For Immediate Release-January 20, 2000

For more information contact Vicki Ulrich, 719-578-4583 ex. 3286

HOUSTON, TX- The preliminary round of the U.S. Olympic Team Trials finished yesterday at the Houston Table Tennis Club when 18-year-old T.J. Beebe took first place in a three-way tie. Also advancing was 25-year-old Randy Cohen from Louisiana when his games won/lost ratio edged that Indiana teen phenom Mark Hazinski.

Beebe and Cohen will join ten players seeded out in a final round robin of 12 players.

Beebe, Cohen and Hazinski all defeated the fourth member of the round robin, Taju Oshodi. Cohen defeated Beebe, 17-21, 21-9, 18-21, 21-14, 21-13; Beebe defeated Hazinski, 22-20, 23-21, 21-15; Hazinski defeated Cohen, 21-16, 16-21, 21-16, 23-25, 26-24. With identical match records of 2-1, it went to the best ratio of games won/lost. Beebe came in first, with a 5-3 game record; Cohen came in second at 5-5. Hazinski was third at 3-5, and did not advance to the final 12.

It ended a remarkable run for the 14-year-old 6'1" Hazinski, who had jumped to fame with a series of upset wins at the USA Nationals in December, winning Class A (Under 2400) singles, Junior High School Singles & Doubles, and making the final 16 of men's singles. It continued the Olympic dreams of Cohen and Beebe, who have trained for this for many years.

Final round matches start today in which Beebe faces U.S. National Champion and top seed Cheng Yinghua in the first round. Cohen will be pitted against former National Champion and 1996 U.S. Olympic Team Member David Zhuang in his opening round. The top eight men and eight women from this tournament will advance to the North American Olympic Team Trials on April 5-9, in Rochester, NY.