team and particularly on the unexpected reappearance of former U.S. Closed/U.S. Open Champion Eric Boggan after an 8-year absence from these Team's. For days, weeks, maybe even months, Dave had urged Eric to come and socialize, play for fun - and with very little practice Eric finally agreed. In the late-starting Friday night tie, Dave, Eric, and 5-time U.S. World Team member Ricky Seemiller who also, with the exception of a tournament now and then, had been retired for many years, faced the China University #2 Women's team - and promptly lost their first six games. However, Eric then beat Shao Lilu (estimated rating 2500) in three. After which, Dave lost a second match, 12 and 9, to Wang Peng (who'd later defeat long-time Canadian International Horatio Pintea), and the Senoda team was down 4-1.

When Ricky dropped the first game at 14 to chopper Shen Nan (like Wang an estimated 2400 player), Eric changed to his street shoes, and perhaps even out of his playing shorts, but then was caught up in Ricky's resurgent play that won him the second, and, on looping ball after ball in, the third at 19. China University 4 - Senoda 2.

Now Eric ("I'm sore, I'm hurtin',") had to rechange and reluctantly go out to the table to face Wang Peng and her pips. Was this fun? Especially when he lost the first at 13? Now it was Ricky's turn to change, for it was getting late and he had to drive home to a promised obligation on the morrow. But Eric, retired or not, did not like to lose a match he could win, and after a number of countering points, prevailed at 19. On into the end-game 3rd, and on and on, struggling, they went, Eric, lamenting, "I don't want to be in this match! I don't want to play! Why am I here?" but often following up his serves and complaints with winning anti forehands, until he finally prevailed, 25-23 in the 3rd. China University 4 - Senoda 3.

Maybe now, Eric, playing was fun, just a little? ... Or after Ricky, splitting 23-21 games, brought the tie to 4-4? ...

In the 9th match against Shen Nan, could Sakai's comradely adrenaline-high somehow be enough to offset his relatively low 2171 rating? ... With the score close in the 3rd, more heroics are in the offing, and some added soap opera. The Chinese Coach, coaching to the extent that reportedly she tells her player to kick the ball over the barrier so she can the better instruct her, is yellow then red-carded. However, she refuses to leave and puts up such a fuss that it may be Security will have to escort her out. But alright, alright, everyone cool it, quiet down.... If for no other reason than that Dave, capping his Team's remarkable comeback with a 17 in the 3rd win, can let out a war-whoop - resonating his exuberance round the now empty Hall, reviving echoes from distant but never quite forgotten glory days. Surely now, Eric? ...

In a losing 5-3 Senoda team effort on Saturday, Eric, who really was having a good time socializing anew, also swept the New York Table Tennis Club's winning ($400) Senior team of Liu Hui Yuan, Rey Domingo, and Alex Tam - all aging champions who, in taking two matches from China's University Women II, continued to show their indefatiguable love for the Game.

Round Robin: Group II
As expected, in Group II, Fan Yi Yong's Juic-sponsored Portland team, 20-1 in their matches, quickly advanced, as did the Sichuan III team - though young Xie Yuzhang lost a match to the reappearing veteran Atanda Musa who, 17 years ago, as 1982 Commonwealth Champion and World #48, led his Nigerian Skypower team to a victory in these Championships. "Mansa" was older, heavier now, but across his playing shirt were the words "Demand More."

Of interest also was the Canadian Women's 5-2 victory over a Canadian Junior team that included Bence Csaba, the Canadian Closed Under 17 Champion who at 14 must have been one of the youngest players at the '99 Eindhoven World's. Earlier, Csaba, who'd trained in Hungary (his father is a Hungarian table tennis coach), had defeated 2568-rated Abass Ekun of Musa's East Coast All Star team.

Round Robin: Group III
Group III saw the two advancing teams engage in a fierce battle for a favorable position in the quarter's draw - with China University Women I rallying to just get by Sichuan Men II, 5-4.

These University women, who also beat the ($400) 1st-place U.S. Junior Girls team, U.S. Junior Women Power, hadn't played in our annual Team Championships before, but a connection had been made earlier when '92 U.S. Olympic Coach Zhi-Yong Wang had taken our U.S. Women's team to Shanghai to train, and also when in June of '94 a Shanghai Shenggu University team had come to South Carolina to compete against Head Coach Richard McAfee's Anderson College team.

Sichuan was Cheng Yinghua's Province - he'd had his roots there as a world-class player and been Head Coach there. So, though he'd just become a U.S. citizen - had to write sentences like "The official in the highest office can usually be found in the White House" - he bonded with two returning Sichuan II players, though realizing perhaps this might put him in a somewhat awkward position. After Cheng and Sun Ting had built up a 4-2 lead, the tie was Ting's to win, but he was beaten by the beautifully fluid strokes and steady nerves of Qiao Yunping, deuce in the 3rd. Cheng was then taken down (though likely not embarrassed) by Tie Yana, two straight, when Tie, up 20-19 match point, let loose with a backhand worthy of Cheng himself and the ironic, admiring smile it drew from him. Now the tie was Sun Meng's to win, but he was stopped, 16 in the 3rd, by the heretofore twice beaten Chen Min.

Round Robin: Group IV
The USATT Men struggled with Budapest for Group IV supremacy - and lost 5-3.

Hungary's returning 1998 Closed Champion Robert Pagonyi scored a tie-winning swing in the very first match when he outlasted Eric Owens, 19 in the 3rd. Then lefty newcomer Attila Turbok, winning 4 out of every 5 points on many of his serves, downed Todd Sweeris in three. Neither Turbok nor Pagonyi, who sported pearl-bright mini b.b. balls, as it were, on an interconnected eyering just above and below his left eyelid, would win another match. But their 2-0 start was enough.

Playing for Budapest, though rather bald and greying ("How old is he?" whispered one and all...."Only 38?") was ... Zsolt Kriston! Since it was Eric Boggan who back in the '83 World's had beaten him to get to the round of 16, they exchanged brief pleasantries. Kriston, it was said, was not now primarily a player but a coach, and in the line-up merely to oblige his teammates. That he was still formidable, though no longer playing with anti, was obvious when ("The guy must use a ton of glue") he zipped backhands through the entire U.S. Men's team. Only Owens, in the 8th match, could take a game from him, the first, at 19, when Zsolt with Zeus-like authority threw a bolt at Eric's serve - but missed. Later, in the 3rd though, up 11-8, he scorched Eric with a lightning-fast flip-return of serve that seemed not to arc at all as it shot across the net.

In the other extended tie in this Group, Guangdong China overcame (with womanly wiles?) the ($400) 1st-Place Junior Boys team, USTTA Junior Men Power, 5-4. Wang Shao Hun beat Sunny Li in three to open the tie, and then downed U-18/U-16 U.S. Open Champion Keith Alban in three to securely close it. In between it was all Cao Xing Li. At 23-all in the 3rd against Alban, Cao got first one irretrievable net (24-23), then another (25-23) that sent mother Ronnie's hands up in consternation to her eyes and ears - unbelievable! But Cao was just warming up. (Later, she'd defeat Sweeris, and against Pagonyi in her Budapest tie she'd -23, 30, 21 win the marathon match of the tournament). Sunny Li, he'd go on to beat Owens, but could he beat Cao? Nope. Hair styled in blond-streaked Statue of Liberty-like spikes, he had nothing inspiring in hand to contest the 3rd. Nor could Freddie Gabriel divine for his mates even so much as a 1-1 split-games message of hope.

Quarter's : Sichuan Men I (5) - U.S. Men (1)
Sweeris's start against Ye Routing of the Sichuan I team is not encouraging. On losing the 1st, he's disgusted at himself for getting only 12 points - the more so because, though proud papa Dell is grinding out matches somewhere in the bowels of the D Division, a number of Todd's fellow co-workers from Deloitte and Touche who've never seen him play before are in the audience. Todd comes back to Coach Danny Seemiller and, as if offering an accounting not of self but of the other guy, says, "He's giving me slow, heavy serves ... curls the forehand ... is very steady." Danny gives him what advice he can. This, however, is not particularly helpful, for in the 2nd game Todd is down 17-4. Coming back to his bench, eyes averted from the stands - but, Eric Boggan, you take note - he says, "That was fun. I enjoyed every minute of that." To which I thought I heard in response, floating over from some indulgent spectator, the matchingly ironic "Touche!"

Now it's Zhuang's turn - he's in his 10th match of the day (prompting someone on his bench to say,"Doesn't the ITTF have some rule about how much at any one time a world-class player can be expected to play?). David's opponent, Qiu Yike, who looks to me the youngest of the teenage Sichuan players, is up 15-10 and after every winning point ardently shouting "Show!" David, on serving off, helps him along - shouts "Show!" for him, which draws laughter from the spectators.

Down 1-0, David begins the 2nd by loudly exclaiming, "Let's go!" - then serves off. As for Qiu's serve, it's unique - he looks on his first downward motion as if he might throw the racket at you, but that quickly proves a feint. Of course by the end of the first game, Xiao Zhau, the Chinese Coach, had been yellow-carded; now he's yellow-carded again. So there's a momentary buzz as to "Shouldn't he be red-carded?" At 19-all David turns a winner into a loser - misses putting away an easy ball ... but then deuces it. As the end approaches it's at least dramatic. David smashes one - to the accompaniment of which the pro-U.S. crowd yells appreciatively, "YEAH!" Only to see Qiu balloon the ball back - and Zhuang miss the putaway. David picks up the ball and puts it into his mouth. He's swallowed it?

Certainly it seems safe to say U.S. chances have disappeared ... along, I might add, with the loss of Owens' bracelet (It was talismanic? "Wore it for five years," he says. "Don't know where it went, but I feel really weird without it"). Faced with grim-looking Chen Junjie, one of China's best prospects ever since he won the Cadets in that '96 Asian Hopes Grand Prix tournament in Kobe, Japan, Eric, down 1-0, but only a point behind in the end-game 2nd, allows U.S. hopes to momentarily reappear. Then down 18-17, fearing Chen's curled-into, heavy backspin serves that set up all-out vicious forehands, he fails to return one, two, three of them.

Zhuang vs. Ye prompts a red card ... to player Chen Junjie, sitting there on the bench. There's talk among the U.S. Team if that might mean he's banished from the room - ergo the cavernous Hall itself - never to return, his previous win forfeited. Since David is about to lose the first game, our 7th straight, we've got to come up with something. Chen is not chagrined, but he does retreat to the second row of spectators directly behind his players' bench. A few points later, the umpire is called to task - though not by a player, or by Coach Zhau, but by someone else sitting oh so casually, though with a seemingly nervous mannerism or two, at the end of the Sichuan bench. Up he springs, anything but casual, to intensely protest to the umpire. "Who's this guy?" shouts one, shouts all, of the U.S. Team. "I just want the umpire to make the right call," he says. "I don't care who wins."

Unexpectedly, David takes the next two games - finishes by shouting delightedly in the 19-16 up, end-game 3rd, "My serve!" That's it for the U.S. though - Todd and Eric lose two straight, with Todd particularly complaining that when receiving serve he just can't see the ball.

Quarter's: Budapest (5) - Sichuan Men III, (0)
Aside from just the one 27-25 game Pagonyi lost - how high his thrown-up racket spiraled, how like a trick-shot gunslinger, bat-slinger, he adeptly caught it, one-handed, hip-high ... that dropped game occurring in the last-match 5th to a die-hard Xie Yuzhang - the Budapest team totally blanked the Sichuan III team.

Quarter's: Canadian 2008 Team (5) - China University Women I (3)
The unchivalrous task of being the first team to beat the China University I women falls to the Canadian men. But after Carl Xuan's defense is not exactly impregnable, the tie is tied at 3-all. Kurt Liu, however, wins his 3rd straight straight-game match, and Pintea, who'd split 3-game matches earlier, losing to Tie but rallying for a much needed -12, 21, 15 win over Qiao, finishes off Chen Min in a tie Team 1999 might well have lost.

Quarter's: Portland (5) - Sichuan Men II (2)
Cheng Yinghua (2784) was going to lose some rating points this tournament - but, as the Hungarian #3 Vitsek (after losing to Sun Ting), beat him 12 and 17, it would seem he didn't care. However, "Chen" (his familiars at the Maryland Center don't pronounce the "g") obviously wanted a win over Fan Yi Yong (2842) who'd replaced him as the highest-rated U.S. player - and he got it, 14 and 19. But then with both Varga and Fan Sun-proof, the Portland team advanced to the semi's.

Post-Quarter's Change of Format for Money Matches
In Division I's post-quarter's crossover matches, there would be no prize money for the initial two losers, and a play-off among the winners for either the $800 5th or $500 6th place prize. Further, a shorter format would be used - the same that those teams still vying for the Championship through the semi's and final would be playing. Though three players per team would still be participating, not the best 5 of 9 but best 3 of 5 matches would determine the winner - which meant that a tie order would be established that looked like this: A vs. X, B vs. Y, C vs. Z, and, if need be, A vs. Y, B vs. X.

Matches to Avoid 7th/8th Place
U.S. Men (3) - Sichuan II (1). Some prize money the U.S. Men were going to get - but they came close to getting nothing. Feng Lin, the only Sichuan player to be identified in the Program, opened against Owens, and quickly did to him what he'd done earlier to the Hungarian Vitsek. But thereafter the U.S. won all the close games.

Barney Reed, fired up because Cheng Yinghua, commitment, or no commitment, was coaching his Sichuan opponent, took Xie Yuzhang down two straight, 23-21 in the 2nd.

Sweeris, after losing the 1st to Tang Jiang Feng, got in a decisive forehand to win the 2nd, 23-21, then worked to try to spin the ball into rallies that played to his positional strength. But down 20-15 match point, he shrugged, lifted his hands - all looked lost. Still, he had the serve, and will enough to play - and helped by an intruding ball into his court when he was a back-from-the-table goner, and by a net-edge, he got to deuce just as mother Connie came over to take a seat. "Good thing I wasn't here before," she said on hearing of Todd's comeback. Perhaps his Deloitte and Touche friends were in the audience? Alas, no, Connie - though they should have been, for again Todd wins, 23-21.

In the 1st game of the 4th and last match, the umpire warns Xie about the serve he's just made, but allows him to keep the point he's won with it. Coach Seemiller quickly insists on calling for the Referee, and the point is disallowed. It'll make a difference. At 15-all, Xie in disgust kicks the ball back toward the barrier. 18-all. 20-all. At 22-all Xie misses and raises up his racket like he wants to break it, then in utter disdain deuces it with rocketing placements. Xie seems almost to want to lose, and does, 25-23. When he flips his racket onto the table, abusing self more than it, Eric Owen's got to think he has the better head. In the mid-game 2nd, Xie kicks the barrier and is yellow-carded, then mis-serves. From 11-all, Eric, smacking in powerful winners, runs the score to 18-12, and never has a problem. "When I was in China," he says, "I found out they're human, they make mistakes too."
...

Sichuan II (3) - China University Women I (1). In the other avoidance tie, Cheng Yinghua, winning in his single-match C position, again puts the burden of a victory on his teammates. This time, however, landing their best Sunday punches, they regain their honor, each enjoying what they couldn't do before - posting wins over Qiao Yunping.

Match for 5th/6th Place
Sichuan Men II (3) - U.S. Men (1). After Owens had leveled his opening match against Sun Ting with a 21-11 win in the 2nd, it was the more disappointing to follow his dismal 10-2 demise in the third. But these Sichuan players with their body-obstructing, curling inside-out serves continued to hide their service contact point.

Reed, with a 19 first game win over Sun Meng, hoisted up the clenched-fist flag of hope, but this match, too, was about to be evened, as Barney, echoing Eric, exclaimed, "I've missed five serves and I'm down 19-14!" In the 3rd, Barney was doing all right until, at 9-all he didn't put a ball away that he should have, lost the point, and, as if in expiation, wanting to rinse away the thought from his throat, began ... a gargle ... that, my god, seemed to turn in a moment into a head-shaking epileptic fit! By the time he recovered he was 18-11 down, and the Sichuan team soon 2-zip up.

Sweeris wasn't happy either, though he won - beat Cheng Yinghua, 24 and 16. "C'mon," Todd said in response to congratulations, "Cheng wasn't trying."

Barney, back against Sun Ting, and losing the 1st badly, and again feeling he was being victimized by these Sichuan serves, began blatantly serving illegally himself - with of course no objection from the umpire. On returning to Coach Danny, Barney says, "He serves so quick out of his body." Danny knows that everyone's illegally throwing the serve back. Says, "It's really not that hard to be an umpire. Just give the offending player a good warning and have him keep the serve honest." Exasperated by the officials' refusal to do anything about the serves, Barney, down 11-8 in what will be the tie-ending 2nd game, finally returns one with his foot - and only then does a discussion ensue between the Referee and the umpire.

Women's Pre-Final Matches
Canadian Women (5) - U.S. Women (2). Because both of these teams finished 4th in their round robins, even the winner would not be able to continue contending for the title. U.S. Champ Gao Jun, World #20, who, for whatever reason, often chose not to play ties, easily won her two here. But Alberta's 18-year-old Xiao Xiao Wang, who emigrated from China two years ago, and who got to the last 16 of the Women's Consolation at the Eindhoven World's, opened with a close-match win over Lily, hampered by an over-stretched ligament band, either when managing to get the drop on husband Barry Dattel in an earlier match here, or in some later off-court warm-up exercise with him.

Lily was also beaten in three by Petra Cada, who's back now from her Prague-based Super League play. Petra, despite being in her 4th year at the University of Ottawa, where she's majoring in Human Kinetics, nevertheless finds time to play six days a week at the National Center. "Carded" Canadian players are required to play at least five days a week and are given bonus money if they play all seven.

Tawny Bahn, distracted perhaps by her studies - she was worried about having to analyze a firm's Annual Report and make an oral presentation on it - lost, lost, lost, to Vancouver's Chris Xu, 22-20 in the lst, to Xiao Xiao, 19 in the 3rd, and to Cada 22-20 in the 3rd. "I wasn't nervous in the end-game against Tawny," said Petra. "I never freeze, never make such a mistake - it's the worst - because I know I'd regret it later." As for Tawny, who'd earlier lost two matches to the strong China University I players, all she said gloomily was, "I don't want to talk about it. This whole tie I was unlucky. Period."
...

Guangdong (5) - China University Women II (3). Having finished a respectable 3rd in their round robin groups, these two teams met in a play-off to decide who would face the strong China University I team in the final. Guangdong seemed confident, for they gave their #3, long-time veteran Wang Lijun, formerly the Hunan #1, extra play in the 7th spot, even though it might mean she'd lose all 3 matches - which she did. But, no problem, her teammates picked up the slack, won 10 straight games. Before emigrating to the U.S., our Olympian Lily Yip played eight years for this Guangdong Province team and still follows their progress. It was a good bet that since favored Guangdong had finished seventh in the most recent China National Team Championships, they would win this tie. And an even better one that their post-tournament sightseeing would take them to Atlantic City and Las Vegas.

Men's Semifinals
Sichuan Men I (3) - Budapest (1). Underdog Budapest got off to a great start when Pagonyi, favoring a half-century update of legendary countryman Victor Barna's backhand play, downed Chen Junjie in 3. At 17-all in the 1st, Chen misses an easy ball - and looks in open-mouthed astonishment at Coach Zhau. At 18-all Pagonyi lobs back an edge ... and up 20-19 is given the game when Chen pushes his serve return off. Back the Chinese goes to Coach Zhau who for a full minute talks and gesticulates while Chen never says a word, just sways a little back and forth. Pagonyi then grunts and shouts his triumphant way through the 2nd. But the Hungarians can't follow up. Turbok drops his two matches, and Kriston, in losing in straight games to young Qiu, is of course not the World #35 who 13 years ago had been runner-up to World #5 Teng Yi in the final of the Miami Beach U.S. Open.
...

Portland (3) Team 2008 (0). In their earlier round robin tie against Sichuan I, I heard Canadian Coach Joe Ng encourage Kurt Liu, as he moved from down 20-8 in the 1st to 20-9, to keep playing ("Good, Kurt, c'mon") and then, as Kurt's up in the 2nd, to "Take risks!" Here in Canada's last tie of the tournament, which it will lose in uncontested straight games, Coach Ng's advice to Pintea after he's come up first-game short with Fan Yi Yong is, "Go and have fun!" But Hory did not have fun, for, after scoring all of 10 points in the 2nd, he comes back to his bench, shaking his head, irritated that he hasn't made Fan work more for his points. "Don't worry," says Joe. "We're 2008, we've got time."

Women's Final
China University I (3) - Guangdong (1). In an improvised four-sided arena setting (to further the desired "boxing-ring" effect, could the chairs have been brought in even closer without damage to the Taraflex floor?), and in what was certainly a Women's final (two women umpires, four women scorekeepers), the Guangdong team looked with their at-the-ready start as if they might be able to upset China University I. Cao Xing Li, though down 9-3 in the 1st, won it at 18 when Tie Yana just seemed to slap at the ball in disgust. Then in the 2nd, Cao no doubt really ticked Tie off when, up 20-19, her return just caught enough of the net cord to throw Tie's timing off.

After which, Cao's shakehands teammate, Wang Shao Hun, who I'd heard had beaten World #16 Li Nan two months after Li had gotten to the quarter's of the Eindhoven World's, looked like she might remind the now inactive World #32 Qiao Yunping it was time to mind her studies. Setting up off-the-bounce smashes with slow-paced, high-hopping loops, Wang was up 1-0 and at 19-all in the 2nd. Whereupon fortune seemed to favor Wang, for a ticked net got her to match point. But Qiao grittily attacked - and it was deuce. Wang continued with her mild topspin, but Qiao, her strong legs like pillars, her unrushed backhand-upsweep a graceful flow, matched Wang stroke for stroke to 22-all. Then Wang, perhaps too anxious, tried for a quick-point serve-and-follow, and failing, precipitated Qiao's 24-22 clincher and her insurmountable 10-3 lead in the 3rd. Hence, Guangdong ... dong ... dong - the deep silence accompanying the knell of what might have been.

Men's Final
Sichuan Men I (3) - Portland (2). In the 1st, Chen Junjie, down 19-14 against Fan Yi Yong, continues to exchange unhesitatingly quick strokes that couldn't be more point-decisive. With his lead cut to 20-19, Fan gets in a winner and follows with a few impromptu pogo-stick steps, while all the while staring balefully at his opponent. However, the turnaround, single-digit 2nd game, all topspin and counter-topspin, goes to Chen. In the 3rd, Fan can't handle Chen's serves, is down 5-0.... (Amazing, 50 years ago, Dick Miles, one of the world's best, just unconcernedly pushed his serves into play....) The gap remains - Fan is down 11-6 ... 16-11. Eric Boggan has remarked earlier how much faster the game has gotten just since he retired. Now, tempus fugit, where's the temporizing shot? It's been passed by. Fan rallies - draws to 17-15 ... then pushes consecutive serve returns into the net. But now he has the serve, and is dramatically on the attack. The audience rallies too - begins rhythmically clapping for him. Deuce. But, oh, he pops up his serve return ... only to see Chen push his serve return into the net. Deuce again. Fan closes with a 22-21 counter, then serves and 23-21 zips a backhand in. Quite a swing.

This is one of the largest crowds I've seen for the Team Championships. There are many interested Chinese in the area? Certainly there are a lot of little Chinese kids running around having a great time. Varga (World #129) stands second to no one in throwing the ball back behind him on serve - but Ye's not bothered by this, beats him easily. Ye, someone wielding a camera on a tripod tells me, at 17 is about #70 in China.

With the tie all even, Qiu Yi Ke and Attila Vitsek, head-binding bandana making his thick dark hair stick out like earmuffs, go at it fast and furious, but in the end game the Hungarian pushes two serve returns into the net and loses it at 19. In the 2nd game, Vitsek keeps backing up point after point, loses 21-12.

China #70 and USA #1 begin their deciding 3rd with Ye getting an irretrievable net ball that forces Fan to turn his back on him while - time out - he has a few private words with Fate. He then backhands in four hard loops ... and is up 6-4. From there he never falters, predictably serving short backspin balls into the center of the table at every opportunity.

With the tie again all square, and this the final match, and Chen 16-11 up on Varga, the whole Hungarian bench is offering animated advice to their teammate, and the whole Sichuan bench is impassively robotic. Game at 16 to Chen. In the 2nd, Chen, down 16-11, begins a rally and is really on a roll when he catches Varga with a fast down-the-line serve that brings him 17-16 close.

At which point there's an eruption - which few in the audience without talking to the principals could understand. This apparently is what happened. Chen, Varga thinks, did his usual whirled-into, discus-like serve, but this time the ball not only hit his racket, it then grazed his free arm hiding the ball, and went on to become a seemingly normal serve. Varga raised his hand, called "Let," and made a good though obviously very soft return. Chen, then, with a very puzzled expression on his face, caught the ball in his hand. The umpire ruled that because Varga called "Let" he in effect disrupted play, prevented his opponent from continuing, and awarded the point to Chen. This judgment, many thought, might be to the letter of, but not the sportsmanship spirit of, the law, and it was a while before play could proceed. Whereupon, all the turmoil proved not to be detrimental to Varga after all - not at least with regard to the outcome of this game, which he won at 18.

The $6,000/$2,400 prize money split now depended on one last game, and with the whole Sichuan I, II, III contingent hyped over the brouhaha, and cheering with mad delight at every won point, Chen had a 21-9 easy time of it.

The Hungarians, I'd heard, were disenchanted, and might not be back. So perhaps next year we'll see Sichuan I, II, III, and IV in the quarter's. And in the years hence ... also V, VI, VII, and VIII?

Results:
Division 1 - Final: Sichuan 1 d. Portland, 3-2; SF: Sichuan 1 d. Budapest, 3-1; Portland d. Team 2008, 3-0; 3-4: Budapest & Team 2008 split; 5-6: Sichuan II d. USATT Men, 3-1
Women's Final: China University I d. Guangdong, China
Division 2: Mission Impossible d. Mid-America
Division 3: Mexico Boys d. Quebec Sandwich
Division 4: Jan's Olive d. Mars Stars
Division 5: We're Mad d. Guyana B
Division 6: UEAA II d. Smashers
Division 7: Guyana Slammers d. Too Hard to Hold
Division 8: Oort Cloud Perturbance d. Bermuda II
Division 9: Track Data Corp d. 5 Deadly Venoms
Division 10: NYTTC 5 d. ECEDAO I
Division 11: Wolverine TTC d. Repentigny Hope
Division 12: UEAA I d. Fearless Underdogs
Highest Senior Finisher: NYTTC 1
Highest Collegiate Finisher: China University I
Highest Junior Men's Finisher: Sichuan 1
Highest Junior Women's Finisher: USATT Junior Women Power