The Pan American Games will be held in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, this summer, July 22-28, with Rio looking forward to a bid for an upcoming Olympics. The Trials for the Pan Am Games were held at the Balboa Park Recreation Center in San Diego from February 28 through March 3.
The event was paired with the competition for the Junior boys team. Many of the junior boys played in the qualification event for the final places in the Men’s round robin. Kamran Azimzadeh was the tournament director and he made certain that everything was ready and well organized. Jerry Harris, the newly elected Executive Director of the San Diego Table Tennis Association, was hard working as well. Neil Smyth handled the drug testing. The playing conditions with the wood floor, good lighting, and individually umpired and barriered courts were excellent.
The qualification event had preliminary round robins followed by a single elimination event to determine two participants to play in the final round robin. Misha Kazantesev and Shashin Shodan were the two who advanced. Shashin Shodan surprised several people along the way.
MEN’S TRIALS
The Men’s Trials consisted of a 12 person round robin played over three days, with the men’s rounds alternating with the rounds of the Women’s Trials. While the favorites were Mark Hazinski, Han Xiao and Eric Owens, the field was very competitive and there were no certain winners.
Victor Subonj, Mark Hazinski, Eric Owens, and Barney Reed all won their matches. De Tran upset higher seeded Jiachen David Wang handily in four straight games and Freddie Gabriel upset the third seed, Han Xiao at 4 in the seventh. This was a very big win for Gabriel, and he served notice on the field that he was a contender.
The second round began and Gabriel continued his winning ways with a six game win over Sashine Shodhan. Friends and practice partners, Subonj and Rop, played a loud and competitive five game match. The USOC Trainer who was present through the entire trials commented that she thought they hated each other; they were yelling so much. Mark Hazinski beat Misha Kazantsev in six, after losing the first and third games at 9 and winning the second and fourth games with the same score; the last two games were at 1 and 3. Han Xiao beat De Tran in five and Reed beat the higher seeded Wang in five. The match that captured the crowd, however, was second seed Eric Owens’ match against ninth seed Samson Dubina. Owens won the first two games rather easily and later led 3-1 in games. Dubina didn’t fade and he won the next two games at 8 and 9 to tie the match at 3-3. He played solid table tennis to take the lead near the end before forcing Owens to save several match points. Owens pulled out the match at 13 in the seventh.
The third round saw one upset as Kazantsev beat Dubina in five. Hazinski beat Gabriel in five, Han Xiao beat Reed in four, and Subonj beat Wang in four. Once again, the match of the round had Eric Owens fighting for his life. Darko Rop was up 3-2 after losing games at 3 and 4 and winning games at 9, 10, and 7. In the last two games Owens started playing more aggressively with his forehand—he tied the match and then won the seventh at 4.
The last round of the first day saw Hazinski undefeated with a four game win over Darko Rop (10,10,9,5) and Owens (also undefeated) had four easy games with Shodhan. After losing the first game at 6, Han Xiao got serious and won the next four games against Kazantsev at 2, 8, 11, and 6. Wang (fifth seed), apparently having trained in China until just before the trials, and having trouble with the time differences, lost four straight to Dubina. Reed was playing well, but after being pushed to the limit by De Tran, he won in seven very close games.
After being down 3-1, Gabriel solidified his contender position with a  win over fourth seeded Subonj. On the first day, Gabriel had played three of the top four seeded players and had beaten two of them.
The fifth round began on the second day of the trials and Kazantsev and Subonj quickly dispatched their opponents, Shodhan and De Tran, respectively in 4-0 matches. Xiao took four tough games and one easy one to beat Samson in five, and Owens took his match from Gabriel in six, with only his two losses being close. Rop had a tough six game match against Wang, but won three straight after being down 2-1. The match between Reed and Hazinski was exciting and close. With the first three games all 11-9, Hazinski trailed 2-1, but he then tied the match 2-2 with a win at zero. Hazinski
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went up 3-2, but Reed fought back to tie the match at 3-3. With more aggressive forehands, Hazinski won the final game at 6 and the match 4-3. Hazinski and Owens were still undefeated.
Hazinski continued his streak with a quick 4-0 match against Jaichen Wang, and Owens matched that with a quick win over De Tran. Gabriel continued winning with a 4-0 win over Kazantsev. The only upset was Reed against higher seeded Subonj, 4-2. Xiao was also playing very well as he beat Rop, 4-1. Dubina won a tough 4-2 match against Shodhan to complete the sixth round.
The seventh round, first of the afternoon session, found Han Xiao winning by default as Wang withdrew saying that he had not yet gotten over the jet-lag from China. Hazinski continued his string of victories by beating Subonj in five. Owens matched that with a 4-1 win over Reed, although he was 3-0 and lost the fourth at 8 and was down 6-8 in the fifth before running out the game for the match. Rop handled Shodhan fairly easily and De Tran had a 4-1 win over Kazantsev, although he won the match at 9 on an edge and it seemed as though Kazantsev was improving his play as the games progressed. The big match this round saw contender Gabriel (ninth seed) against Dubina (eighth seed) with their identical 2479 ratings. Gabriel started strong and took a 3-1 game lead, but Samson had other ideas and he fought back with three straight inspired victories (9,9,6) for the win.
The eighth round, matched undefeated Mark Hazinski against third seed Han Xiao with one loss. Xiao won the first two games and took a 5-1 lead in the third before Hazinski rebounded and won at 7. In the next game Xiao was up 6-1 but Hazinski again came back to win at 9. With the match now 2-2, Han Xiao was up 6-2 and Hazinski won at 10. In the final game, Hazinski was down 6-0, 2-8, before winning 13-11. Hazinski barely maintained his unbeaten streak. Sashine got the default win over Wang, and Gabriel took a 4-0 win over Rop. In a very tough match, Subonj took the first two games against Owens. At 10-10 in the third, Owens hit a return-of-serve winner, and Subonj missed his return of Owens’ serve for Owens’ first game. Owens won the next two at 5 and 11 to lead the match 3-2. The sixth game was close all the way: 7-7, 8-8, 10-8, 10-9 with Subonj leading. At this point, Owens popped a sitter for Subonj, and Subonj missed; 10-10. Owens took the lead with a strong third ball winner. Subonj tried to respond in kind but just missed his third ball loop and Owens pulled out the match 4-2. While this excitement was going on, Reed and Kazantsev were engaged in a battle; great shot after great shot. There was yelling and fighting with every point, and the rallies were superb with Kazantsev taking a 3-2 lead and Reed fighting to tie the match at 3-3. The final score (Kazantsev winning at 7 in the seventh) does not indicate how close and competitive this match was. A costly loss for Barney Reed.
The ninth round started off the third day of the trials. Hazinski and Owens started the session with an important match, but it appeared that both would make the team. Hazinski started strong and led 2-0 and then 3-1, but Owens came back with two good wins to tie the match at 3-3. Hazinski controlled the final game for a 4-3 win and remained undefeated. Owens had only the one loss. Han Xiao defeated Shodhan 4-1, Gabriel got the default win, and Reed looked especially strong while beating Dubina, 4-0. Subonj hoped to stay in the mix, but it took a tough six games for him to beat Kazantsev. The thriller of this round was De Tran’s hard fought victory over Darko Rop.
The tenth round started with Hazinski losing the first game to De Tran and then winning the second game at 2 before winning the next three close games for the 4-1 match win. Rop beat Samson 4-1 in close and competitive games, and, in a key game, Reed was incredibly strong against Gabriel 4-0. Kazantsev got the default win and Subonj defeated Sashine with relative ease, 4-1. The match-up that people were most looking forward to was Owens versus Xiao. Owens started strong, winning at 9, but lost the next three at 11, 8, and 15. Owens fought back to 3-3 with wins at 10 and 9. All of the games were very close and the quality of play was high. In the seventh, Owens took control and won at 5. He was on the team, and Han had a necessary match against Subonj approaching.
The final round of the trials had some tension, several ties were possible. Hazinski, while once again losing the first game, cemented his top position by remaining undefeated with a 4-1 victory over Samson. Gabriel beat De Tran 4-1 going away, and Kazantsev beat Darko Rop 4-0. Owens had the default from Wang and cemented his number two position on the team. Reed needed to beat Shodhan in order to remain in the mix, but Sashine made it difficult for him. Reed won, 12-10 in the seventh. Han Xiao played Subonj in the final match of the competition and Subonj grabbed the first two games. Han settled down to win the next four games at 8, 6, 7, and 8. He clinched the final spot on the team.
The Pan American Games Men’s Team was decided: Mark Hazinski, Eric Owens, and Han Xiao.
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WOMEN’S TRIALS
By virtue of her high world ranking, Gao Jun qualified for the team without having to go through the trials. That left two positions to be determined in these trials. With Wang Chen over 100 rating points higher than the next player, the options seemed to be narrowed even further for the competitors.
Predictably, Wang Chen dominated her opponents and came in first, losing only one game (to Jackie Lee) and only two players scored ten points in games against her (Jackie Lee and Diane Chen). Wang Chen is the second woman on the team for the Pan American Games.
The remaining contestants were playing for the final position, and the tension of this circumstance was clear and present.
In the first round, there were no upsets but a couple matches had some energy. Jackie Lee beat Judy Hugh 4-0 without any really close games. Crystal Huang, however, lost the first game to Whitney Ping and then won the next four, but two of the games were at 10 and one at 9. It was a battle. Jasna Reed also won 4-1, but she lost the first at 9 and won two of the next four at 10 and 14. Again, there was a lot of tension.
In the second round Wang Chen and Diane Chen won their matches comfortably. Tawny Banh had a fairly easy time with Whitney Ping, though she lost one game. Two matches were big: Jasna Reed lost to Judy Hugh (third seed verses fourth seed) in six games. Judy was attacking consistently and with strength managed to force Jasna away from the table. In the other important match, Crystal Huang beat Jackie Lee in five games, but only one of the games wasn’t close and competitive.
In round three, Hugh, Ping and Wang won as expected. In her second crucial match in a row, Jackie Lee lost to Tawny Banh. What a battle. Banh lost the first at 5, but came back in the second, making some noise and clenching her fist, to win at 10. Two more tough game wins at 8 and Banh appeared to be in control. Lee won the fifth at 4; match 3-2 Banh. The next game drew a crowd as Lee pulled out a 16-14 game to tie the match 3-3. The final game went to Banh for the match victory, but it wasn’t easy and the shot were exciting to watch. The final match of the third round was a crucial battle between Jasna Reed and Crystal Huang, the third and fourth seeds. Reed lost the first three games (the first close, the second not as close, and the third not close at all). It appeared that Reed was out of the match, down 3-0. But she came back and showed great fighting spirit and control in winning four very close games in a row at 10, 10, 11, and 9. The shots she made in nerve-wracking circumstances pulled her through, and the crowd loved it.
The fourth and fifth rounds were without the tension of the two previous rounds as all of the higher seeded players won their matches.
A crucial match was in the sixth round, with Jasna Reed facing the fifth seeded Jackie Lee. Lee, always taking the attack, won the first two games at 5 and 8. Reed answered with two wins at 5 and 7. Lee and Reed traded wins in the next two games. In the final game, Reed jumped out to a 2-0 lead, but Lee fought back to lead 4-2 with an edge. Reed called a time out and won the next point. But that’s as close at it got. Lee pulled out the hard fought match 4-3.
The seventh round had the deciding match between Crystal Huang and Tawny Banh, friends and practice partners It looked as though the winner would make the Pan Am Team, and the tension was palpable. Tawny, looking uncomfortable and stiff, won the first game at 9. No fists, no yelling. The umpires then noticed that the players had on shirts of the same dominant color. With some miscommunication between the umpire and the referee, Banh, very unhappy, had to change her shirt following a coin toss. She lost the next two games. But she gained the energy she always has and fought through the next three games at 9, 9, 7, to claim the third position on the Pan Am Team. After the match, neither Banh nor Huang were very happy, although Banh was relieved. The other matches were as the seedings predicted.
Rounds eight and nine finished with the higher seeded players winning all the matches, with the exception of the two verses three match-up between Banh and Reed. Long points and spirited rallies highlighted this match with Reed taking a 3-0 lead and then losing the fourth game at 1. The next two games were close and spirited, both athletes fighting hard, with Banh prevailing at 12 and then losing at 13. Jasna Reed wins, 4-2.
There was a three way tie for the fourth position between Reed, Lee and Huang. With identical match points, the win to loss ratio in the matches between the three players went in order to Crystal Huang (7-5), Jasna Reed (7-7) and then Jackie Lee (5-7).
The Women’s Pan American Games Team: Gao Jun, Wang Chen, and Tawny Banh.
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PanAm Team Trials 
