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The 2009 USA National Table Tennis Championships
– Preview Old Meets New, Immigrants Dominate By Larry Hodges Welcome to the 2009 USA Nationals coverage! This year 653
players will compete on 90 tables in 59 different events. For the first time, USA Table Tennis will provide fans an opportunity to watch the USA Table Tennis National Championships live via web stream video at www.tabletennis.teamusa.org/live, starting on Wednesday, Dec. 16. The webcast, produced in conjunction with the Dyyno, will provide viewers an opportunity to watch the nationals in high quality video for free. This year's USA National Table Tennis Championships looks to be a battle between the old and the new, with aging foreign-trained players dominating--but with enough U.S.-trained players and up-and-coming juniors to make it interesting. Men's Singles On the men's side, the field is led by top-seeded and four-time USA Men's Singles Champion Ilija Lupulesku, 42, of Chicago, IL. "Lupi" won the last time he competed in the Nationals, in 2007, but skipped it in 2008. He was a silver medallist at the 1988 Olympics, playing for his native Yugoslavia. The left-handed Lupi is known for his off-table table topspinning game. When in trouble, he'll lob the ball back high into the air, returning smash after smash until an opponent misses or he counter-attacks. Seeded second through fourth are three more aging immigrants. Seeded second is Fan Yiyong, 40, of Newcastle, WA, now a U.S. citizen and eligible for the first time. Fan is a former member of the Chinese National Team, finishing third at the Chinese Nationals in 1991. He was the Chinese National Junior Champion in 1985. Fan is known for his ferocious topspin attack, with one of the best backhand topspins in the world. He's been a U.S. coach since his arrival in 1998, much of the time as the U.S. #1 ranked player. Seeded third is David Zhuang, 46, of West Windsor, NJ, the defending and six-time USA Men's Singles Champion. Zhuang is a pips-out penholder, known for his steady and deceptive blocking--he's a wall--and sudden forehand smashes. His serve and return of serve may be the best in the U.S. He's been a full-time coach for many years. Seeded fourth is Cheng Yinghua, 51, of Boyds, MD, four-time USA Men's Singles Champion and a finalist last year. A former long-time member of the Chinese National Team, he came to the U.S. as a coach in 1989, and won his first USA men's title at the age of 38 when he fist became eligible in 1996. Cheng won in 2004 at the age of 46, the oldest player ever to win the USA Men's Singles title in the modern era. He's been a full-time coach in the U.S. for twenty years. He's one of the most all-around players, equally comfortable attacking or blocking. The fifth through eight seeds are all USA-trained players looking to challenge the immigrant influx. Other than Eric Owens in 2001, the last USA-trained player to win Men's Singles was Jim Butler in 1993, with Lupulesku, Zhuang, or Cheng winning every title single since that time. The four are: Fifth-seeded Mark Hazinski, 24, of Mishawaka, IN, a three-time Men's Singles Finalist (2003, 2005, 2007). He's a two-winged topspin player, with great power from both sides. Sixth-seeded Han Xiao, 22, of Germantown, MD, two-time Men's Doubles Champion and a semifinalist in Men's Singles in 2007. Technically an immigrant, he came to the U.S. at the age of two. He will turn 23 on Saturday, Dec. 19, the day of the Men's Singles semifinals and final. He's a two-winged topspin player, known for his quick, penetrating backhand topspins. Seventh-seeded Marcus Jackson, 17, of Riverdale, MD, the U.S. #1 Under 18 and Under 22 player. He's a two-wing topspin player. Eighth-seeded Barney J. Reed, 31, of Chula Vista, CA, a former member of the USA National Team. He's a lefty two-winged topspinner known for his shot-making. For the past year he's been Marcus Jackson's coach and practice partner. Women's Singles
It's not exactly going out on a limb that Gao Jun, 40, of Gaithersburg, MD, is the prohibitive favorite to win Women's Singles for the ninth time in her ninth USA Nationals. She's never lost at the USA Nationals, in singles or doubles. (She's also eight for eight in Women's Doubles, and seven for seven in Mixed Doubles.) After skipping the last four years to focus on playing in China while going to college, she's back. Gao is also a three-time U.S. Open Women's Singles Champion, including 2008 and 2009. (The U.S. Open is open to anyone; the USA Nationals is for citizens only.) Formerly #3 in the world and a long-time member of the Chinese National Team, Gao won a silver medal for Women's Doubles at the 1992 Olympics for China. She's a pips-out penholder with a deceptive blocking game that relies on consistency, placement, and change of pace and depth. Challenging Gao will be USA-trained prodigy and two past national champions.
Third-seeded Amy Feng, 40, of Rockville, MD, could be the comeback story of the tournament. She's a four-time USA Women's Singles Champion, winning consecutively from 1992-1995 before Gao's arrival. After returning to China for a number of years, she's back in the U.S. as a full-time coach, and now out to win a fifth title. She's a lefty two-winged topspinner known for her deceptive high-toss serves. Fourth-seeded Jasna Rather, 38, of Ft. Worth, TX, is better known under her former name of Jasna Reed. Under that name she battled with Gao Jun at the Nationals for years, but never was able to win until Gao returned to China. Jasna was the 2003 and 2005 U.S. Women's Singles Champion. She won a bronze medal for Women's Doubles at the 1988 Olympics, playing for her native Yugoslavia. She is now a full-time coach at Texas Wesleyan College.
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The
prodigy is second-seeded Ariel Hsing
In
addition to Hsing, another trio of juniors (all USA-born and trained) may
also challenge Gao's reign. They are led by fifth-seeded Lily Zhang