USA Table Tennis Magazine (2014 Spring)

Spring

2014

Table

USA

tennis Jha Dropping Performance

13 Year Old Kanak Jha’s Impressive Performance at the 2013 US Nationals

CONTENTS USA Table Tennis Magazine SPRING 2014 Volume 85, Number 2

PUBLISHER: USA Table Tennis 4065 Sinton Road, Suite 120 Colorado Springs, CO 80907

FEATURES Kanak Jha by Sheri Cioroslan.................................................................... 14

TeamUSA.................................................................................................... 19 Bobrow........................................................................................................ 31 Tim Boggan on Yvonne Kronlage............................................................. 72 Obituaries (Gary Gresher)........................................................................ 74 Wally........................................................................................................... 78 FEATURED VIDEOS by Jimmy Butler.................................................. 81

COACHING Tips of the Month by Carl Danner........................................................... 34

Tips for Seniors by Yang Yu...................................................................... 35 Changeup by Samson Dubina................................................................... 36 Shadow Practice by Larry Hodges........................................................... 37

Tournaments Cary Cup.................................................................................................... 42 Swiss Open.................................................................................................. 46 Local and National Tournamnets............................................................. 48

USATT AND OTHER NEWS Editors......................................................................................................... 8 Chairman’s Report.................................................................................... 10 USATT Annual Giving Campaign............................................................ 13 USATT National Rankings . .................................................................... 60 USATT Ratings ........................................................................................ 62 USATT Tournament Schedule ................................................................. 68

* US OPEN ENTRY INFORMATION ON PAGE 29

ON THE COVER: 2013 Nationals Semifinalist Kanak Jha Photo by Diego Schaaf.

Design by Steve Hopkins.

Photo this page of Grant Li Photo by Grant Bergman.

Official Sponsors: Tables

Balls

Apparel

USA Table Tennis Magazine is a digital publication of USA Table Tennis. Distribution of the publication is at the direction of USA Table Tennis. The publication is designed and produced by Steve Hopkins, and edited by Steve and Marie Hopkins. If you would like to purchase a paper copy, please contact Andrew Horn, Circulation Director, for additional information.

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EDITORS-IN-CHIEF Steve Hopkins and Marie Hopkins Conimicut Point Press 6 Kennedy Drive Conimicut Village Warwick, RI 02889 CIRCULATION DIRECTOR* Andrew Horn 719-866-4583 Andrew.Horn@usatt.org *Print Copy Purchases, Rating and Rankings Questions

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1

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Rolls from table

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Yes

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Oscillation

R

R

P

C&R

R

C&R

P

P

P

Serve & Volley Sequences

No

No

No

No

No

No

No

Yes

No

Topspin/Underspin Sequences

No

No

No

No

No

No

No

Yes

Yes

LCD Touch Screen

No

No

No

No

No

No

No

No

Yes

Spin Indicator

No

No

No

No

No

No

No

No

Yes

Max ball speed

70mph

70mph

70mph

65mph

70mph

90mph

70mph

110mph

110mph

Balls included

48

48

48

48

48

120

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120

120

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No

No

No

Yes

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T

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as the widest angles. With Random Oscillation, where the ball lands depends on the frequency and speed settings you have chosen. Programmable Oscillation is the most versatile. It achieves everything Controlled and Random Oscillation does, plus you can program sequences of your choice for where the ball lands!

SERVE & VOLLEY SEQUENCES

The Robot can be set to serve and volley in the same sequence. So, for example, you can set a sequence to begin with a serve, then shoot volleys to specific landing spots with spins of your choice for a realistic training pattern.

TOPSPIN & UNDERSPIN SEQUENCE

The robot can shoot topspin shots and underspin shots (and other spins) in consecutive shots in the same sequence.

LCD TOUCH SCREEN

The LCD Touch Screen is a very easy and intuitive menu-based interface to control all functions of the robot.

SPIN INDICATOR

The Spin Indicator is located just under the shooting head. Before the ball shoots, it shows you the spin type on next shot: topspin, underspin, right-sidespin, left-sidespin, right-side/topspin, left-side/topspin, right-side/underspin, left-side/underspin, or no-spin/deadball.

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Table The NEW Magazine Format: tennis USA

magazine

EDITORS-IN-CHIEF Steve Hopkins and Marie Hopkins Conimicut Point Press 6 Kennedy Drive Conimicut Village Warwick, RI 02889 CIRCULATION DIRECTOR* Andrew Horn 719-866-4583 Andrew.Horn@usatt.org *Print Copy Purchases, Rating and Rankings Questions

PRINTER USA Table Tennis Magazine is published bimonthly. It is the official magazine of USA Table Tennis (USATT), a Class “A” member of the U.S. Olympic Committee.

CHIEF EXECUTIVE OFFICER Doru Gheorghe (interim) HEADQUARTERS STAFF Doru Gheorghe, Chief Operating Officer Deborah Gray, Finance Director Joyce Grooms, Membership Director Andrew Horn, Administrative Assistant and Ratings EDITORIAL ADVISORY COMMITTEE Jim McQueen (Chair), Ross Brown, Ty Hoff, Steve Hopkins, Tom Poston, Andrew Horn (Staff Liaison)

CONTRIBUTORS FOR THIS ISSUE CONTRIBUTING WRITERS Mike Babuin, Brad Balmer, Adam Bobrow, Tim Boggan, Terry Casey, Sheri Soderberg Cioroslan, Costel Constantin, Carl Danner, Samson Dubina, Larry Hodges, Steve Hopkins, Yvonne Kronlage, Caron Leff, Dan Seemiller PHOTOGRAPHERS Malcolm Anderson, Grant Bergman, Jason Denman, Steve Hopkins, Diego Schaaf, USATT Magazine Logo designed by Julian Waters (www.waterslettering.com).

Many headings within the magazine use Julian Waters’ Adobe Waters Titling fonts.

A SPECIAL THANK-YOU TO ALL OF THE CONTRIBUTORS. THIS PUBLICATION IS ONLY AS GOOD AS THE VOLUNTEERS THAT SUPPORT IT.

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USATT Digital Magazine

This is our first fully digital issue. The first issue of the year was posted online at the same time it was mailed, so many of you saw it digitally before receiving your print copy. Our intent was to get an honest response from readers about our digital edition, and then to make some adjustments and try to improve (while recognizing that the paper magazine was in the mail as a safety net). This time, there is no paper edition in the mail - so, this time, we are operating without a net.

We heard from a lot of members after the announcement of our format change...

And I’m not going to lie to anyone, most of those comments were making sure we knew that they preferred a paper magazine. And mixed in were a few readers who like the digital format, some international readers who had never seen the magazine before, and some pretty good recommendations for how to improve as we move forward. This is a thank-you for everyone that provided feedback and an open invitation to continue to comment. The decision to go digital has been made - but we will be working very hard to continue to improve as we move forward.

Our goals of bringing table tennis players, supporters, and fans the best content available in our sport has not changed. We continue to do all that we can to support players, clubs, and tournaments.

The magazine is now available through the usatt.org website and through the magazine website at usatt.org/magazine. When new magazines are available, a “hot off the presses” email will be sent out to members who have provided an email address to the organization.

Check usatt.org/magazine for more information about our transition to a digital format or to provide us with your email address so that you are sure to receive notices when your magazine is ready. The magazine website is also where you can find archived articles, teasers about future issues, and information about how to submit updates, archives, and information about advertising or submitting articles.

DIRECT

Greetings from Rhode Island, Steve and Marie Hopkins, Editors

Dow Your nload Is FRE sue E

to YOU - Its Table Tennis

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TABLE TENNIS

Farewell to CEO Cavanaugh and Ms. Grooms

By Michael Babuin, Chairman of the Board It is with great sadness that I share with all of our membership the departure of two good friends. First Joyce Grooms long time manager of ratings and memberships with headquarters is retiring April 4th. Joyce has always been there to help all of us in sorting out various problems and in providing information in a timely and professional manner. We wish her much happiness to come!

I am also very sad to report that our CEO Mike Cavanaugh will also be leaving USA Table Tennis. Mike has accepted a position with USA Team Handball and after much deliberation and a heavy heart, has decided to leave table tennis.

Mike stepped into the role of Interim CEO in 2007 during the USATT’s reorganization and reformation period mandated by the US Olympic Committee. Following that we did a nationwide search for a CEO and of all the candidates that stepped forward, Mike was considered the best one. Seven years later we still think he is the best. Mike helped shape our organization into a national governing body (NGB) that developed increased credibility with the USOC, and one which focused on larger scale issues related to Olympic medal attainment. While we have not achieved that goal yet, we are closer than we ever have been in the past, and with the right amount of support and resources we will eventually get there. These efforts while the culmination of efforts from many people over the years, also includes much from Mike Cavanaugh.

Mike has been a tireless professional who has championed the cause of table tennis in the United States and USATT will indeed miss him. We wish Mike much success in his new endeavor.

USATT will be appointing an interim CEO within the next week to manage the day to day duties of the organization over the period of time that it takes to compile a nationwide CEO search including formation of a task force charged with this duty, advertising for the position, receiving applications, developing a short list of candidates, interviewing the candidates, making an offer, and allowing time for relocation of the new hire to the National Office.

All of these efforts may easily take us until the Fall of this year to fully complete.

Let’s wish Mike and Joyce much happiness in their life after table tennis.

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2014 Annual Giving Campaign CLICK HERE to give to the 2014 Annual Fund

The 2013 Annual Giving Campaign raised $39,309 from USATT and $35,000 matching funds from the USOC Challenge Grants program. The total raised was $74,309.

$30,000

$30,000

This year, the USOC will give a $30,000 Challenge Grant to USATT if this campaign raises at least $30,000.

Visit USATT.org to donate to the 2014 Annual Fund. Help USATT reach the next level.

2014 ANNUAL GIVING DONORS Honor Roll Pledge Gift: $250 Jim & Kate Kahler Dell & Connie Sweeris Platinum Gifts: Han Xiao - $2,500 Gold Medal Gift: $1,000 James McQueen (US Open Sponsor) Dell & Connie Sweeris (US Open Sponsor) Silver Medal Gift: $500 Lily Yip Table Tennis Center

as of April 1, 2014

Supporting Gifts: $20-$249 Donna Chen-DFW Table Tennis Kagin Lee Warren Lemma Tommy Yonamine Anonymous

Spring Issue/April 2014 • usatt.org/MAGAZINE

13

Kanak Jha: Feeling Lucky at 13

By Sheri Soderberg Cioroslan Thirteen-year-old Kanak Jha, currently ranked 8th in the ITTF World Cadet U15 age division, surely felt lucky upon being named to USATT’s Men’s Team, which will compete in Japan at the World Championships in April.

His table tennis career, one might say, got started serendipitously when his parents were working on their own conditioning goals at the India Community Center (ICC) in Milpitas, California nearly a decade ago. Mom, Karuna, was taking fitness classes and playing table tennis recreationally. Dad, Arun, who had captained his badminton and cricket teams back in India before moving to the United States, was intent on maintaining his athleticism. He played our sport a little more seriously and competitively than his wife. They enrolled daughter Prachi, then 8, in the ICC’s table tennis camps.

And then there was 5-year-old Kanak. “What to do with him,” Karuna laughed, looking back at that time in her family’s life. “That was the question. We couldn’t leave him at home!” So he tagged along. Little did they know how pivotal that moment would be.

Kanak was already following in the family’s athletic footsteps. He’d been playing soccer since he was 2 ½. “He was always interested in all the ball sports,” said his mom. “But he especially loved soccer. And, of course, that lead to his dream of becoming a professional soccer player one day.”

Mom and Dad, in addition to all of their own activities and responsibilities, were accustomed to shuttling him around town for soccer matches between their own, and Prachi’s, ICC activities. When Kanak wound up at the ICC, he didn’t grumble or fidget. He got excited and exclaimed, “I want to play too!”

That’s how Rajul Sheth, the Bay Area uber-promoter and enthusiastic supporter of youth development, began working with him. Rajul commented, “I am proud to have been Prachi and Kanak’s first coach.

There was something extraordinary about the 6-year-old Kanak. I had always seen him, even at that young age, enjoying his introduction to the sport at the ICC. He would try to balance a ball on his paddle, or repeatedly bounce the ball on his racket, or hit against the wall all of the time.”

Kanak was simultaneously excelling in both soccer and table tennis.

In tournaments, he had already begun collecting national titles. At the 2009 U.S. Open, Kanak was the Boy’s 9 & Under Champion. Later in the year, and again in the following year, at the U.S. Nationals, Kanak won the Boy’s 10 & Under division. Bowie Martin extended Kanak a coveted Butterfly sponsorship.

As his first decade of life was concluding, and the schedules of everyone in the family became busier and more hectic, Kanak’s parents told him that he really needed to choose between the two sports. He opted for table tennis.

Karuna, for one, was happy with his decision. Not only had the family already received positive feedback about his potential, but also this enabled everyone to keep the ICC as a center of family activity. Karuna attributed Kanak’s decision in part to the bond between him and his sister Prachi. “Those two are very close. She has been his biggest mentor.

He follows her in everything. So, when we decided to get her private coaching, Kanak wanted it too.”

Some years earlier Kanak had already made an unusually strong and favorable impression on Mikael Andersson, the ITTF’s Senior Consultant on Education and Development. Mikael recalled, “I came across Kanak for the first time back in 2006 when I visited the Palo Alto TTC for a clinic together with Dennis Davis. I was there on an inspection visit for the 2007 World Junior Championships. And there he was – very small, but eager to play.”

Mikael continued, “He then came up again in the ITTF World Hopes program. He did very well.”

Kanak did, in fact, better than very well. In 2011, Kanak’s first year on the ITTF’s World Hopes Team, the ITTF’s youth talent identification program, Kanak won bronze medals in both the Hopes Challenge and the World Cadet Challenge. In 2012, Kanak took gold in the Hopes Challenge.

“From that point,” remarked Mikael, “I have always kept in contact

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with his family. And, if they have questions, I have been there with some advice. Kanak also spent time in Sweden to prepare for the World Junior Championships and the U.S. Nationals last year. I am relieved that it went well! It was a tough thing for him to do, from a mental point-ofview, for a thirteen year-old. Maybe that is what I like most about him.

This is a tough little guy with an excellent knowledge of international table tennis. You can see it in his eyes. There is no difference between him and Michael Maze or any of the other superstars. They know what they are looking for.”

Mikael has gone so far as to dub Kanak the “Tiger Woods of table tennis.” Mikael confidently asserted, “And I stand by that. He can be a game changer and the best U.S.-born player that ever played the game.”

Rajul Sheth echoed a similar sentiment. “Kanak has potential to win a medal for Team USA at the Olympics. His parents have sacrificed a lot to bring him to this level.”

The coaching staff at the World Champions Table Tennis Academy (WCTTA) in nearby San Jose are optimistic about Kanak too. U.S. Men’s Coach Stefan Feth, former U.S. National Coaches and former world champions and Chinese superstars Li Zhenshi and Zhang Li, along with their accomplished daughter, Coach Nan Li, issued joint comments about Kanak.

They noted, “He has a strong passion for the game. You basically have to kick him off the table. Otherwise he could play 24 hours a day. He has great footwork, very good touch, and anticipation for the ball. He is a relentless fighter. He has a great work ethic. That enables us to push him to the limit during every training session. He is 100% committed to the sport. He has the potential to become a full-time professional player.”

Kanak has been training with the WCTTA staff for eight years already and they remain his primary coaches. They stated, “This is a very special relationship, as it takes more than just training and hitting the ball to be successful in the long run. Overall, Kanak is a very talented and complete player, physically and mentally.”

All of those adulatory comments and remarks lead me to wonder: how can someone who’s only recently become a teenager himself not only deal effectively with so many expectations, but more importantly, learn to continue to thrive personally under such pressure?

The WCTTA staff responded, “With Kanak’s future in table tennis looking very bright, it is also not easy for this young boy to carry these high expectations. Expectations can be both motivational and burdensome.

Kanak needs to continue to stay grounded and remain hungry for ‘higher and better.’ He constantly needs to compete against himself, measure his abilities against his own higher standards, and stay true to his innate passion for this great sport. This, in turn, can help him find balance in handling the pressures that come with these expectations.”

“With Kanak,” Mikael Andersson weighed in, “perhaps you are right.

Any article or positive comments may raise the expectations, but this is what any top athlete will have to live with anyway, so I think it is good to address this issue.”

Carl Danner, the chair of USATT’s High Performance Committee, chimed in, “So far Kanak has done very well with pressure and expectations.

Part of this is that he is young and fearless – and fear is the biggest issue that can hold someone back emotionally. As well, I think Kanak and his family see him as possibly becoming a top-level international professional. We have had a few U.S.-trained players do that before, but it has been a while. To aim for that level clearly means moving beyond what has recently been ‘normal’ for most other developing players. Thus, while charting a relatively new path is always challenging, it also comes with the benefit of fewer established expectations to worry about.”

While all of those important issues get sorted out at the USATT level, there is the “urgency of the present” to contend with. Logistically, on a day-to-day basis for Kanak, he trains in separate but tandem programs, continuing at the WCTTA and, as of March 2014, the ICC, for a few more hours of table time. According to Rajul, “The ICC has already designed a three days a week high-level training opportunity for seven top Bay Area juniors in preparation for the 2016 Olympics. Kanak is the youngest and most talented player in that group. If we get additional sponsorship support, we will definitely extend this program to 14-16 hours per week.”

That is the kind of news Mikael Andersson liked to hear. “Lots of good things are happening in the Bay Area. For some reason, I have just felt involved there ever since the 2007 World Junior Championships were held at Stanford. That was very special. Dennis Davis and Anne Cribbs did such a great job pulling the event through. I kind of feel that by keeping an eye on Kanak, I also maintain contact with that area.”

For all the positives, Mikael warned that there are some concerns going forward. “Many huge challenges remain for him to be able to fly internationally and it’s only going to get tougher and tougher. If we can pull together and start supporting the young talents a little better it would be great. It is true that Kanak cannot do this alone. The table tennis community in the USA and, more specifically, in the Bay Area, need to start thinking bigger and with more international focus. With a unique kid like him, he may inspire us to have all kinds of ideas.” For example, according to Mikael, “We need to feed off his energy and start thinking things like Pro Leagues in the USA and why not a U.S.-hosted World Championships in 2020 or something of that nature?”

But first things first and back to Kanak.

Carl Danner explained the role USATT is assuming in Kanak’s high performance training. “USATT is doing fairly well at providing opportunities for international competition for Kanak, just as it did for Ariel Hsing and Lily Zhang, and is doing for the other high-level juniors.

Where USATT is struggling is in coordinating its efforts with the ongoing training and domestic competition on which Kanak and the other kids spend most of their time; we need to get better at that.”

Carl elaborated on the task he and his committee members have in front of them as to how USATT can best position and support our talented generation of juniors. “A related issue is developing a forward-looking program through which kids like Kanak can see a path through early adulthood (at least) that involves significant financial support in return for full-time commitment and extraordinary accomplishments. This is in part a matter of money, but also a policy decision as to how USATT wants to focus its limited resources.”

He continued, “The Jha family is the exceptional example with both Kanak and Prachi, but there are dozens of other families who are making

huge financial and time commitments to help their kids succeed at the highest levels of the sport. We absolutely must find some ways to return the favor in terms of support for the very best as they move further into their teen years, and beyond.”

In the meanwhile, the sponsorship from Butterfly serves as both a tangible reward and a source of motivation for Kanak to realize that his actions can inspire others. Bowie Martin credited Kanak not only for his achievements, but also for his behavior. “Butterfly is proud to have sponsored Kanak since he was nine years old. It’s been fun watching him improve each year and reach Top 10 in the ITTF Cadet ranking. Kanak has been a terrific role model for other young players, with his positive attitude on and off the court. Though only 13, Kanak is a true gentleman and an excellent ambassador for table tennis.”

Prachi, who is a member of the U.S. Women’s Team, is also sponsored

by Butterfly. Proud parents, Arun and Karuna, expressed their gratitude on behalf of the whole family. “We want to thank Butterfly for their continued backing for several years. Bowie Martin has always been a great supporter and guide. And, for the last year or so, Butterfly Japan has been helping us, too.”

They hope they will get the chance to visit the Butterfly headquarters, factory and museum in Tokyo during their trip to the World Championships. For his part, Kanak is “so happy” and “super excited” to be going to Japan as a member of the U.S. Men’s Team. He is preparing hard, playing six days a week.

Kanak expressed gratitude for his “great coaches.” And he appreciates, on an ongoing basis, having the chance to train with fellow aspiring juniors in the Bay Area. “They help me work harder,” Kanak said of his peers, who are both his friends and his rivals.

Naturally Kanak’s final compliments and words of appreciation went to his family, “My mom, who is a hypnotherapist, has helped me a lot with strategies. My sister Prachi and I sometimes practice together. It’s great that she’s there. My dad is very supportive. He helps me with my fitness.

He’s always encouraging me. My family is a great help to me as I pursue my dream of becoming a professional table tennis player.”

Spring Issue/April 2014 • usatt.org/MAGAZINE

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BUT HERE WE MEET AGAIN; late in 2013, almost to the day twenty years since our paths crossed for the first time, to share one day of Table Tennis, the sport that has stayed with us over the years. Michael had committed training time with the vastly talented thirteen year old American Kanak JHA staying in Sweden at the time and he also promised to show me around in his secret haven, training setup in Amager, just south of Copenhagen where he the last four months had set up his private camp with access to his own venue and his physical conditioning coach Thomas THE TWO PLAYERS JOINING ME this day, Kanak JHA and Michael Maze, are separated by time; 20 years, but also glued together in terms of determination and desire.

We are talking almost instant connection between the two players.

You can see it in their eyes – the will 16

TABLE TENNIS

to become something more than just the average athlete.

Kanak JHA – the American super talent stands up well in the exercises and Mr. Maze, the mentor for the day, is generously complementing his much younger partner: “ Very good – excellent change of rhythm and adjustments in the block”. Two hours of Table Tennis is gone and next stop is the physical conditioning studio owned and operated for a selected group of Danish Top Athletes

by Thomas Macon – a sought after physical conditioning guru in Denmark.

Both players are guided through the physical work out. Again the young American manages to hold fort.

“I have to say that it is not every day you meet a thirteen year old that can do the things this guy can do. Impressive stuff, said the two Danes.

Excerpts from Maze - Back from the Deep End written by Mikael Andersson and produced by Edgeball Media, Butterfly, and ITTF. http://elevenpoints.files.wordpress.com/ 2014/02/maze_article-1.pdf

Spring Issue/April 2014 • usatt.org/MAGAZINE

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Timothy Wang Jimmy But ler Yahao Zhang Adam Hugh Timothy Wang Jimmy Butler Yhao Adam Hugh Timothy Wer Yaha Zhang Adam Wang

TEAM USA Bios 2014 US Team Trials Coverage

Lily Zhang Prachi Jha E Wu Lily Zhang Crysta Wang Prachi Jha Erica Wu Lily Zhang Crystal Wang Prachi Jha Crys tal Wang Erica Wu Prachi Jha Eria Zhang

Click on the Player Spring Issue/April 2014 • usatt.org/MAGAZINE

19

2014 US Team Trials

Team USA The format of the 2014 US Team Trials was three single-elimination tournaments. The four spots on the US Men’s Team and the four spots on the US Women’s Team would go to (1) the Friday Event Winner, (2) the Saturday Event Winner, and (3)&(4) to the two Finalists in the Sunday Event.

The event was held at Texas Wesleyan University in Fort Worth, Texas on March 7-9, 2014. USATT would like to thank Texas Wesleyan Universtiy and Jasna Rather for their great hospitality throughout the event. Additional thanks to USATT Staff, Referees, Umpires, Commentators, Volunteers and David Del Vecchio for making the web stream possible.

Congratulations to 2014 US National Team Members: Lily Zhang, Prachi Jha, Crystal Wang, Erica Wu, Timothy Wang, Adam Hugh, Yahao Zhang, Jimmy Butler.

FRIDAY RESULTS (MEN) On the first day, the men’s event progressed almost by seeding. Kanak Jha defeated Jim Butler to advance to the final four. He was joined in the semifinals by Cory Eider (who had defeated Samson Dubina), Adam Hugh (who had defeated Yahao Zhang), and Tim Wang (who had defeated Kunal Chodri). Kanak Jha then defeated Eider 4-0, and Timothy Wang defeated Hugh 4-0. That pitted the top two seeds in the event, Jha and Wang.

Timothy Wang closed out the Final quickly 4-1 to take the first spot on the US Team.

FRIDAY RESULTS (WOMEN) In the Ladies’ event, Tina Lin upset Prachi Jha and then pushed top seed Lily Zhang to 7 games in the semifinals. On the other half of the draw, Erica Wu emerged with a 4-1 win over Judy Hugh. Lily Zhang then defeated Erica Wu 4-1 to take the first women’s spot on the US Team.

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SATURDAY RESULTS (MEN) Shao Yu may have been the top story of the second day for the men. He upset Kanak Jha in the opening round, then upset Yahao Zhang in the second round, then defeated Chodri Kunal in the third round. However, Yu’s run ended when he met a sharp Adam Hugh in the final. Hugh swept through his side of the draw with 4-1, 4-0, and 4-0 wins before closing out Yu in the final 4-2 to take the second spot on the Men’s Team.

SATURDAY RESULTS (WOMEN) The second day for the ladies included an upset in the semifinals. The top seed of the day, Erica Wu, fell to Angela Guan 4-1. In the other half of the draw, Judy Hugh fell to Prachi Jha 4-0. Prachi then closed out the final 4-1 over Guan to take the second spot on the Ladies’ Team.

Photos (left to right): Lily Zhang, Timothy Wang, Prachi Jha, and Adam Hugh. Hugh photo by Diego Schaaf, other photos by Grant Bergman Spring Issue/April 2014 • usatt.org/MAGAZINE

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SUNDAY RESULTS (MEN) The final two spots were decided in the Sunday event, so making the Finals was the real goal for the competitors. Shao Yu again upset Kanak Jha to advance to the semifinal. He faced Yahao Zhang who had defeated Cory Eider. Jim Butler held off Samson Dubina 4-2 to take his place in the semifinal against Billy Ding who had defeated Chance Friend. Yahao Zhang outlasted Shao Yu in a seven game nailbiter to claim his spot on the US Team. And Jim Butler defeated Billy Ding 4-1 to claim his spot on the US Team.

Yahao Zhang then defeated Jim Butler in a match between team members to decide who was No.3 and who was No.4.

SUNDAY RESULTS (WOMEN) The final four on the last day for the ladies was Angel Guan, Crystal Wang, Erica Wu, and Judy Hugh. Crystal Wang and Erica Wu each won their match convincingly (Wang over Guan and Wu over Hugh) to take the final two spots on the Women’s Team. Wang then defeated Wu 4-2 in the match to decide the No.3 and No.4 positions on the Team.

TOP MEN 1. Timothy Wang 2. Adam Hugh 3. Yahao Zhang 4. Jim Butler

TOP WOMEN 1. Lily Zhang 2. Prachi Zha 3. Crystal Wang 4. Erica Wu

Photos (left to right): Yahao Zhang, Jim Butler, Crystal Wang, Erica Wu photos by Grant Bergman 22

TABLE TENNIS

maryland table tennis center 18761- Q North Frederick Ave, Gaithersburg, MD 20879

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2014 training camps

Spring Break Camp: April 14 –18 Summer Camps: June 16–20, 23–27 June 30–July 4 July 7–11, 14 –18, 21–25 Aug 4–8, 11–15, 18–22 Winter Break Camp Dec 26 –31 • •

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• • •

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$60 per day camp, members $70 per day camp, non-members $250 per single week camp, members $285 per single week camp, non-members MULTI-WEEK DISCOUNTS: $225 per week for 4+ camps, members $250 per week for 4+ camps, non-members Minimum deposit: $50 Make Checks out to MDTTC Sign up early! Only first 30 players are guaranteed spots in each camp

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Private suites or shared rooms close to MDTTC with full kitchen, free wifi, are also available.

Rates: $26–$80 per night, depending on room size and length of stay. Email Wen Hsu at marylandttc@gmail.com to make a reservation.

Coach Cheng Yinghua • • • • • • • • •

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CHENG YINGHUA AT THE 2 0 0 8 U . S . T E A M T R I A LS

Coach Jack Huang • • • • • • •

U.S. #1 Player in 1990 Chinese National Team Member 1976–83 Former U.S. Senior and National Men’s Doubles Champion USATT’s Developmental Coach of the Year, 1997 Former Head Coach for the Guangxi Province of China Butterfly sponsored full-time coach USATT certified National Coach

JACK HUANG AT THE 1998 U.S. OPEN

Coach Larry Hodges • • •

• • • •

Member, USA Table Tennis Hall of Fame Author of six books and over 1500 published articles on table tennis Director/Manager/Coach at the Resident Training Program for Table Tennis at the Olympic Training Center, 1985-89 Many-time U.S. Junior Team Coach USATT’s Developmental Coach of the Year, 2002 Editor of USATT Magazine for 12 years USATT certified National Coach

LA R R Y H O D G E S A T T H E 2 0 0 0 N A T I O N A LS

Coach Wang Qing Liang • • • • •

Highest rated chopper in the U.S. 2012 U.S. Open Men’s Singles 3rd Place 2012 U.S. Open Age 21 & Under Boys’ Runner-Up 2012 Badger Open Runner-Up Trained at China’s Elite Shandong Lureng Sports School Additional coaches/training parters include 2500+ rated penholder Bowen Chen and others.

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Youngest US Team Member in History Crystal Wang, 12, Makes USA National Team

By Larry Hodges It’s 3PM at the Maryland Table Tennis Center in Gaithersburg, Maryland. You know this because Crystal Wang has just arrived, as she does every day, Mon-Fri, right after school. She has her homework and playing stuff, and changes into her table tennis clothes. Sometimes she gets her homework done first; she’s in the magnet program at Roberto Clemente Middle School, where she’s a six grader. Other times she goes straight to a practice session.

But it’s going to be a long afternoon and night at the club, as she practically lives there. Sometime later that night, after perhaps two training sessions, service practice, lots of practice matches, and a jump rope session, she’ll go home. But it’s all paying off.

On Sunday, March 16, Crystal made history by becoming, at 12 years and 14 days, the youngest member of the USA National Team, according to USATT Historian Tim Boggan. That was at Texas Wesleyan University in Ft. Worth, Texas. Less than 24 hours later and 1400 miles away, Crystal arrived at MDTTC at 3PM after school on Monday, as usual, and was all set to continue her training, even after three days of grueling play. We had to order her to take a day off – she wants to practice. It’s a habit. Crystal trains seven days a week, an idea that’s foreign to much of western civilization but is normal for many Chinese players. I asked her when she takes days off, and she said, “When I’m sick. But only if I’m really sick, like with a fever.”

She does admit to being tired sometimes, and that’s when training is hard. But it’s what she needs to make the USA Olympic Team, the shining goal in the sky she is aiming for. If she does that, then the goal is to medal. If she does that, then the goal is a gold medal. If she does that, well, then she can take a few days off. Perhaps.

Crystal went into the USA Team Trials with a rating of 2395 – she’s just turned twelve, think about that for a moment – which would have seeded her third, two points behind #2 Judy Hugh. But because they were using slightly older ratings she was seeded 7th at “only” 2304, and so she faced #1 seed and 2012 USA Women’s Singles Champion Lily Zhang in the quarterfinals on Friday, losing 4-1. Lily went on to clinch the #1 spot, with a 4-3 battle over Tina Lin in the semifinals, and 4-1 in the final over Erica Wu. (The Trials were run as three single elimination tournaments, with the USA Team consisting of the winners on day one and two, and the two finalists on day three.)

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On Saturday, Crystal and Prachi Jha had a titanic struggle in the quarterfinals. Crystal won the first two easily; Prachi won the next two easily, and pulled out the fifth 11-9. Up 3-2 and leading 7-1 in the sixth, it looked like Prachi was going to win, but Crystal came back to win in deuce. In the seventh, with Crystal up 8-5, it looked like she was going to win and finish second on the team, but Prachi won the last six points to win the game and advance. She would go on to clinch the #2 spot, winning 4-0 against Judy Hugh in the semifinals and 4-1 over Angela Guan in the final. Crystal could only put aside what might have been and focus on the final day.

It was on Sunday that Crystal went on a rampage. She won 4-0 in the first round over Tia Hsieh; 4-1 over Tina Lin (and her ferocious backhand smash) in the quarterfinals; 4-0 in the semifinals over chopper Angela Guan (having 2600 chopper Wang Qing Liang as a practice partner and coach at the Trials helped), and 4-2 in the final over Erica Wu, thereby clinching the #3 spot on the team, with Erica getting the #4 spot.

She’s a bit excited these days, not just about making the U.S. National Team, but about upcoming travel. She’s going to the Canadian Junior & Cadet Open in Toronto, April 10-13. Then she’ll be going to Tokyo for a training camp (April 24-27) and then the World Team Championships (April 28 -May 5).

It may seem that all Crystal does is table tennis and school.

But that’s not quite true, even if she seems perpetually at a table practicing something. “I like shopping, skiing, and ice skating,” she said. In fact, it was just a couple of months ago that she and other top MDTTC juniors went on a joint skiing trip, much to the horror of some of us, who debated which one would return with a broken leg. (All came back healthy and ready to practice.) She also likes Korean Drama, and is a big fan of the Hunger Games (both books and movies). She also likes to watch and draw anime.

School is also important to her, and she’s a dedicated student, which is why she’s in a magnet program despite all her table tennis hours. She has straight A’s, with one exception. “I have an 89.4% average in English,” she laments, “just 0.6% from an A!” She also goes to Chinese School on Saturdays, which she described as “Really boring.” She added, “But I get bored easily. We have a drawing class afterwards which is more interesting. Right now Photo by David DelVecchio

we’re doing cartooning.”

She’s not Miss Perfect either. “I used to play piano but wasn’t very good. I got frustrated and finally quit.” She can also get moody at tournaments, which affects her play, sometimes leading to uncharacteristically poor play.

She was born in the U.S., and has been playing since she was five and a half. She’s tall for her age, 5’5”, something she sometimes laments about, but her parents are tall as well. She is sponsored

by Butterfly, and uses a Mizutani blade, with Tenergy 05 on the forehand, Tenergy 64 on the backhand.

From the beginning her primary coach has been Jack Huang, a full-time coach at MDTTC since it opened in 1992. He’s a former Chinese team member (1976-83), a National Coach (highest USATT certification level), and was the 1998 USATT National Coach of the Year. Before coming to the U.S. in 1989 (where he was the #1 player in 1990), he was the head coach for the Guangxi Province of China.

He also holds a bachelor’s and master’s degree in Sports from the Guangxi Sports Institute. He has coached countless top players, with Crystal the latest – and perhaps, someday, the greatest. They have four sessions every week. Crystal also trains with the other coaches and top players at MDTTC, including Wang Qing Liang (who coached her at the Team Trials), Chen Bo Wen, Chen Ruichao (a new MDTTC coach/practice partner, about 2650), Han Xiao, Raghu Nadmichettu, Harold Baring, Heather Wang, and Derek Nie. (I used to train with her, but alas, I can no longer keep up with her.

But we talk tactics often.)

What is she focusing on right now? “Mostly forehand and footwork,” says Coach Huang. “More snap, more spin.” It’s been the focus for much of the past year. Over the next year they’ll also be focusing on serve and receive. “She needs more variety on her serve,” says Huang. “Also more aggressive on receive.”

“When she’s tired she sometimes doesn’t want to train,” continued Huang. “But she does since she wants to reach a high level. So I keep pushing her. When you push her, she works very hard. Mentally, she’s getting stronger. She knows how to change strategies if one doesn’t work.”

Previous generations of top junior girls in the U.S. were often hitter/blockers. It was a great way to make the U.S. team. However, at the higher levels, it was somewhat of a backwards style. Crystal is the complete opposite, a two-winged looper who loops nearly everything off the bounce. Spectators, even experienced players, often don’t realize until they watch closely – or play her – that most of her apparent countering and blocking aren’t counters or blocks – she’s looping off the bounce, but she does it so quickly that it often goes unnoticed. Her off-the-bounce topspinning backhand is especially good. Add to that great ball control, especially when returning serves, and it’s murderous playing her. I know, because I’ve faced her many times. Crystal also has a knack for attacking an opponent’s middle (the playing elbow), something they drill on specifically.

Becoming the youngest USA team member isn’t the first time Crystal has set age records. At the USA Nationals in December, at the age of 11, she became the youngest player ever to win Under 22 Women, defeating top seed Ariel Hsing of California in the semifinals (who would go on to win her third Women’s Singles title), and Angela Guan in the final. In Women’s Singles, Crystal lost in the quarterfinals 4-0 to Erica Wu. Crystal is now the #1 ranked girl in the U.S. in Under 13, 14, 15, 16, and 17 Girls. She is also ranked #1 in Under 13 overall, girls or boys. She has already achieved the highest rating in history, boys or girls, for ages 9, 10, and 11, and is well on her way to doing so for age 12.

She was a member of the U.S. Junior Team at the 2012 World Junior Championships in Hyderabad, India, and at age 10, was not just the youngest on the team by several years, but the youngest in the tournament. The International Table Tennis Federation did a feature on Crystal in December, 2012, after she won the North American Hopes Trials and attended Hopes Week at the Werner

Schlager Academy in Austria. While there she won the training tournament, and in the tournament held at the end of the week she made the final of Girls’ Singles, losing the final to Hong Kong’s Lee Ka Yee and making the ITTF World Hopes Team (top four 11and 12-year-old girls in the world). Outside of perhaps a few girls in Asia, Crystal is almost for certain the top player her age in the world.

Now ratings are not that important, but they are fun to look at, especially when they go up. So it’s fun to look at rating records.

Crystal and California’s Kanak Jha (who turns 14 in June) keep setting new ones. Crystal has set records for the highest rated 9-, 10-, and 11-year-old in history (boys or girls) at 2150, 2355, and 2402. (Kanak’s highest ratings at those ages were 2017, 2265, and 2366.) However, Kanak has since set lofty records for 12- and 13-year-olds at 2468 and 2635 – and that last one will be incredibly difficult to break; he’s a tough act to follow. Crystal is already by far the highest rated girl in history for each of these ages, though technically she’s got nearly a year to go before she becomes a teenager next February. However, she’s also being pushed to excel by others near her age, especially Amy Wang of NJ, who’s a little younger and who would be breaking these records herself if not for Crystal breaking them first.It’s fun to watch, even though the players themselves are largely oblivious to it – they are focused on winning titles and making teams, not on numbers. Those are for the fans. So forget the ratings, what’s next for Crystal Wang?

“Now that she’s made the U.S. team,” said Coach Huang, “she needs to go for the Olympic Team. She works very hard, but if she wants to go to the Olympics, she’ll have to work even harder.” I can’t imagine that, but I know Crystal is up for the challenge, and I can’t wait to see the results.

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2014 TMS College Table Tennis Championships

by Andy Kaningiser and Willy Leparulo The 2014 TMS College Table Tennis Championships was a tournament of firsts all around as Teams and players alike picked up top honors for the first time. The College Table Tennis Championships was hosted by the Visit Monroeville Convention Visitor’s Bureau and sponsored

by TMS International, Newgy Industries, Butterfly and was played at the Club Sport and Health in Monroeville, PA (also for the first time). Also for the first time we were able to utilize rubber flooring graciously donated by Killerspin through Ed Hogshead.

Women’s Doubles was a great event featuring several top school pairs, but one wiley veteran in Vivien Zhou who previously won Women’s Doubles in 2012 with then Partner Pei Pei Zheng. Vivien and XiXi are owners of little pimples called Medium pips and in addition Vivien brought her Lion sized personality as exhibited by the way she pumps herself up. All of these factors led to this powerful University of Toronto duo winning the Women’s Doubles tournament over Sylvan Guo and Ellen Hwang of California (Berkeley) who actually unseated the #1 doubles duo from Princeton, Olympian Ariel Hsing and teammate Shirley Fu. Men’s Doubles featured a first as well as Zhedi Bai

and Razvan Cretu teamed up together to play in what the Texas Wesleyan camp would call their #2 doubles team.

Cretu, a lefty, is made for the doubles set up and as one spectator noted “he is a beast”. Yes, Razvan was a force to be reckoned with and Zhedi cleaned up any loose ends.

A great partnership and one that was a FIRST this year for each of them as they have never teamed up in doubles. They beat a determined Mississippi College team, but experience does have its benefits. Mississippi College players are on the rookie stage of their careers in College Table Tennis, so experience is an intangible that does not need to be understated. Texas Wesleyan has plenty RazvanCretu is no stranger to College Table Tennis finals in doubles as he participated in the 2012 and 2013 Championships in that event and Zhedi Bai can also hold his own on the Championship court was the finalist in Men’s singles in 2013 among other accolades.

Another first for NCTTA was the number of powerhouse women’s singles players that qualified for the event. Never before in NCTTA’s history have so many talented women’s players come to the forefront. This year, Olympian in 2012, Ariel Hsing is a Freshmen at Princeton University; also at Princeton arrived Shirley Fu ex Canadian junior international as well as a plethora of other noted stars from around the country (Berkeley- Ellen Hwang); (Northeastern-Li Yuhua); (Western Ontario- Ronnge Zhang), (Texas Wesleyan- Claudia Ikeizumi). These young ladies have brought a new trend to College Table Tennis proving that the men aren’t the only ones to watch! Ten out of an almost full field of women’s players were over 2000 in rating.

Ariel Hsing faced off in the TMS 2014 College Table Tennis Championships vs #2 seed Li Yuhua from Northeastern University. Two newcomers to College Table Tennis and the #1 and 2 seeds. Li a southpaw and Ariel handling her bat from the right side showed off impressive shots and gave the College TT populace a chance for ovation after ovation as Ariel Hsing picked up her first piece of College Table Tennis hardware as the Women’s Singles Champ.

Men’s Singles featured a toe to toe competition between two teammates from the same school specifically Mississippi College. Small religious college out of Clinton, MS featured Cheng Li and teammate Yichi Zhang. The 6’ 3”

Ariel Hsing won Women’s Singles and helped bring the Women’s Team Title home for Preinceton University as well. Photo by Grant Bergman.

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native, Cheng Li, of the Yunan Province of China beat his MC teammate Yichi Zhang, who ended up No. 2 in the all-MC finals. A first again for the Mississippi College Table Tennis team picking up both the Men’s singles champion trophy and 2nd place trophy.

Women’s Team event featured a first time winner in Princeton University led by Ariel Hsing and Shirley Fu. Princeton came into the event ranked #2 overall behind the California (Berkeley) team. California on paper was probably the most solid women’s team in the field. They easily dispatched their opponents, but the showdown came when they faced Princeton women’s team with Ariel at the helm.

The women’s final featured a showdown in doubles where Ariel and Shirley were able to enact revenge and defeat Sylvan Guo and Ellen Hwang (who previously beat them in the Women’s Doubles competition) for the win in the Women’s Team event. Welcome Princeton women to the Championships as a new school team winning it on the first try!

In Pittsburgh Steelers Country, Texas Wesleyan University showed their collegiate table tennis dynasty is in the same league with one of the NFL’s greatest teams.

The proof was evident Sunday afternoon at the 2014 TMS Collegiate Table Tennis Championships in Monroeville, Pennsylvania when the Texas Wesleyan Rams captured their 11th consecutive coed team title. A FIRST for any Collegiate team in most probably any Collegiate sport!

For the third straight year, the awesome coed team from Fort Worth withstood a mighty challenge from Mississippi College to take home a first place trophy on April 6.

Powerful TWU table tennis stars like Emil Santos of the Dominican Republic, Yahao Zhang of Denver, Zhedi Bai of China and Razvan Cretu formally of Romania, brought their “A’’ games to the table for the three-day NCTTA event. In the collegiate table tennis world, their names shine bright.

Following a four-match split with some potent MC players seen by audiences from the USA to China on the NCTTA’s live streaming, TWU turned up the heat. It came down to the wire in a doubles match, and TWU’s Santos and Zhang prevailed over MC Choctaws standouts Cheng Li and Yichi Zhang.

Plenty of hugs, high fives, and joy on the faces of the TWU players, coaches and fans followed moments later.

It’s become an all too familiar scene every spring for TWU

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table tennis supporters.

“Honestly, it was unexpected,’’ said TWU Coach Jasna Rather. “On paper, MC has two stronger players and they are good at doubles. But our players always push themselves beyond their ratings.’’

It’s never easy for anybody going up against Cheng Li, 22, who on Saturday battled his way to become the 2014 national collegiate men’s singles champion. In fact, Rather salutes Cheng Li, the No. 1 seed heading into the Monroeville tourney, as “one of the best players in the USA,’’ and noted that goes beyond collegiate circles.

But TWU’s Santos, the 2013 NCTTA singles champ, and Yahao Zhang, who’s bound soon for World Table Tennis competition in Japan, were aggressive with their attacks and returned some spectacular shots against their MC opponents.

NCTTA President notes, “NCTTA brings the best in College Table Tennis together and we are super enthused at the top notch final, congratulations to all for an amazing final.”

Kudos to the NCTTA and its sponsors TMS International, Newgy Industries and Butterfly.

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EVENT WINNERS: Coed Team - Texas Wesleyan University Women’s Team - Princeton University 1st Men’s Singles - Cheng Li, Mississippi College Women’s Singles - Ariel Hsing, Princeton University Men’s Doubles - Razvan Cretu & Zhedi Bai, Texas Wesleyan University Women’s Doubles - Vivien Zhou & Xixi Guo, University of Toronto Men’s Consolation - Peng Peng Women’s Consolation - Xiaohaun Zhu

ENTER TODAY !

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TWU Doubles.

Photo courtesy of Keith Lam/NCTTA

Rams Win: Dynasty Rolls On Article Courtesy of Texas Wesleyan Athletics (www.ramsports.net) MONROEVILLE, PA: The Texas Wesleyan University table tennis team faced one of its toughest challenges at the 2014 TMS College Table Tennis National Championships. However, the Rams were up to the task extending their streak to eleven consecutive national championships.

The Rams entered the competition as the top seed, but second seeded Mississippi College had served notice in Saturday’s competition that they were a force to be reckoned with. Saturday’s men’s singles final was an all MC affair with Cheng Li defeating his teammate Yichi Zhang. In men’s doubles, the Rams and Choctaw’s had battled it out with each program putting two teams in the final four. Texas Wesleyan’s second ranked duo of Zhedi Bai and Razvan Cretu defeated MC’s second ranked combo of Junyu Xiao and ZeshengHuang for the title.

The team competition was tied 2-2 entering men’s doubles which would decide the title. Team USA member Yahao Zhang and 2013 men’s singles champion Emil Santos took to the table for Texas Wesleyan against Li and Zhang and the Rams came away with a thrilling victory.

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The win ran Texas Wesleyan’s streak to eleven consecutive national championships. The Rams first became eligible to play for the team championship in 2004, and they have never been defeated. The 2014 team title along with the win in men’s doubles gives the Rams a total of 55 championships since the program’s inception in 2001.

In the women’s team competition, the Lady Rams had won five titles in the last seven years. However, the 2014 squad was seeded fifth. The Lady Rams took a 3-1 win over NYU to reach the semifinals where they were defeated 3-2 by the eventual champion Princeton.

2014 TMS College Table Tennis National Champions Coed Team: Texas Wesleyan Women’s Team: Princeton Men’s Singles: Cheng Li, Mississippi College Women’s Singles: Ariel Hsing, Princeton Men’s Doubles: Zhedi Bai / Razvan Cretu,

Texas Wesleyan Women’s Doubles: Vivien Zhou / Xixi Guo,

Toronto

BOBROW

Your Kid

By Adam “Chicken Soup for Your Face” Bobrow Don’t have kids???? I don’t think I do either.

This article is for you too. We’re getting older.

Every year. Every day. Every second. Before we finish reading this sentence, we’ve gotten older.

And that sentence was pretty short for me. So what? What does that mean? More responsibility?

Maybe we run around slightly less or not quite as fast… maybe our bones sound like Rice Crispies when we walk??? That’s all part of the game. But enough of the UPLIFTING content.

Whether it’s at SPiN, in an elevator or in a room filled with only sleeping people… I tend to ask people if they play ping pong (I usually don’t ask sleeping people). And a LARGE percentage of the people I ask tell me they “used to play.”Naturally, I follow that with “why’d you stop?” The most common response I get is “I just got too busy.” That’s closely followed by “I don’t have a table anymore” or “sorry, this is my floor… have a nice day.”

Just got too busy??? We all have our priorities, but one thing that makes us healthy is being happy and one thing that makes us happy, is doing what we love. Therefore, through the transitive property (if I remember my math terms), being healthy = doing what you love. So

many people that I talk to about this stopped playing but when they play for a minute or two remember how much FUN they used to have. So why not make some time to play?!?! Is playing only for kids??? Of COURSE not. Even if there were NO exercise involved, just playing would be healthy because of all of its creative aspects and the fun factor alone.

Maybe if there were more tables around, people would be playing more often. “If you build it… they will come.” A quote so great that I don’t even have to mention that it was from Field of Dreams. How many people got really into table tennis because they had a table at work, or in their dorm… or just somewhere convenient and accessible? And how many people stopped playing because there wasn’t a table around anymore? Well… it’s getting out there… but if I weren’t related to someone who knew about organized table tennis… I might never have discovered how amazing it is and how much fun it can be or that there are other places to play outside of my home. And since not everybody has a family member who’s connected to places to play… it would be great if this information was out there and available for anyone interested in getting back into what they played as a kid.

Of course, there are priorities and those are yours. Who’s to tell you what your priorities should be? DEFINITELY not me. But I WILL say that it’s way too easy to get caught up in being busy, being productive and to simply forget about making time for the things you enjoy the most. And whatever those things are… they might not include playing table tennis(but since you’re reading this, there’s a decent chance that you’re really into table tennis), we would probably feel better if we include them in our life fairly often.

As I get older, I am constantly reminded of how I still feel like a little kid. It’s interesting to know that many people I’ve talked with, from 93-year-olds to 72-year-olds, young parents and professionals just out of college still feel like kids inside. So was this article about your child? Well, I understand that having a child is a HUGE factor in how you spend your time, but this article is less about being a parent and more about being good to yourself and letting your kid, your INNER kid, live… play and without being terribly irresponsible… be free and have fun. No matter how long you’ve been alive, don’t get old. Stay young at heartand please don’t ignore… “your kid.” 8>)

Author Can Be Stalked At AdamBobrow.com

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COACHING

Tips of the Month

Paying Attention

by Carl Danner

(Tip of the Month: March) One of my coaching emphases is on behaviors of top players that you can copy, but which most players don’t.

Top players pay intense attention to each and every point, to the extent that a break in concentration is usually enough to lose a game. They scramble for every ball, and give up on very few shots (if any). Their superior concentration also allows them to cruise by many lesser players who have the strokes to compete, but who can’t help but suffer letdowns that consistently provide the few points needed as a margin for victory.

You can concentrate more, too. The next time you see some top players in a serious match, notice their mental and emotional effort level and try to copy it. It’s not as easy to maintain as you may think, but it will pay dividends if you can do so.

Shot Sequences

(Tip of the Month: April) For many players just starting out in the sport, it is not too difficult to get the hang of some of the strokes in a club environment. Game tactics can be another matter, however, as opponents combine shots into point-winning sequences the newbies haven’t seen before.

To understand these sequences requires appreciating how each stroke naturally feeds into the next. The key is to encourage your opponent to provide the kind of return you want to attack, in a location that is convenient for you. For example, a crosscourt push is usually pushed back crosscourt among beginners, and if the push is deep then the return will also be deep. If you can attack a deep push successfully, you have the makings of a winning shot sequence just by pushing deep crosscourt, and moving into position to attack the return. Another common approach is to anticipate a return to the middle of the table if you can angle your shot off to one side. Many players will return sidespin serves to one side of the table only, creating a further opportunity. If the return is predictable enough, you can even move ahead of time to be waiting in place when the ball arrives back.

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The same thinking can help you defend against winning shot sequences, when you feel compelled in rallies to give your opponent just the ball he wants to pounce on. Take a moment and think about what type of shot you are being encouraged to hit (and to where), and try to deliver something else -almost anything else, in fact. For example, rather than stroking a topspin into the wrong corner, try chopping the ball in the opposite direction even if your chop is pretty weak.

Just having to change direction and stroke will slow your opponent down, and may even win the point outright if he was moving early to anticipate his favorite return. A lob can be another surprise tactic, as your opponent will not only have to move sideways but back to handle it. A further benefit is that once you do surprise your opponent a few times, he will grow more cautious and hesitate to trust his sequences.

Understanding how one return naturally follows another is a key to your development as a competitive player. Start looking for these patterns now, and you will soon see results!

Tips for Senior Players

By Yang Yu, Austin Table Tennis Association Bio: Mr X I’m 66 years old, and I suffer from the following physical ailments, which hamper my ability to play table tennis: The most serious problem is degenerative osteoarthritis in both knees, but much worse in the right knee. It is weak, somewhat stiff, and painful to bend. The weakness makes me slow to get into best position to make a shot, and, once I get going in one direction, my knees can’t stop and reverse me until I reach the barrier. I also have bursitis in my shoulders and epicondylitis in my playing elbow, so I can’t generate much power. I’m a 1200-rank player, and I just want to get to 1300 right now.

Training Suggestion: 1. To change to being a long-pips player. Because of his knee problem, and to avoid too much movement during a game, I suggest that he play with long pips on his backhand side and develop into a blocker rather than an attacker.

However, my suggestion was rejected, and he wants to attack and does not like the pips style, feeling that it’s awkward and uncomfortable.

2. To develop a heavy side-spin serve. In order to avoid long rallies during a game, I believe that he needs to try to end the point ASAP. The fastest way to do that is to develop a heavy side-spin serve and attack the third ball. Serving a heavy side-spin serve will be more effective, in my opinion, than serving as he currently does; that is, to varying areas of the table and low over the net. Most 1300 players do not have good judgment of spin, and they do not know how to return sidespin, especially heavy sidespin.

3. To develop a heavy back-spin, or under-spin, push. Most 1300 players do not have a consistent loop against underspin and have much trouble returning heavy backspin/underspin. The heavy back-spin push is not a difficult shot to master, and it is very useful in a match, especially for low-ranking players.

4. To improve the form of his forehand and backhand smash shots. These shots are the weapons which make the third-ball attack possible. I suggest that he practice smashing dead balls or balls with a little bit of backspin. The reason is that most 1300 players return sidespin by pushing the ball, most of time hitting the ball off of the table or on the table , but with just a bit of backspin. Opportunities to smash these kinds of returns occur often in a game.

Spring Issue/April 2014 • usatt.org/MAGAZINE

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COACHING

Change-Up The Missing Key in Table Tennis Footwork

By Samson Dubina Most club players are unable to excel in table tennis because of their poor footwork. Many players blame their beer belly or their age or their footwear or their training partners. However, the aspect of footwork that I will be describing in this short article is an aspect that every player can improve upon, regardless of their age, rating, or physical condition. Today, I want to show you the importance of anticipation as it relates to footwork in table tennis. There are three elements that I want you to remember.

First, move into position based on your hit. If you are positioned at your forehand corner and you hit cross court, you are probably in a good position for the next hit. If your opponent decides to hit down-the-line, then you can adjust your position.

But covering the cross court ball will force your opponent to hit the more difficult ball or to hit the easy ball to your position. From your forehand corner you hit to the middle, you then need to move to the middle of the table. From your forehand corner you hit down-the-line to your opponent’s backhand, you then need to shift your feet to the backhand corner in anticipation of the next ball.

Again, there is no guarantee that the ball will go cross court. The only thing that you are trying to accomplish in this first element is that you cover the easiest and deadliest hit from your opponent – cross court.

In order to practice this first aspect, I would recommend starting simple and perfecting the first ball first. Start by serving to the corners and preparing with your body position for the cross court return. You can do the same with serve return.

Have your training partner serve short backspin, you push deep to either corner, then prepare cross court to block his loop.

Second, adjust your position again based on what you see. If you have moved into position on the backhand side of the table but your see your opponent’s racket angled toward the middle, then re-adjust your position based on what you see.

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About 90% of the time, the angle is correct. Players usually don’t double-fake you. If their angle is showing that they are hitting to your forehand, then usually they truly are hitting to your forehand.

In order to practice this second aspect, I would recommend learning how to watch the ball as it approaches you, then learning how to watch your opponent’s racket after your hit. Warm-up forehand to forehand with your training partner.

Ask your training partner to occasionally switch your backhand. You should be able to see his angle change prior to contact. If you can see the angle change and are able to adjust, then you are on the right tract. If your training partner hits the ball to your backhand… the ball is crossing the net… then suddenly you realize that he switched, then you have not properly been watching his angle. Start with simple drills like this, then get more advanced as you perfect this new skill.

Third, be ready to make small, split-second adjustments with your feet. The anticipation based on your hit and the anticipation based on your opponent’s angle are very general. You might think that your opponent is placing the ball to your middle-forehand, but in fact, he placed the ball to your wide forehand. In order to maintain balance and control, you must make the final adjustment with your feet.

In order to practice this third aspect, ask your training partner to block for you in the forehand ½ table. You hit everything to his forehand while he moves you slightly. Your feet should be making 1-2 micro moves before every hit. The world’s best players usually take about 2-3 mini-steps between hits.

Remember the three aspects – your hit, your opponent’s racket, and your final adjustment. If you can master these three aspects, then table tennis will seem easier, you will seem to have more time, you will be reading the ball better, and the game will flow much easier.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kDY_tmfBw8I

Shadow Practice for Strokes and Footwork

By Larry Hodges, TableTennisCoaching.com A great way to improve the sharpness and steadiness of your shots is to shadow practice them. This means practicing your shots without the ball. One of the best things that ever happened to me when I was a beginner was when I was told to shadow practice my forehand and backhand drives and loops, and side-to-side footwork, one hundred times a day.

This was a primary reason why I went from beginner at age 16 to 1900+ in about two years.

For Beginning Players: focus on the basics. You want to develop smooth, repeatable shots and footwork. You might want to have a coach work with you first, so you aren’t practicing bad habits. Once you know what to do, do perhaps fifty to a hundred forehand and backhand drives, and fifty to a hundred forehand and backhand loops. Then go side to side fifty to a hundred times, stroking each time (either all forehand, or alternate forehand and backhand).

One key thing: remember that strokes have three parts: backswing, forward swing, and back to ready position. Many players tend to just go back and forth (going directly from forward swing to backswing), which you never do in a game.

The stroke should go through a triangular motion (dropping down to ready position), not just a back and forth motion.

For Intermediate Players: Focus on improving the speed, crispness and power of the shots and footwork. Think about the type of specific movements you do in a game, and mimic them. For example, if you want to develop a powerful forehand loop that you can use from all parts of the table, then shadow practice powerful forehand loops, from both the wide forehand and wide backhand, as well as from the middle, and practice moving from one spot to another. (Note-intermediate players should also use some of the techniques

explained for advanced players.)

For Advanced Players: At this point, your shots are consistent and powerful. You should continue to do the shadow practice as explained for intermediate players.

However, now you should add randomness. As you shadow practice, imagine you are playing a real match. Imagine a specific opponent, and play out the rallies--except now you are playing at whatever level you hope to attain. Want to be a world-class player? Then shadow practice rallies as if you are world-class! Instead of alternating forehand loops from side to side, add randomness - imagine your opponent spraying the ball all over the court. For example, after looping a forehand from the backhand court, your “opponent” might put one to the wide forehand, which you then cover; or he might block one right back to your backhand again, which you’ve vacated after the previous shot to get back into position, and so you either step around again for the forehand, or play a backhand attack shot.

You can also practice receive techniques - imagine an opponent’s serve, read it, and return it. You might step in, drop a ball short or flip it, then step back and attack the next ball. Or you might shadow practice looping the deep serves.

Think of what happens in a real match, and play out those points.

For All Players: You can practice everything this way, except for the actual timing of hitting the ball - and you can do that later at the table, with much faster, stronger and crisper shots because of the shadow practicing. And the nice thing is you can shadow practice anywhere - at work, at home, on the subway. (Okay, that last might get you strange looks--but I’ve done it before!)

Spring Issue/April 2014 • usatt.org/MAGAZINE

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PERFORMANCE ENCHANCING TECHNIQUES Michael J. Scott, Jr., MD USATT Certified Coach, Umpire World Championships Michael J. Scott III, DO, MD This article will stress how table tennis athletes in general have been well educated on the physical aspects of training but are often undereducated on the mental aspects. This imbalance has often resulted in some very frustrated athletes who, after devoting tremendous amounts of time physically training their bodies, achieve only mediocre results in competition. They are not obtaining their maximum potential because although they spent months or years physically training their bodies they devoted only seconds preparing the mental aspects in table tennis. It’s ironic that many fail to see the inequity.

Today sports psychologists, coaches, and athletes are aware that training the mind and body together is essential for optimal results.

It is imperative to emphasize that the athlete’s mental state is just as adaptable to training as his or her physical skills. Utilizing both to maximal effectiveness will result in the highest level of performance.

To achieve optimal results the emotional and mental skills must be trained and developed just as the physical skills. To train or program the mind in athletics is a detailed variable process that must be learned and then faithfully followed. Athletes must practice mental training just as they practice physical skills.

This article will discuss some of the techniques we find effective in the mental training of table tennis players to help avoid choking during tournament play.

Compared to many sports table tennis is not primarily about physical strength; it is a game of skill that combines physical and mental aspects. In the final analysis, the will to win is often more crucial than the skill to win. Sports psychologists, coaches, and athletes are beginning to realize this fact and are placing more emphasis on the mental aspects in sports.The mind and the body work as a unit and cannot be separated into distinct entities. Whatever affects one, affects the other.

Often a player’s motivation, determination, concentration, and confidence decide the winner or loser. An athlete must not only battle an opponent, he/she must also conquer complexities and conflicts in his/her own mind. He/she must confront such obstacles as self-doubt, nervousness, lapses of concentration, and similar distractions which prevent optimal performance. He/she must learn “selectiveattention,” which is the ability to focus on a specific task; thereby eliminating extraneous factors.

Sports psychology is not a quick fix and must be individualized.

What works for one may not work for another. Techniques we have found effective in the mental training of athletes include: • Motivation • Visualization • Biofeedback • Cybernetic Training • Hypnosis

ExternalMotivation All coaches are familiar with external motivation. For example, some athletes need a carrot or stick approach to get motivated. If the athlete does what is expected, he/she is rewarded. If he/she doesn’t do what is expected he/she is punished. The reward may be psychological or materialistic. A psychological reward could merely be a pat on the back, a smile for a job well done, verbal praise or even just a friendly approving nod. Materialistic awards could vary from just another star on the amateur player’s helmet to a financial award.

The negative or stick approach to motivation is an attempt to eliminate unsatisfactory physical or mental reactions in athletes through the use of criticism or punishment. An example would be making an errant athlete run laps around the field or assessing a fine for some physical or mental lapse or error. Combining the positive and negative approach may be preferred by some coaches. In general a positive approach is preferable since it creates a more enjoyable climate for sports activity instead of an atmosphere of prevailing fear that a negative approach tends to precipitate.

These are not the only techniques, but are the ones we found very effective if properly utilized.

Internal Motivation Internal motivation is the most desirable and effective of all.

People with intrinsic motivation are average people who accomplish outstanding things. They get a dream. They set a goal. You are what you go for. Bob Richards, the World Champion pole vaulter, often personally stressed this psychological aspect to us.

It is important that we make some sort of commitment to what we would like to achieve in our life, as well as in sports. Concentrate all your efforts on achieving your goal. Be prepared to try again if you fail the first time.Goals must be realistic, but high enough to create challenge. Make them specific but obtainable. Long-term goals are reached by accomplishing several short-term goals.

Become positive and believe you can do it. It’s important that athletes develop a positive self-image. For instance, if you don’t think you can win you probably won’t. Thinking you’ll win doesn’t guarantee that you will but a least you have abetter chance to do so. You must overcome yourself before you can overcome others. Any person entering sports is immediately challenged. In both team and individual sports the athlete is challenged by an opponent. We all have a vast reservoir of untapped talent. Your capacity is only determined by challenge.

Four other techniques we find effective in the mental training of athletes are: Visualization, biofeedback, cybernetics, and hypnosis. They sound like separate entities but basically they are intrinsically entwined. For instance visualization is a basic concept utilized in hypnotherapy.

There is nothing mystical about any of these techniques.

Motivation We prefer to classify motivation into two forms. One is of external origin, and the other of internal origin.

Visualization: You are all familiar with visualization.

The same parts of the brain are activated by imagining an athletic

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performance as actually doing it. Therefore, visualizing yourself performing the various strokes in table tennis is very effective but make them vivid and realistic as possible.

Visualization has been well-publicized and accepted in our sport Biofeedback: Biofeedback uses instrumentation to give an athlete immediate continuous signals of change in their body. It is gaining popularity in Sports Psychology to decrease stress, anxiety, and muscular tension during competition. Numerous electronic devices can be utilized in biofeedback therapy. With modern biofeedback the body’s abnormal electronics can be modified.The object of biofeedback is to increase the voluntary control over physiological processes that are otherwise outside conscious awareness. It is a noninvasive method of training the brain to work more efficiently and the ability to self-regulate.

Many devices can be used in biofeedback to document and record changes in respiration, blood pressure, pulse rate, skin temperature, surface electromyography, and other physical functions. In more advanced procedures such as neurofeedbackand electroencephalography, electrode leads can be placed on the scalp to measure activity of the brain. This information can be fed to a computer and shown on a screen. Such information obtained can be used to influence the efficiency and effectiveness of performance.

By looking at the screen, while concentrating and relaxing, an athlete can visually observe how they can alter physiological activity.

Many Olympic and professional athletes have credited biofeedback training as a key factor in their success by increasing their ability to focus under stress giving them the edge they need to win.

Anxiety and stress can cause many athletes to “choke” in clutch situations. By learning to alter their mental and physical state with a few simple relaxation techniques they decrease tension and stress and their performance improves. Biofeedback devices are excellent tools for achieving such results.

Cybernetics: Cybernetics is the study of control processes in the biological system.Cybernetics ismentally training the mind to focus for extended period of time on a chosen goal and thereby eliminating extraneous factors. Such selective attention leads to athletic success.

With selective attention an athlete can mentally block out distractions or taunts from a hostile crowd such as disparaging comments about the athlete’s physiognomy, his/her race etc…

Yoga is one example of cybernetic techniques utilized to obtain these results. Yoga, as used in sports, is not a religion or cult. Yoga is a mind and body discipline developed in India 2,000 years ago which focuses on conscious breathing, calm state of mind, and deep stages of relaxation. Such concentration can lower the heart rate, the blood pressure, the respiratory rate, decrease stress, and increase muscular strength, flexibility, improve balance, and relaxation. After learning Yoga techniques an athlete can, prior to a match,utilize this cybernetic ability to obtain relaxation and “selective attention.”

Similarly during the actual match a trained athlete can also obtain beneficial results despite stressful conditionsusing visualization, biofeedback, and hypnotic training.

Yoga is now being used in hospitals for the treatment of many disorders such as muscular dystrophy.Many professional athletes including golfers, such as Tiger Woods, attribute some of their success to Yoga exercises.

Hypnotherapy: Hypnosis has been increasingly accepted as an effective modality in sports. Hypnosis is a fascinating topic often clouded by misconceptions, mysticism, and neglect. Hypnosis for entertainment and amusement has no more relationship to hypnosis in medicine or sports than astrology to astronomy; nevertheless the very word hypnosis conveys obsolete prejudices, taboos, and misconceptions

to many individuals.

Many individuals, essentially those with little or no experience, unhesitatingly condemn it. However hypnosis applied in athletics has proven highly successful in carefully selected cases. The era of superstition towards hypnosis in sports is gradually being eroded by an awareness of its therapeutic values.

Hypnotherapy can effectively neutralize adverse stimuli of extrinsic or intrinsic origin. Athletes can learn to control their emotional level and mentally block-out adverse emotional stimuli.

Hypnosis is a cooperative undertaking between the hypnotist and the athlete. During hypnosis the athlete is more receptive to acceptable suggestions. A hypnotized person will not accept any idea or suggestion that is against their morality, religion etc… The higher the intelligence the easier it is to do hypnosis.Hypnosis can help an athlete overcome issues of self-doubt which may be preventing him/ her from progressing to a higher level of performance. Visualization and certain aspects of Yoga are actually forms of self-hypnosis.

Hypnosis is not a panacea, but often a valuable technique in athletics.

The three basic techniques we primarily used with hypnosis are: 1. Direct Suggestion 2. Symptom Substitution 3. Hypnoanalysis Direct Suggestion: Suggestions given in a hypnotic trance are far more effective than suggestions given in the conscious state. For example, let’s assume you go to your dentist and he says “I am not going to use Novocain or any anesthetic while extracting your infected tooth so you will feel pain but I am sure you will be able to tolerate it.” In the average patient the chances of that working is quite slim. In contrast, the ability to produce anesthesia by hypnotic suggestion alone has gained great notoriety. Were it not so time consuming in certain patients and if all patients could be hypnotized deeply enough, it would be the ideal anesthetic. Brain surgery, thyroidectomies, hysterectomies, tooth extractions, etc… have all been done with direct suggestion alone in a hypnotic trance. Direct hypnotic suggestion has been proven effectivein athletics. In many instances it is used primarily to obtain physical and mental relaxation and to relieve tension and stress.

Symptom Substitution: Another method of reconditioning or re-educating the subconscious through hypnosis is replacing one habit pattern with another more constructive pattern. The new pattern must be logical enough to destroy the earlier pattern in the patient’s mind. In symptom substitution some undesirable mental or physical outlet is replaced with a more acceptable one. For example, instead of being distracted by inadequate lighting, an obnoxious opponent, or spectator etc… a player can instead be directed to concentrate on the table tennis ball. In other words “selective attention.” As stated previously, a suggestion given in the hypnotic situation is far more effective than one given in the usual normal state.

Hypnoanalysis: In this procedure hypnosis is combined with an analytic method of psychotherapy.Each of us is a maze of conflicting desires and impulses which subconsciously influence our actions. Repressed fear, hate, love, anxiety, anger, painful experiences, frustrations, etc… may consciously be forgotten but forever remain in the subconscious where they are capable of producing conflicts which may manifest themselves in functional disturbances.Obscure underlying causes of neurotic behavior may come to the surface in one or two sessions.

Conscious awareness of such underlying suppressed causes may completely disintegrate undesirable behavior characteristics.

Spring Issue/April 2014 • usatt.org/MAGAZINE

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66 USA • Phone: 615-452-6470 • Fax: 615-230-9785 • email: newgy@newgy.com 41 Spring Issue/April 2014 • usatt.org/MAGAZINE

2014 Butterfly Cary Cup With the help of Town of Cary Recreation Director Dwayne Jones and the ever-present Tournament Operations Director Sam Trogdon, Mike Babuin’s thirteenth annual Cary Cup was the success everyone thought it would be. Major sponsor Butterfly’s Bowie Martin, Jr., Newgy RoboPong’s Joe Newgarden, and local supporters such as NC Communications and the Greater Raleigh Sports Alliance had to be pleased that the many spectators were so responsive to the high-quality competition, particularly that of the dominating Chinese-trained players.

The weekend’s gigantic 144-entry Cary Cup Round Robin was preceded by five satellite events played at various times Friday, all of them offering prize money and the special coveted cups associated with this tournament (all Final Four participants in all events would receive a cup). The opening event was called “Classic” Hardbat because, as in the pre-sponge era, games were played to 21 and the “small” 38 mm balls (circa 1959) t.t. collector Babuin had acquired were used. Mike, who’s on his way to being a great caretaker of our sport’s historic items, has been abetted by U.S. Table Tennis Hall of Fame President Dick Evans (Chief Umpire for this tournament), Committee Chair to establish a HOF Museum site Dean Johnson, and USATT Historian Tim Boggan. Tim’s just contributed, among other treasures, what may be the only extant set of the USTTA’s beginning (1930’s) Table Tennis Topics.

The Friday Hardbat event was won, as expected, by 43-year-old Jim Butler, former two-time Olympian and three-time U.S. Men’s National Champion. Butler, playing with the same racket Marty Reisman specified he use in their celebrated 1998 money match, won seven in a row in his Group A round robin to reach the Final Four—all without dropping a game. Runner-up in this Group was 62-year-old, stamina-strong Chu Bin Hai who 20 or so years ago came from China on a working visa to settle in Miami and now is an habitué of the Broward Club in Fort Lauderdale.

Aside from being beaten by Jim, he didn’t lose a game. However, in their final Group A match, with both players undefeated, Jim, behind 15-8 in the first to Chu, was asking, “Does this match count?” Comes the answer, “No,” because, as was the case last year, there’s no carry over to the Final Four. So, players asked again, “Why, Mike, are we playing such a meaningless match?” Not that it made any difference to Jim—he rallied to win that game 21-17. The Group’s Third-Place finisher was Scott Butler.

He induced mid-match smiles from Jim who was struck by the fact that Scott, though he wasn’t playing seriously anymore and had only played sparingly, if at all, with a hard bat, was trying his best against his brother.

(And why shouldn’t he? Wasn’t he playing out of that North Carolina town, Advance.) “Crazy”—that was the one line written on the back of the Fourth-place finisher’s shirt—apparently enough information to identify Chris Obrian.

In Group B, Alec (“A.J.”) Carney, 26-year-old lefty two-wing attacker (“BAZINGA!” yelled his playing shirt), advanced to the Final Four

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By Tim Boggan (Mar. 14-16, Cary, NC)

unbeaten, but, unlike Butler, was challenged by Group Runner-up Xin Ping (20, -15, 19), and to a lesser degree by both Third-Place finisher Larry Hodges, who’d put on another successful Thursday night “Skills” Clinic for more or less (I would say “more”) beginners, and Fourth-Place finisher Dmitri Moundos. No Final Four for Larry this year, but never mind, though a Hall of Famer, he has quite a life outside of his player/ coaching awards and (yes, you need to count them) his 1334 published t.t. articles; in recent years he’s sold no less than 70 sci-fi or, well, call them weird tales, and also two fantasy-imbued novels. Moundos, who learned the game in strange-to-most-of-us Siberia, now plays with a three-ply Hock bat and sports black knee-support patches he has to have and a red shirt that says “USA” on the back he doesn’t have to have.

In the Final Four grouping, Butler continued his run-away play, again not losing a game in taking home $400 for his easy efforts. Second-Place ($200) went to Xin Peng. Nearly a quarter of a century ago, Xin came to Minnesota from China, was helped by USTTA Executive Vice-President Gus Kennedy to get a visa, was befriended by the Truelson family, and welcomed at Charlie Disney’s Table Tennis Club. He then accepted an invitation from Pete May to coach at his club in Augusta, Georgia. Now 64, Peng is still in Augusta, and still coaching which helps him to keep in great shape for his age. His fitness he attributes to his early table tennis training and his continued exercise of essential fundamentals he’d learned as a teenager then further developed as a 22-26-year-old member of the Chinese National Team. In decisively defeating Chu Bin Hai (both players were loath to throw the ball up even slightly on serve, but no one seemed to care), Xin avenged his loss to him in the final of the Over 60’s at the 2012 U.S. Open. Chu, however, did win a tough 19, -19, 18 match for the $100 Third-Place prize from Carney who at least received a trophy others were sure to admire. “A.J.” coaches in nearby Raleigh and hopes to find a niche for himself in what many, including U.S. Hall of Famer Diana Gee McDonnell who’d come to see matches here at this Bond Park venue, was looking forward to, the soon to be established 30,000 sq. ft. Triangle Table Tennis Center in Morrisville, a town adjacent to Cary.

The results of the Final Four in the Friday Open, played simultaneously with the Hardbat event and sharing the same four ($400, $200, $100, Trophy only) prizes, saw First-Place winner John Mar (2241) score an 8, 10, -6, -4, 8 upset over runner-up Yu Di (2438), a recent arrival from China who in advancing hadn’t lost a game in his Group. Third-Place went to Xie Tianming (2149) who earlier in his round robin had been extended only by 38-year-old credit company executive Seemant Teotia (1971), last year’s Intermediate event (1500-1900) winner (and this year in that event the only Group player to take a game from Butler). The FourthPlace Trophy was won by James Wang (2161), thanks to his Group win over Carlito Almirol, originally from Manilla but based now in Houston, Texas, and, though not entered in the tournament, the delighted recipient (left) Kewei and (right) Mingyu photos by Paul Derby

of a well-wisher’s surprise all-expense invitation to attend it…and then, when a spot opened, play in it.

The U-1500 event winner ($250 first prize) was Li Shuxin—7-0 in his Group round robin with wins over Ronald Yorgason (6-1) and Sabrina Zhu (5-2). Li might have lost his 12, -11, 4, -7, 8 match to Zhu, but even if he had he still would have advanced out of a three-way 6-1 tie. Top seed Richard Perez was Runner-up ($100). Randy Massey, after advancing with a four-game (15-13 in the first…13-11 in the fourth) Group win over Ken Chia, finished Third ($50). Christopher Kartawira reached the Final Four with a five-game win over Moustapha Nasser, after which, despite defeating Li in straight games but losing to Perez and Massey, he was at least a Trophy winner.

In the Intermediate event (prizes matching those in the U-1500’s), Steve Hamilton (1880) came First in the Final Four competition, but he wouldn’t have gotten there and pocketed $250 if in Group play Tony Murnahan (1689), who’d beaten Hamilton, had also held his 2-0 lead and taken out Mossa Barandao (1788). Runner-up “ringer” Lu Jian (1642) had the most startling advance: seeded fifth in his Group, he finished with a 7-0 (21-1) record—knocking off Liang Huigang (1879) and Ron Weber (1804), then in the Final downing in straight games Tony Yeap (1896) and Ayan Bagchi (1785).

The remaining Friday event was the Advanced (over 1900) Round Robin and here the Final Four seeking the $600, $500, $200, $100 prizes were well over 1900. The winner was again Jim Butler, playing his 20th match of the day, or rather not playing it when Yu Di couldn’t continue because of cramps. The outstanding match of the event was Butler (2557) over the U.S.’s #1-rated player Shi Mingyu (2796), 12-10 in the fifth. Shi, 20, who’d been a member of the Chinese National Team from 2010-2012, is now based in Atlanta and needs to acclimate to his new surroundings. He misses his friends back in China and the Chinese food he was used to. But he’s ready to coach “anybody.” Certainly he needed to acclimate himself to Butler’s game—and didn’t. After advancing from his preliminary Group—7-0 (21-0, giving up no more than five points in any match)— he played Jim in his first Final Four encounter and won the initial game 11-5. But then, oh, oh, something of a shock after all those easy wins, when Butler took the second at 11-9. Shi saw he wasn’t prepared for Jim’s at-the-table backhand attack, was confused as to how to play him, lost confidence and the third game as well. Then, though Shi would outscore Butler 49-43 in the match, in the fifth it could have been anyone’s game and Butler prevailed. “This win was the highlight of my first two years back,” Jim said.

Butler also defeated Shi’s friend, Feng “Tom” Yijun (2580), the personable 17-year-old Atlanta high schooler who speaks English and Chinese with ease, excels at the saxophone, and is good at golf. Tom, $200 Third-Place winner, was also, despite being a penholder, holding his own in backhand play in a 15-13 second-game win against Butler and was -11, 12, -9 hangin’ right in there with Yu before Di cramped to finish Fourth. Earlier, Di had 6, 3, -9, -9, 7 upset 36-year-old Gao Yanjun, Cary Cup winner in 2010 and finalist in 2009 and 2011.

Saturday, the 144-entry main event, the Cary Cup, got underway with Round One that emphasized the advance of winners from 36 carefully seeded round robins of four. These 36 winners (that would form Group A) would then be divided into four seeded groups of nine players, out of each of which would come the top four finishing players who would then advance to a Sunday 16-player Single Elimination draw—eighth’s, quarter’s, semi’s, and final. Those who finished second, third, and fourth in their Round One play would go, respectively, into Groups B, C, and D where they too would form four nine-player groups, out of each of which would come a single advancer to play a Final Four round robin for trophy prizes.

The seedings to produce the 36 Group A advancers were so accurate that in every round robin but one the higher-rated player was still at least theoretically eligible for the prize money available to the 16 Sunday qualifiers (Eighth’s: $300; Quarter’s: $500; Semi’s: $1,000; Runner-up: $2,000; Winner: $3,500). The one upset (and it wasn’t much of one) was when 40-year-old Carlos Garcia Ramirez (2205), a lefty stop-stroke blocker/attacker newly arrived from Spain, interrupted his smoke breaks to beat John Mar (2241) and advance from Group 35.

Also, as I’m sure Roy Ke and family would have me note, Roy (2333), last year’s B winner, went down three straight to Huang Zesheng (2153).

Turns out, however, this couldn’t really be considered an upset because Huang playing in an earlier NCTTA tournament had established a rating of 2470. Then, however, two months later under a different name, he entered

an U-2250 event, lost a match or two, and his rating as Huang Zesheng fell 300 points. So, instead of the 2075 opponent Roy expected, he got stung with this “ringer” and, disgusted, didn’t even play in the B’s. Later, Huang would show how capable he was when in Group A play he forced 2598 Li Cheng into the fifth.

Before I continue now with Round Two Group A round robin play that will produce the money winners, I’m going to give you the Final Four results from Groups B, C, and D. In Group B, T.J. Beebe, 32, having been ousted in his opening round robin by John Wetzler (“Old Guys Rule” John’s shirt proudly proclaimed), downed Maria Costillo, #2 finisher with three fivegame wins, then survived 2002 Cary Cup Champion Gregg Robertshaw, to reach the Final Four. There T.J. was the winner over Runner-up John Mar who’d struggled earlier with both Rich Burnside (16-14 in the fifth) and Don Settle. Michael Whitmeyer’s upset wins over Jia Zhen and James Wang allowed him to finish Third over Carlito Almirol.

In Group C, David Albright (1939—that’s his rating not the year of his birth; he’s a young 55) repeated his last year’s win. But because had to go five in preliminary round robin play with Brendon Mrzlak and David Li, and was then 7, 10, -8, 11 pressed by Final Four FourthPlace finisher Edem Komlanvi (who earlier had escaped the ubiquitously pestering Seemant Teotia), he was hardened to his First-Place challenge.

That was from 12-year-old Emilie Lin. Emilie, coached by 37-year-old Yang Shigang at the Atlanta Table Tennis Academy, had lost a five-gamer to Olufemi Ogundipe but had offset that with upset wins over Richard Johnson and Jason Lu. After losing two 12-10 games to this precocious grade-school girl, Albright found himself again at 10-all in the fifth...but this time, surely to an ohhh! from the spectators, he won. Seyed Saadat advanced over three of the four players seeded ahead of him (Brandon Koh, Joey Drolet, and Lee Barbour—only he who wore the shirt “Vote for Jim McQueen” was spared), then 7, 10, -8, 11 he took Third-Place over Komlanvi.

In Group D, top seed Mossa Barandao, once in the Final Four via a 1412 in the third/12-10 in the fifth win over Ivan Kartawira, had little trouble with the other advancers allowing them on the average little more than seven points a game. Runner-up in a three-way 1-2 tie-breaker was Albert Senter, able to 7-1 advance when 1972-rated Kevin Lu somehow gave Senter-stopper 1458-rated Charles Xiao his second preliminary loss, 1412 in the fifth. Third-Place went to Tony Murnahan, thanks to his earlier down 2-0 (12, 8, 10) rally over Kyle Moyart. Fourth, though he beat Murnahan in five, was Sam Berry who’d gotten by Chris (Zhuoqun) Xiao 11-9 in the fifth, and also had scored a notable 19-in-the-fourth endurance win over Baik Yeu Jin. Back now to the four Cary Cup round robins (nine players each, four advance) beginning with Group A-1. The #1 seed here was the Cary Cup

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Champion the last two years, Canada’s #1, and the current U.S. Open Champion, Wang “Eugene” Zhen (called familiarly not “Eugene” or “Gene” but “Wang”). Rated 2822, he 8-0/24-1 surprisingly lost a game and was pressured to 10-all in the fourth by Lindenwood College student Austin Preiss (2258), often thought of as a budding golf pro and already a professional t.t. entertainer in tandem with his father Scott. Advancing too, as expected, was Maryland T.T. Center’s teenage chopper/attacker Wang Quinliang (2573) who lost only to the more prominent Wang, as he had at the 2012 Badger Open, but dropped games to ex-Israeli defender Asaf Azarsky and the unheralded ninth seed in the Group, Preiss. Third was 6-2 Jiaqi Zheng, 25 and playing out of Fremont, CA, the 2011 U.S. Open runner-up, the 2012/2013 NCTTA Women’s College Champion, and twice the Top Woman $300-award winner here at the Cary Cup. The fourth advancer was the eighth seed in this Group, Xiao Junyu (rated only 2261). Again Preiss was central to the action, for had he beaten Xiao, instead of losing to him 11-9 in the fifth, Xiao would have had a 3-5 not the 4-4 record that had given him a tie-breaker advance over 27-year-old Mexico’s #1 woman, Yadira Silva, and Silva, mother of two, would have advanced to have become—had this ever happened anywhere in the U.S. before?—the fifth woman in the elite 16-player field.

As Jim Butler was telling me, U.S. women have relatively strong men to play against to possibly become world-class like Jiaqi Zheng, but U.S. men haven’t got the competition, and since the USATT seems to have little or no interest in trying to produce even a decent World Men’s Team, he thinks the ITTF ought to help us. A Champion like Wang Zhen feels he must train in Germany. He can practice at the Saarbrucken Bundesliga Club, but he’d like to be in Dusseldorf where the German National Team is based. He feels at 29 he’s “old,” that so many players are better, that he’s “not good enough.” And Sean Barkume’s Cary Cup Program lists him as World #65. Where are the best of our U.S. men ranked?

In Group A-2, Shi Mingyu 8-0 advanced without losing a game. Second was Zhao “Anthony” Xinxu (2573) who, in addition to losing to Shi, also lost to Jim Butler, 11-9 in the fourth. Butler, seeded third in this group, was obviously irritated when he lost to Tong Fei Ming, formerly formidable Taiwan’s #3, who finished Third. After whiffing a ball to lose a game he loudly dropped his bat on the table, then early in the next game when Tong got a net he whacked the ball away. Tong good-naturedly smiled and said to Mike Babuin who was watching, “You need a yellow card.” Mike, who was wearing a yellow shirt, just smiled back.

But after that loss Jim seemed to recover with his (“YES!”) satisfying win over Zhao. It was then, though, that he was scheduled to play Chu Bin Hai and defaulted. After that he played on to a 13-11 loss in the fourth to Fourth-Place finisher, Mississippi College student Xie Zhiqiao, and a win

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over Fifth Place finisher Behram Jamaspi before defaulting his last match to Shi. The matches he lost to Tong and Xie gave them 5-3 records, so had Jim beaten Chu for his own 5-3 record he couldn’t have advanced. It was clear, as he said, he was just too tired to continue with spirit.

Quite possibly Scott Butler would have something to say about Jim’s conscious or unconscious choice to opt for play in Sunday’s FASTT Sandpaper event. (Go to see Scott at Wells Fargo—he’s in Wealth Management—but if you want his services make sure you’ve at least a $1,000,000 in liquidity.) “Hey,” Scott might have counseled, “in the $400 First Prize Sandpaper event, if you beat Xin Peng and Chu Bin Hai, as you did in the Hardbat, that’s almost what you’d get if you weren’t tired and reached the quarter’s of the Cup. And presumably it’s a lot safer route to the money.” As would happen, Jim would win the Sandpaper event, though it was harder to do than he might have thought. Against Xin Peng, Jim rallied from 1-1 and down 10-4 in the third to win in four; and against Chu Bin Hai he was forced into the fifth before taking the money. Call Jim’s three wins a “Hat Trick,” would you?

In Group A-3, no surprise that Li Kewei, last year’s runner-up, 8-0 led the field (no one took a game from him except Third-Place finisher Yu Di who went five with him). And, as anticipated, Feng “Tom” Yijun, 7-1, took Second Place. What wasn’t expected was Gao Yanjun’s very bad day, three five-game losses—to Feng, Yu, and the surprise Fourth advancer, 13-year-old lefty, Jack Wang, who, at the South Shore Sports/Butterfly Open in October at the Highland Park, Indiana Fieldhouse, topped a field of 29 players to win the $500 First Prize in the 15 & Under event—part of the Junior and Cadet competition sponsored annually by Hall of Famer Si Wasserman in remembrance of his brother Nate. A key match for Jack’s advance was his five-gamer with Lindenwood’s Gabriel Skolnick. Had Gabe won this match, creating a three-way tie-breaker (but he didn’t win, wasn’t at all aggressive enough in the end-game fifth), Gao would have advanced, not Jack. Lindenwood College, in St. Charles, Missouri, offers table tennis scholarships and doesn’t hesitate to send its players, all expenses paid, off to play. Here in Cary—it’s their fifth straight tournament weekend—a team of nine players competed.

In Group A-4, the only one where all four top seeds advanced, Li Cheng (2598) finished First over lefty two-wing looper and the Group’s #1 seed Chen Ruichao (2600). Third was Yue “Jennifer” Wu (2495), former member of the Beijing Team, and in 2012 a member of the winning Women’s Team at the Baltimore North American Team Championships.

Fourth was Seattle-based lefthander Wang Bao (2505) who, though she defeated Li in five, says she prefers to play women rather than men.

Prior to Sunday’s Single Elimination play, there was a problem with the draw. Turns out, an eighth’s match paired two Group winners, and Chief Referee Larry Kesler, realizing that wasn’t right, at first tried to make a minor adjustment with a new draw, but then decided that wasn’t right either, and so started over with newly redrawn matches. However, trying to avoid any further delay, Larry didn’t tell the players the entire draw had been reworked, as later he admitted he should have, and some complained they hadn’t the “lead” time to prepare themselves for the unexpected player they were to face.

Preparing themselves for a Butterfly-sponsored video taping of Sunday’s play wasn’t a problem for a Barbara Wei/Scott Butler team, and they soon got help from Jim Butler as well. Jim was telling me how important it is for every tournament to have such a taping. Tournament sponsors and directors should always insist on such coverage and provide for it in their budgets. Table Tennis, says Jim, is one of the best sports to show not dull play after dull play but vibrant highlights of matches. “Tournaments die,’ he says, “but videos of them don’t die.”

The Eighth’s are played in two waves, four tables at a time. Spectators try to position themselves close to the players they most want to watch and the matches they feel will be most contested. Wang Zhen vs. Xie Zhiqiao (2311) is 2, 4, 6 not one of these. In a not exactly vicious Battle of the Sexes, Wue Yue against “Tom” Feng, Wu wins the first when at 9-all “Tom” tries to backhand in her serve, then misses a loop. But, righting himself, he wins the next three, always holding 7, 7, 8 end-game steady. In the Zheng Jiaqi-Zhao “Anthony” Zhao match, it’s the woman who wins— the first at 6, then up 8-7 she runs out the second and takes a 6-1…9-3 lead in the third. But “Anthony” is not easily done in, at times he can match Jiaqi’s furious double-wing attack—indeed, from triple matchpoint down, he goes up 11-10 on a Zheng mishit…only to falter with a crucial backhand miss. Other misses follow by both players until Jiaqi 14-12 prevails and so, as this round of play unfolds, assures herself of the (left) Wang and (right) Jiaqi photos by Paul Derby

$300 Top Women’s Award.

The remaining match of the first wave pits Li Ching (2598) against 13-year-old seventh grader Jack Wang (2330). Hardly seems fair, huh?

The more so when in the first from 4-4 Li spurts to a 10-5 lead and an opening win. But young Jack who likes to watch basketball and hears the fans, as he does the players themselves on the t.t. courts, has learned from his elders…learned how to make noise exhorting himself to action—he wins the second, 11-5. In the third, it’s 7-all—and they do seem more evenly matched than expected. Li, himself vocally aggressive, at 9-all gets a shot in and, down 10-9, Jack doesn’t. The bigger, older, much-higherrated guy is up 2-1. Jack needs outside help? At 7-all in the fourth, Li winds up, misses. But then he’s up 9-8, and down 10-9…when Jack gets a winning back edge. In the deciding fifth, back and forth they go—3-all, 4-all, 5-all, 7-all and now Li gets a break with a net ball. Chance balances.

But then there’s no balance at all. Li mis-serves, fails to return serve, fails to return serve again, serves and fails to return Jack’s return of serve.

O.K., second wave. First up: 33-year-old Li Kewei (he’ll be showing off that very striking large yellow/green butterfly on the back of his black shirt?) vs. Wang Bo. She’d rather be playing a woman—especially when she starts off 5, 2. But, as with Anthony, give her credit where credit’s due.

Before losing in the fourth, she stubbornly takes the third game 12-10.

Now a real, unflagging Battle of the Sexes—18-year-old Wang Qingliang, Maryland TT Center Player/Coach extraordinaire who’d trained at the elite Shandong Luneng Table Tennis School in China, against, well, older than 18, Tong Fei Ming, former World #38 and more than 15 but not yet 20 years ago the English Open Champion. Who do you like?...

Who can decide, because none of the first four games are contested. The fifth game, however, is 8-all close. Wang attracts because he’s not only a defender (always welcome) but an equally strong looper. Tong shows a very effective high-toss serve and has such professional poise on court that you have to realize she’s a much experienced, savvy player. However, at 9-all Tong repeatedly had a ball to hit, but didn’t, whereas Wang went all out and won the point. Did her reluctance lose the match for her? No, her control was there: 10-all. And now she took the forehand and it went in. But Luck wasn’t with her—Wang got an 11-all net. Then an acrobatic return and a forehand winner won the match for him.

In the Chen Ruichao-Yu Di quarter’s match, Yu’s loss of the first from up 10-8 set the pattern of play. In all three games, Yu (-10, -9, and -12, whiffing at the end) just fell short. The Shi Mingyu vs. Xiao Junyu quarter’s was no contest. Xiao, getting off to such starts as down 6-1 in the first and 10-2 in the second, didn’t inspire confidence.

In the quarter’s, against powerful Defending Champion Wang, “Tom” Feng could not compete until the third game where twice down matchpoint (9-10…10-11) he staunchly resisted, until, with a whiff of a chance, he went down again…and this time out. Nor in the remaining quarter’s could Jack, the Giant Killer, take a game from Jiaqi. Still, how did this justturned-teen Wang get so good? His mother said, “My husband played a lot with him at home.” Oh? But then it turned out, good players, sometimes a coach, joined them, and then, also, every year the family went to China.

Yep, that would help.

The Shi Mingyu-Chen Ruichao quarter’s had an unusual start. Shi took the first at 7—no, that wasn’t unusual, but then he was down 10-1 in the second, which was. Chen, a friend of Tong Fei Ming, reportedly had played in the Chinese Super League, and had a good chance here for a win.

He was up 2-1 and at 9-all in the fourth, but Shi’s hard counter into Chen’s turn led eventually to a 12-10 loss for the Super Leaguer. Then in the fifth it was quickly all over—from down 3-2 Chen lost six of the next seven points. The Li Kewei—Wang Qingliang match, won by Li, figured to be more exciting than it was, though I heard towards its finish some involved spectators batting fervidly together those elongated sausage-like rubber balloons one generally sees and hears at World Championships. Though both Li and the bouncy, noisy Wang had great attack and defend abilities, no games were closely contested. The play itself was generally predictable with Wang driving and Li defending, enjoyable enough to watch but void of the desired tension.

One of the semi’s had to be the most entertaining match of the weekend not only for me but for a number of others. This was the one between Jiaqi and I’ll call him “Eugene” (for this match he had to be viewed differently).

In their earlier Round Two play the somewhat burly Wang had been 6, 6, 9 dominant over the 95-pound Zheng. Had we any reason to expect a different result here? Especially when Wang opens with a devastating 6-1…9-2 attack. Brute. Be chivalrous. In the second it’s more of the same,

spurred on by Wang’s powerful serve-and-follow play. From 6-5 up, he 11-6 almost runs out the game.

In the third game, however, Jiaqi’s matching Eugene point for point with sustained attacking off-the-bounce returns of whatever he can throw at her. Amazing how she anticipates where the ball will be and how fast she slings it back. She wins this third game 12-10. In the fourth, Eugene gets off to a 5-2 lead, but can’t hold it because unbelievably Jiaqi’s outslugging him with her counter hits. I can scarcely believe my eyes. Does the ball really touch her side of the table before it comes low, laser-like hurtling back, repeatedly forcing Eugene to retreat from the table and lob? He lobs high and well but invariably not good enough to win most such points. Of course this is the current U.S. Open Men’s Champion, World #65, Jiaqi’s battling. The crowd loves her intensity. But can she keep her strength, keep up the pressure? She can. Down 10-8…10-9 her all-out super-swift attacks tie up the game, tie up Eugene’s usually overpowering aggressiveness. On they go, deuce after deuce, the spectators enthralled, by a low attack and high defense they weren’t used to seeing. Jiaqi, still zoned in, eventually wins this game 17-15. In the fifth, it’s Jiaqi up 2-0… but then what mysteriously she was given was mysteriously taken away.

She would win only two more points this game, would even find herself back lobbing, closing off the fun by losing the last seven points of the match.

Naturally, Li Kewei’s win over Shi Mingyu, though holding our attention, couldn’t compare with the excitement we felt watching that other semi’s.

Shi started 8-2 strong to win the first, but play soon reversed itself and Li took the second 21-3, then (though it was a little thrill to see chopper Li curve a ball in around the net) rather routinely finished off Shi, 8 and 8.

The match between Wang and Li, said to be once a Chinese National Team member, would be a replay of last year’s final. Sort of. Last year Wang opened with an 11-1 win. This year defender Li, passing Wang with forehands along the way, took the first 11-8. Last year Wang won their second game 11-6. This year an error by Wang caused him to lose their second game 11-9. What’s made the appreciable difference? Was Wang thrown off by the very different games of his back-to-back opponents?

Had his unexpected struggle with Jiaqi taken away his confidence?

Last year, after being down 2-0, Li found his game. So it was now with Wang when from 6-5 down he turned in an 11-7 winner. Last year Li, though losing, put up strong fourth-game resistance. So it was now with Wang—except the ending play is not good. Both players make mistakes. Wang pops up two balls, mishits, gets an edge for game-point but can’t take advantage—he finally loses 14-12. It was an unexpected poor performance from him. Today, as the afternoon progressed, he did seem “old,” wasn’t “good enough.”

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INTERNATIONAL

SWISS OPEN

Swiss Table Tennis Open Lausanne DHS Europe Cup, February 7-9, 2014, Lausanne, Switzerland

by Dr. Costel Constantin The Swiss Table Tennis Open Lausanne organized this year the DHS Europe Cup to replace the European Top 12. Lausanne city located in the French-speaking part of Switzerland was hosting this tournament that started on 02/07/2014. Known for its stature as an Olympic city, Lausanne has some unusual attractions which allows a glimpse of another dimension.

Although there are many other unusual attractions, I would like to point out the Naive Art Collection which is a dedicated museum to works created by marginalized people such as prisoners, and psychiatric patients (it is definitely worth visiting if you plan to travel in Switzerland!). Getting back to table tennis, at this tournament came many known players including Timo Boll who is the 2012 European Champion, Dimitrij Ovtcharov who is the 2013 European Champion, veteran Michael Maze who returned after a hip surgery, and Adrien Mattenet who reached the Quartefinals of the 2011 World Championship to name a few. With such great elite squad, this tournament is bound to generate a lot of “best rallies of 2014” videos on youtube!

Men’s singles In the first semifinal, Michael Maze (DEN) won against Dimitrij Ovtcharov (GER) in six games (7-11, 11-7, 11:8, 11-7, 11-13, 11-3). The first game was mainly based on serve-and-serve return techniques and Dima won this game by 11-7. For the next three games, Michael quickly adjusted to Dima’s third ball attacks and, as a response, he started attacking more aggressively to Dima’s FH/BH wide angles which game Michael wins at 11-7, 11-8, and 11-7. Dima knew he needed to get the fifth game in order to stay in the game…With a lot of encouragement from fans, Dima was able to win it with 13-11. The sixth and the final game of the match was very easy for Michael, he essentially tried to attack with less power while he increased ball consistency. The score gap started widening from 5-2 all the way to 10-2. It seemed like Dima was out of power giving Michael the opportunity to win the match with 11-3. This victory slingshotted the Dane to the final!

The second semifinal was played between Mattenet Adrien (FRA) and Freitas Marcos (POR). Adrien lost this match in four straight games (9-11, 1-11, 1-11, 6-11). This match was interesting, because judging by the score it seemed like is was a very easy game for Marcus. Marcus’ soft serve returns and extremely powerful forehand attacks worked very well against Adrien’s two-wing defense/attack style. This match propelled Marcus to the final!

In the final Marcos Freitas (POR) won against Michael Maze (DEN) in four straight games (11-6, 11-6, 11-8, 11-7). In the first game, Michael missed a couple of balls due to timing and this gave Marcus the opportunity to win with 11-7. In the second game, Marcos was able to build up a 3-point gap (score 9-6) at which point in time, it seemed like Michael started breaking down mentally. At 10-6 Michael started attacking furiously, but Marcos was able to block them all, which gave him a 11-6 win. The third game, was probably the closed game played between them. Michael used every trick he had, but he was not able to stop Marcos from winning it with 11-7.

In the fourth game, Marcos started stepping around and attacking more of Michael’s serves and he managed to win this one with 11-7. Marcus’ victory was celebrated with a Brazilian jujitsu style roll over with his trainer!

Women’s singles In the first semifinal, Solja Petrissa (GER) lost to Pavlovich Viktoria (BLR) in four straight games (5-11, 8-11, 8-11, 8-11). In the first game of the match, Viktoria was able to provide a strong defensive play which created a 5-point gap (score 10-5) and finally a win at 11-5. In the second game, Petrissa started playing smarter which included a combination of offensive FH topspin and defensive BH underpin techniques. This adjustment closed the 4-point gap from 1-5 all the way to 5-6. However, this smart play did not help Petrissa win the game… Viktoria won with 118. In the third game, Viktoria started using extreme underpin shots against Petrissa and although the game was very close, Viktoria won with 11-8. In the fourth game, Viktoria even started using BH topspin attacks (score 4-3) which threw Petrissa off her game. This last game victory (score 11-8)

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Photo of Marcos Freitas courtesy of ITTF assured Viktoria advance to the final.

In the second semifinal, Li Jiao (NED) lost against Liu Jia (AUT) in six games (4-11, 7-11, 11-8, 8-11, 11-7, 4-11). In the first game, Jia was using her high toss serve and BH topspin attacks to create a 6-point gap (score 10-4). Another high toss underpin serve from Jia helped her win this game with 11-4. In the second game, Jiao was able to play with more control and she reached a gap of 4 points (score 5-1). It seemed like Jia was able to use her BH topspin very well and she managed to close the gap at 6-6. Jia continued to use her BH against Jiao’s BH and she was able to win the with 11-7. The third game, Jiao was able to use her FH more and she managed to win the game with 11-8. In the fifth game Jiao was using more aggressive blocks on Jia’s BH and FH which helped Jia win the game with 11-7. In the last game of the match, Jia showed superior defense and attack strategies. This superiority was demonstrated at points 6-3 and 7-3. Jia continued this trend until she beat Jiao with 114. This win assured Jia the opportunity to play the final against Belarusian Pavlovich Viktoria.

In the final, Liu Jia (AUT) won against Pavlovich Viktoria (BLR) six games (11-9, 6-11, 7-11, 11-5, 14-12, 11-7). Their playing styles couldn’t be more different. Viktoria is a master of defense and tactics, while Liu is an all-around attacker. Liu started this match as an underdog. The first game was very close, but Liu was able to win with 11-9 after a great exhibition of great rallies. The next two games were dominated by Viktoria who showed experience and authority. Somehow in the fourth game, Viktoria started breaking apart giving Jia the opportunity to nail this game with the score 11-5. It looked like the fifth game was the deciding one, because Viktoria started really strong with a 5-point lead (score 9-4), but (eventually) she lost with 12-14. Viktoria did not give up easily which was shown by the strong beginning of the sixth game (i.e., a 5-point lead until the score of 6-1). At this point in time, Viktoria became impatient and she started to make errors. The score was 6-3 and it was clear that Viktoria’s mental toughness weakened. She knew that Jia would close the gap soon and she could not be stopped anymore. A very interesting rally to watch was at score 7-7, Jia was control-attacking with her FH all over the table while Viktoria was nervously defending. At some point within the rally, the roles reversed, Viktoria started attacking while Jia did a great job defending those topspins coming from the Belarusian. It seemed like the more nervous Viktoria got, the calmer Jia become. Finally, Viktoria lost this game with 7-11, giving the gold medal away to Jia. It was a great match worth watching.

There were many interesting things I could have discussed in this article about this tournament, but that would have taken days and due to lack of time [and journal space :)] I would only mention a few things that stood out to me. I was amazed as to how the 32-year-old Michael Maze (back from a myriad of injuries) was able to display such a high class of table tennis! He eventually advanced to the finals to honorably lose against Marcos Freitas. Also, if you are interested in watching great rallies, you have to watch the match between Tiago Apolonia (POR) and Gionis Panagiotis (GRE), or between Liu Jia (AUT) and Pavlovich Viktoria (BLR). Congratulations are in order to undefeated Portugal’s Marcos Freitas and Austria’s Liu Jia who remained unbetean to claim gold at this wonderful tournament.

2014 YOG World Trials in Portugal

by Lily Yip Our US Players Kunal Chodri and Tina Lin played very well but unfortunately did not qualify for the Youth Olympic Games in China this summer. The Tournament was very well run, the food was excellent and the organizers tried very hard to please. This was a first class event. The tournament playing hall is a brand new stadium with lots of bleachers and will be used as a National Full Time Training Center.

The Europeans Boys are still very strong as they (Hungary’s Adam Szudi, Germany’s Killian Ort, Czeckoslovakia’s David Reitspies) won 3 of the 4 qualification positions with the 4th going to Taiwan’s Yang Heng-Wei. Unfortunately our own Kunal Chodri was paired up in the same group with the German and Taiwanese players. All of Kunal’s opponents including Brian Afanador from Puerto Rico are Professional Full Time players playing in Sweden. The fundamentals of these Professional Players are stronger then our US Players.

On the girls side Asia still dominates. Hong Kong’s Doo Hoi Kem finished first and Taiwan’s Chiu SSu-Hua was second, 3rd and 4th went to Romanian’s Adina Diaconu and Japan’s Miyu Kato. Tina Lin lost to the Romanian and to Thailand’s Tamolwan Khetkhuan 2 games to 3. Of course all the girls are Professionals as well and train many hours every day. As a player from North America, Tina has a very fast all around style which helped her do well against the Europeans, but not as much spin variation or consistency as the Europeans. The European girls are also very strong physically.

For World Junior Circuit Final, Ariel Hsing fought very hard played well even though she is now a full time Student at Princeton University and only practiced a couple hours after Nationals due to school obligations.

The conclusion is that if we want to be competitive with the Europeans and Asians we need to practice a minimum of twenty hours per week and have weekly competitions.

Spring Issue/April 2014 • usatt.org/MAGAZINE

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TOURNAMENTS

USA Tournament Results Joseph Bae Open Feb 15, 2014 Santa Ana, California Under 2000 RR: Thong Nguyen, Amanda Malek Under 1500 RR: Anh Quoc Duy Nguyen, Charles Kim

Under 1200 RR: Tim Stephens, Xuanthai Huynh Under 1850 RR: Quyen Ly, Brian Bui Under 2400 RR: Attila Malek, Robert Shahnazari

Under 1700 RR: Syed Amjad Naqvi, Qui Le Under 1600 RR: Stanley Gene Frisbee, Qui Le Open RR: Zaman Molla, Zihao (Justin) Huang Over 40 U/1850 RR: David Bui, Thomas Ha LATTA Open February 22, 2014 Under 1100 RR: Loc Vo, Siming Zhang Under 1750 RR: Tony Lai Yu, Peter Bunya Under 1300 RR: Victoria Brigitt, Ming Chan

Under 2150 RR: Qing Michael Shi, Ronald Arellano

Under 1400 RR: Maxwell Yao, Xuanthai Huynh Under 1900 RR: Craig Burton, Alex Melekhov

Under 2350 RR: Jiaming He, Zhongtang (kevi Li Under 1600 RR: Yi Zheng, Maxwell Yao Under 2250 RR: Jiaming He, Joey Kuok Under 2050 RR: Joe Tran, Luis Reyes Laguna Hills High School Open March 1, 2014 Laguna Hills, California Under 2000 RR: Thong Nguyen, PhuongTram Lu Under 1500 RR: James Basiao, Michael Vaden Under 1200 RR: Rogelio Cisneros, Thomas Nam

Under 1850 RR: Quyen Ly Behnam, Kazemi Under 2350 RR: Shivam Kumar, Vic Truong Unrated RR: Tony Kovacs, Chris Gail Under 2150 RR: Sherwin Afshar, Fredrick Tio Under 1700 RR: Syed Amjad Naqvi, Arthur Campos

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TABLE TENNIS

A full house at the 2nd Annual Atlanta Junior Table Tennis Tournament

Open RR: Xiang Jing Zhang, Theodore Tran

Under 3800 Doubles RR: Quoc Bao Nguyen / Tri Phan Thanh Hoang / Quyen Ly Bill Mason Memorial March 15, 2014 Beaverton, Oregon ClassA RR: Hao Guo, Jimmy Guo, Phil Schock Wan Suwito ClassB RR: Michael Groom, Kyle Lake Yun Fan Jian Xin Guo ClassCRR: Leezan Da, Ian McGranaghan, Jim B. Hicks Alex Van Steen AT1: Hao Guo, Maoxi George Wang Ryan Hoarfrost, Brian Chia AT2: Roger Castle, Valeri Kim Jimmy Guo, George Yang AT3: Vince Mioduszewski Phil Schock Sophal Pouv, Travis Eiles AT4: Tod Kaiser Alan Bi Scott Lipscomb, Max Keswani BT1: Zhongwei Gao, Michael Groom Eric Fountain, Zhongkai (John) Xu BT2: Kyle Lake, Ting-Chung Cheng Herman Pandana, Nha H. Nguyen BT3: Grant Brown, Mengjin Su Peng Yan, George Teodorescu BT4: John Peng, Paul Shih Jeffrey Jin, Jian Xin Guo BT5: Ethan Du, Bob VanSlyke Phil Goldsmith, Haohan Wang CT1: Kahea Hendrickson, Pete Chramiec, Jamo Parrish, Ron Skowronek

CT2: Greg Lukens, Michael Greenbaum, Joann Kay Fechner Ian McGranaghan CT3: Wayne Steffens, Jim B. Hicks Thomas Nam, Frank Lackie CT4: Mark Rea, Todd Meng Yevgeniy Mayevskiy, Alex Van Steen CT5: Jane Parrish Sofiya Mayevskiy Paige Burns, Franklin Wang Newgy Akron Open March 21-22, 2014 Akron, Ohio Open Singles RR: Zhen (Eugene) Wang, Cheng Li, Yi Chi Zhang Samson David Dubina Under 2100 RR: Burak Cevik Aleksandr Itunin Under 1700 RR: Marijo Letic Edward A Zadrozny, Raymond Johnston, Michael Wilke Under 1300 RR: Mike Burchfield Anwen Harris, Daniel Waugaman Richard G. Beer LATTA Thanh Banh Memorial March, 29, 2014 Los Angeles, California Under 1150 RR: Victoria Brigitt, Siming Zhang

Under 1750 RR: Eugene Brigitt, Jeremy Winton

Under 1350 RR: Ming Chan, Charles Kim

Under 1950 RR: Craig Burton, Ronald Yu

Under 3650 Doubles: Willy Hwa-Fang Liang / Gabriel Espinosa, Grace Zhou / Jeremy Winton Open RR: Zaman Molla, Zihao (Justin) Huang Under 2350 RR: Guo Hui Lu, Diane Dongye Chen

Under 1500 RR: Ronald McPherson Loc Vo Under 2200 RR: Adam Bobrow, Amanda Malek Under 1650 RR: Winston Ngai, Kenneth Seiple 2014 BTTC Spring Open March 29-30, 2014 Bellevue, Washington O- 55 years RR: Howard P. Grossman Raymond Lock, Mariano Ortiz Larry S. Chinn Under 1000 Singles RR: Shavkat Karimov, Alex Van Steen, Alexei Mardari Under 2800 Doubles SE: Larry S. Chinn / Donna Wilder, Ying Zhao / Akiko Bishop, Mariano Ortiz / Renee Sayatovic Under 2150 Singles RR: Brian Chia John P. Ochsner Under 1450 Singles RR: Hyun Ook Ryu, Michael Greenbaum Under 1850 Singles RR: Umar Mbow Chad Su Under 1200 Singles RR: Shavkat Karimov, Alexei Mardari, Renee Sayatovic, Charles Schaaf 30 + Under 1650 RR: Yakov Zubarev Mariano Ortiz

Under 2350 Singles RR: Wucheng Tao Brian Chia

BTTC Special Singles RR: Christian Solomon Howard P. Grossman Hoang Ngo, David Ye Under 850 Singles RR: Akiko Bishop Renee Sayatovic Tomoko Takemura Kareem Shehab Under 1350 Singles RR: Michael Greenbaum Larry S. Chinn

Open Singles RR Bernardo Iturriaga Reda Ali Under 4200 Doubles RR: Gregory J. DiMarco / Christian Solomon Hung Ho / Arthur Chan

Under 1700 Singles RR: Ting-Chung Cheng Mingrui Wu

Under 1550 Singles RR: Mariano Ortiz Haohan Wang

Under 1950 Singles RR: Tigran Gyonjyan Vince Mioduszewski

2014 Butterfly MDTTC April Open April 5, 2014 Gaitherburg, MD Open Singles RR: Ruichao Chen, Bo Wen Chen

Under 2400 RR: Bojun Zhangliang Nathan Hsu

Under 2250 RR: Lixin Lang, Zibing Wang Under 2050 RR: Yunhua Gong Ryan Dabbs

Under 1900 RR: Justin Bertschi Darwin Ma

Under 1650 RR: Daniel Yang Chanakya Anne Under 1400 RR: Adam Kandel Daniel Gong

Under 1150 RR: Daniel Sofer, Callie Xu Age U-13: Benjamin Clark Callie Xu Emily Z Yuan, Emily Wu Aurora Spring Open April 5, 2014 Aurora, Illinois Giant Round Robin - Group 1: Wojciech Wolski, Artur Kurek, Janusz Franeczek Dariusz Wolski Giant Round Robin - Group 2: Bogdan Plugowski, C. T. Pham, Jan Bogdan Steven Claflin Giant Round Robin - Group 3: Bun-Hiong Carls Chua, Henry Polecki Ken Oh Keith Offord Giant Round Robin - Group 4: Robert Douglass Simon Liang, Stanislaw Michalak, Peter Gerard Falcis Giant Round Robin - Group 5: Jang Won Kim, Jeffrey Liao, Subba Parvathaneni, Hui Lin Giant Round Robin - Group 6: Jerry Dydynski, James Madrid, Robert L. Tysl Mike R. Baldwin Giant Round Robin - Group 7: Kevin Swan, Don Dyer, William Goodfellow Kevin Colombo Giant Round Robin - Group 8: Advitheey Chelikani, Samuel Kim Nicolae Ciofiac, Marek Sypolka Giant Round Robin - Group 9: Zexin Jiang, Carlos J Lara, Zsolt Keszthelyi Kaibai Liu Giant Round Robin - Group 10: Zita Bayr, Frank Aguilera, Tim Szot Madison Chao Giant Round Robin - Group 11: Danesh Badlani, Aarish Lakhani, Armaan Rehmani Mark Derecho

13th Butterfly Cape Fear Open April 5, 2014 Cape Fear, North Carolina Open Singles RR - Group 1 : Zhen Jia Gregg Robertshaw, Paul Elliott Ly Le Open Singles RR - Group 2: Scott Badillo Fred Van Nynatten Francisco Kuilan Xingchu Li Holland April Club Tournament April 12, 2014 Holland, Michigan Under 1100 RR: Lex Khuzor Chris Anton, Rob Michaud Tony Draper Under 1500 RR: Thomas Manett Dylan Yancey

Under 1800 RR: Thomas Manett Justin Heslinga Open Doubles RR: William Thompson / Brian Fowler, Brad Overbeek / Brian Helander Vivek Singh / Joe Maher Dylan Yancey / Kelsey Fitzgerrel Open Singles RR: Vivek Singh Brian Fowler William Thompson Brad Overbeek Dana Point Open Giant Round Robin April 13, 2014 Dana Point, California EUnder 1800 RR - Group 1: Arthur Campos Cole Riel, Paul Nguyen Kenneth Seiple Under 1800 RR - Group 2: Steve Galm Steven Anderson Michael Chang Henry Wong Open Singles RR - Group 1: Zaman Molla, Tung Huy Pham, Tuan Dai Le MD, Amanda Malek Open Singles RR - Group 2: Luis Reyes, Behnam Kazemi, Karolina Lira, Micah Lim

Spring Issue/April 2014 • usatt.org/MAGAZINE

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Second Annual Atlanta Junior Table Tennis Team Tournament By: YijunFeng, Betty Yu, Ethan Jin To say that The Second Annual Atlanta Junior Table Tennis Team Tournament was a success is an understatement.

Thanks to the support of the many parents and sponsors, this tournament was phenomenal. As tournament organizers, Ethan Jin, Betty Yu, and Iworked extremely hard to make the tournament competitive and enjoyable for all the participants. In addition to our intentions on promoting the sport in Atlanta, another purpose of this tournament was tofundraise for USATT and JTTF (Junior Table Tennis Foundation).

On February 23, there were 24 teams (48 juniors) from all over the Atlanta area to compete for many prizes. The tournament had two divisions. Division A consisted of all the teams with a combined rating of above 2500, and Division B consisted of all the teams with a combined rating of 2500 or below, including all the beginners and unrated juniors.After a long day of competing, the wining team of Division A was Team Robert Chen (James Du, Jason Zhang), and the winning teamof Division B was Michael Fu and Kevin Zhao.

Division A was divided into 3 round robin groups with 2 teams advancing from each group. In group 1, Team Robert Chen (James Du, Jason Zhang) and Albert Zhang/ Eric Xie advanced. In group 2, James Wang/Tina Qin and Double Happiness(David Wang, Jeffery Ma) advanced.

In the third group, Nigeria(Jerry Yao, Robert Chen) and 50

TABLE TENNIS

Team Team (Betty Yu, Sean Chua) advanced. In the semifinals,Team Robert Chen defeated James Wang/Tina Qin, and Albert Zhang/Eric Xie defeated Nigeria. The final was highly anticipated. Both teams havejuniorswith very high potential who have been training seriously for many years. In the end Team Robert Chen finished in first place over Albert Zhang/ Eric Xie. Four extra awards to 4 special players were also given based on the performance of the juniors. Sabrina Zhu received the Star Award for her outstanding overall play at such a young age, David Wang received The Motivational Award for his high-spirited performance, Eric Xiereceived The Most Improved Award, and Alex Yu received The Best Performance Award.

All in all, the 2nd annual Atlanta Junior Table Tennis Team Tournament was one of our best outcomes by far.

Not only did we double the amount of teams we had the last tournament, but we also gained more confidencethat table tennis is growing more and more popular in the Southeast. We would like to thank Coach Wang Hui(Atlanta Table Tennis Academy), Coach Jie Chang, AGTTA, and Butterfly for supporting this tournament. We would also like to thank the parents who have provided all the financial support to JTTF. Without you, JTTF would never have the success that we have today.

Newgy Akron Open

March 21-22, 2014

by Samson Dubina The 3-Star Newgy Akron Open set the record for the largest tournament in NE Ohio during the last 10 years. Leading the pack of 96 players was Wang Zhen (rated 2822) who just return from training in China and Germany. The 2-day event began on Friday with warm-up events and concluded Saturday with the Giant Round Robin events.

The handicap event began first – one game to 31 points with the lower player receiving a “handicap” by starting with a lead in points. Cheng Li (rated 2598) spotted nearly everyone 25 points and still took home the first place cash! Finishing second was Daniel Waugaman and the semifinalist were Ron Martin and Gary Hobrath. Next up were the junior recreational and adult recreational. Andrew Heiser beat Noah Sussman in the junior final for the first place prize and Stephen Faulstich beat Lee Szwast in the adult final for the first place prize. In the Open doubles, Samson Dubina and Shreyans Bafna (Samson’s student) surprised the spectators with 2 major upsets – first over Zhiquiao Xie/Keith Pech in the semis 3-2 then over Cheng Li/Yi Chi Zhang 3-1 in the final.

The Saturday events were all giant round robins of 8 players with the top 4 players from each group advancing to the next round. In the open round robin groups, lobber Don Hamilton (2155) nearly caused the upset of the tournament losing a nailbitter to Yi Chi Zhang (2584) 16-14 in the 5th game. After the top 4 finishers advanced from the 4 groups, they played a final 16 single elimination. In the semifinals, Yi Chi Zhang played a very high-risk game against Wang Zhen and managed to squeak out one game. In the end Wang was too consistent and was able to counter all of Zhang’s power shots. In the other semi, Samson started off well against Cheng Li by winning the first and up 6-2 in the second. After a few tactical changes, Cheng Li was able to adjust and win 4-1. In the start of the Open final, Wang Zhen was so steady from both sides – able to be consistent and still rip winners. Cheng Li was left shaking his head in shock that Wang could play at such a high level. The 150 spectators were delighted to see Cheng win the 4th game and thought they might see a comeback. Wang stepped up his level and won the 5th, 11-7 and took home the $1000 check.

The other giant round robin events featured the same format.

In the u2100 final Cincinnati’s Burak Cevik looped and smashed his way to a $200 victory over lobbing and fishing Aleksandr Itunin. The semifinalist Roger Liu and James Hamilton with also awarded with cash winnings for their valiant efforts. In the under 1700 final, the top seed Mario Letic got his revenge against Ed Zadrozny. Ed had beaten him in the group, but Mario had the last word winning 3-0 in the final. The semifinalist were Mike Wilke and Raymond Johnston. The last event was the u1300.

Two young players fought against the older crowd to come out on top – Mike Burchfield beat Anwen Harris in the final with Richard Beer and Daniel Waugaman losing in the semis. Congrats to all the players for their fighting efforts throughout the tournament!

Our next Akron tournament will be September 26-27 featuring the giant round robin format, excellent playing conditions, great prize money, and free food for all the players. The entry form is now available atwww.samsondubina.com. I would like to send out a special THANK YOU to all 96 players who attended our tournament. I would also like to send a THANK YOU to our tournament sponsors who made this event possible. See you in September!

Our Sponsors: Newgy, Wil-Cut, Clear Choice, Simplex Creative, Paddle Palace, and CLJ Studios Our Staff: Greg Thompson, Perry Wilson, Pierce Scott, Sam Dubina, Nancy Dubina, Cathy Steele, Raymond Johnston, Orlando McEwan, Karen Pon, David Bussey, and Ron Arcaro Our Photographer: Chris Jordan from CLJ Studios Our Host: Pastor Jimmy Taylor Our Chefs: Heather Dubina, Rachel Detwiler, Cathy Steele, and Calvin Detwiler Results: Open Giant Round Robin: 1st Wang Zhen (rated 2822), 2nd Cheng Li (rated 2598), 3rd Yi Chi Zhang (rated 2584), 4th Samson Dubina (rated 2497), 5th-6th Nachiket Joshi and Junyu Xiao, 7th-8th Seyed Hesam Hamrahian and Keith Pech Under 2100 Giant Round Robin: 1st Burak Cevik, 2nd Aleksandr Itunin, 3rd-4th Roger Liu and James Hamilton 5th-8th Rick Akers, Bob New, Shreyans Bafna, and Harsh Khandelwal Under 1700 Giant Round Robin: 1st Mario Letic, 2nd Ed Zadrozny, 3rd Raymond Johnston, 4th Mike Wilke, 5th-8th Ashwin Turakhia, David Sommers, Joe Ciarrochi, and Richard Beer Under 1300 Giant Round Robin: 1st Mike Burchfield, 2nd Anwen Harris, 3rd Daniel Waugaman, 4th Richard Beer, 5th8th Dick Bennett, Jeff Shiff, David Sommers, Ron Martin Open Doubles: 1st Samson Dubina/Shreyans Bafna, 2nd Cheng Li/Yi Chi Zhang, 3rd-4th Zhiqiao Xie/Keith Pech and Hesam Hamrahian/Ali Khatami Handicap: 1st Cheng Li, 2nd Daniel Waugaman, 3rd-4th Ron Martin and Gary Hobrath Junior Recreational: 1st Andrew Heiser, 2nd Noah Sussman 3rd-4th Annie Liu and Sarah Sommers Adult Recreational: 1st Stephen Faulstich, 2nd Lee Szwast

Spring Issue/April 2014 • usatt.org/MAGAZINE

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Sacramento Winter Open March 1, 2014 Inderkum High School Sacramento, California

by James Therriault.

With U.S. Champion Timothy Wang on hand to battle the talented Jiaqi Zheng to capture the Open; and along with 165 other participants who went at it of all ages, sizes, and levels, this was truly an amazing tournament! Matches started at 9:45am and continued through-out the day on 36 tables in the 22 different round robin divisions of play!

Many had a breakout day: Sergey Tsvor was on his game in winning the U-2100 and reaching semi’s in U-2250. Tian Xie won both U-1950 and U-1825! Pranav Tatravahi took the U-1575 and then the U-2800 Doubles with Sruti Raman! Pruthvi Innamuri placed 3rd in U-1325 and also won the U-1450!

But maybe even more impressive was the play of a couple of our smallest/youngest players like Jonathan Kong who won U-825 and U-550, Stacy Nguyen who won U-400 and got 2nd in U-250, while Aneesh Raghaven did just the opposite in taking the U-250 and placing 2nd in U-400.

A determined Kai Zarabin won the U-1200 and U-700 even if it meant playing late into the night!

Thanks to all players for a full day of great play and excitement!

Look for our Spring Open on Saturday May 10, where we may hold a team or giant rr event!

Here are all the 1st-4th results below: Event, 1st place, 2nd place, 3rd & 4th place: Open: Timothy Wang, Jiaqi Zheng, Huaiyu Chen & Shashin Shodhan 2400, Jordan Yee, Zheng Yu Sun, Hiromasa Takemura & Opendro Thouraojam 2250, Olaf Surmann, Nelson Yu, Sergey Tsvor & Wai Wong 2100, Sergey Tsvor, Nelson Yu, Arun Sharma & Tian Xie 1950, Tian Xie, Tarun Tandon, Aziz Mugren, & Joshua Cheng 1825, Tian Xie, Joshua Cheng, Nick Zavastitsa & Wendy Chen 1700, Alex Yuen, Radu Licea, Ryan Chen & Jaideep Singh 1575, Pranav Tatravahi, Jaideep Singh, Nick Zavastitsa & Wendy Chen 1450, Pruthvi innamuri, Shiju Tharun, Sahil Jain & Navid Afrah 1325, Tharun Shiju, Andrew Streng, Pruthvi Innamuri & Chris Ziyalin 1200, Kai Zarabin, Jonathan Kong, Craig Mitchell & Navid Afrah 1075, Evan Chen, Nelson Cortez, Navid Afrah & Mike McRitchie 950, Ethan Chen, Abhinav Gunda, Chinmay Gharpure & Nathan Lee 700, Kai Zarabin, Jonathan, Faith Tung & Chinmay Gharpure 550, Jonathan Kong, Rachel Cheng, Emily Yang & Nathan Lee 400, Stacy Nguyen, Aneesh Raghaven, Ethan Liu & Aarushi Bajpai 250 Aneesh Raghaven, Stacy Nguyen, Alice Fu & Michelle Lin 100,Amir Dhami, Avery Chan, Joseph Zou High School, Nick Horn, Kenny Rollins 3300 Dbls, Stephen Alfred/Craig Mitchell, Howard Lindo/Angel Soltero 2800 Dbls, Pranav Tatravahi/Sruti Raman, Stephen Alfred/David Webb 2300 Dbls, Ken Sandberg/Yung Ma, V. Alamuthu/ Akash Alamuthu

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Sky High January Open -Sponsored by Joola By: Richard McAfee On Sunday, January 26, 2014, the Sky High Table Tennis Club (Aurora, CO) held its first USATT Sanctioned Tournament in over 2 years. Forty-eight players from Colorado, Wyoming, New Mexico, and Utah took part. Fourteen of these were playing in there very first USATT Sanctioned Tournament. Sky High Tournaments are sponsored by Joola and the Joola Super 3-Star Yellow ball was the official “tournament ball”.

Matches started promptly at 10am and finished at 6pm.

Each participant played a minimum of eight matches with a total of 185 matches being played. All the players enjoyed the free pizza lunch that was provided along with free sodas and water throughout the day. There was a lot of exciting play to watch.

The Sky High Tournaments feature the very popular “Giant” Round Robin Format. This format allows players to play against other players of all levels during the morning round robin. Each player is then placed into a Division for the afternoon round robin based on their results in the morning.

The finals of the A Division featured two of Sky High’s own, Phong Pham #1 seed and Basil Ibegbu seeded #3. This match was played at a very high level with Phong’s strong topspins barely edging out Basil’s athletic returns. Here is the list of our Division Winners and Runner-ups: Division A B C D E

Winner Phong Pham Jerry Mao Bryon Kipschull John Lau Trevor McCord

Runner-up Basil Ibegbu Dean Dingyl Chen Mike Mui Marilyn Feinstein Ray Vincinoni

Division finalists received beautiful trophies and the A Division finalists also received cash prizes of $125 and $50.

Conducting a Sanctioned Tournament takes a lot of work by our dedicated Tournament Committee. A special thank you to: Joyce McCready, Josh Harris, Kyle Angles and Diane McAfee. We also want to give a big “Thank You” to Ron Lusk and Dennis Driggs for assisting with the physical setup of the venue. Richard McAfee served as the Tournament Referee.

The Early Spring Games At NYITTC

by Jean Sze It was already early spring, the spring rain continued.

Occasionally, the rain became snow falkes. The weather was wet and cold. NYITTC 2014 March Open tournament was held in this wet season.

In the early morning, in NYITTC the floor was cleaned and more chairs were set for players and audience. There were hot, cold drinks and snacks in the lounge. In the court, 8 tables were occupied by the practicing players. Some athletes were busy to sign in, others were cleaning the paddles or putting on sneakers, preparing for the matches. The tournament director, NYITTC head coach, Coach Yuxiang Li, was helping athletes and parents to fill out the forms and writing documents. Parents and players were chatting and exchanging information with different languages. There were warm and friendly atmosphere in the lounge.

The junior’s events were held in the morning. Junior under 11 event final attracted attention. One side, David Orloff was tall young athlete. His forehand attack had very strong explosive power. The other side, Kenneth Lee was a very small boy with glasses, not much taller than the table. He ran fast and with good block skill. Both athletes played with great courage.

Since Kenneth had less mistake, he won the 1st place. David won 2nd.

In the afternoon, started the high rating events. There were all kind playing styles, include pen-hold, shake-hand hold, attack and chop style. A senior athlete was using anti-spin rubber which made the game very interesting. Under 2200 event finals were between Zhenmo Zhou and MIn Xin Guo. Mr. Zhou with a pen-hold paddle, ran around and attacked very actively. Mr. Guo blocked every fast ball with shake-hand paddle, and smash back when he got a chance. Audience applaud very loudly to encourage both athletes. The cheering and the applauding sound filled the whole gym. People praised both athletes outstanding skills and great courages. Finally, Min Xin Guo got the champion and Zhenmo Zhou was runner-up.

The final results of all the events are following: U2200-1st: Min Xin Guo; 2nd: ZhenmoZhou; 3rd: Alec Coiro, Jianglin Mei U1900-1st: Yun Ying; 2nd: Junjie Gao; 3rd: Mark Berg, Rafi Hosein U1700-1st: Rafi Hosein; 2nd: Jign2shkumar; 3rd: Roy Li, Li Wang U1400-1st: Paul Gregor; 2nd: Wolfgang Busch; 3rd: James Yen U1100-1st: David Orloff; 2nd: James Danziger; 3rd: Krithik Kannan, Kenneth Lee Junior U14-1st: James Yen; 2nd: Abe Gold; 3rd: Gabriel Kahane, Abe Benjamin Liu Junior U11-1st: Kenneth Lee, 2nd: David Orloff; 3rd: Krithik Kannan, James Danziger

Spring Issue/April 2014 • usatt.org/MAGAZINE

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2014 Butterfly Aurora Cup

by Swavek Lorenc Organizing your first 4-star tournament presents many challengesand this proved true for the 2014 Butterfly Aurora Cup which took place in Aurora, IL on January 18 & 19, 2014.

The venue was chosen from 12 different sites in the city of Chicago and the suburbs. The new, more rigorous and perhaps fairer USATT tournament sanctioning process required the installation of additional lights over the show courts to meet the minimum standard of a tournament of this rank. And finally, the sunlight streaming into the venue through the narrow windows located 40 feet off the ground needed to be blocked.

This last obstacle was removed by hoisting 450 feet of black plastic sheeting which took several volunteers and a few nights to install.

Fortunately, tournament director Swavek Lorenc was able to excite the Chicagoland area players and especially several members of his local club Fox Valley Table Tennis Club to pitch in during preparations and a new, 4-star tournament was born.

From the start, Swavek set the bar high for this tournament,with the goal of attractingover 200 players from Illinois and other states. Much effort was put into preparing and executing a high-quality online and print marketing campaign and building an awards ceremony area with a podium large enough to fit a doubles team.

Butterfly, the official equipment sponsor, pulled out all the stops to make the tournament a success. They brought 38 brand new Centerfold and Europa tables, 400 barriers and streamed feature matcheslive on the web on both days. They also brought inDanny Seemiller, who provided insightfulcommentary about the various techniques and tricks employed during matches at feature tables. Infogix, Inc.,an enterprise software company, was an early supporter and anotherkey sponsor. The provided their expertise in marketing, contributed to the prize money pool and provided additional chairs for the event. Finally, the Aurora Area Convention and Visitors Bureau and the Fox Valley Park District worked with the organizers to bring this event to Aurora.

264 players entered the tournament, making it the 5th largest tournament in the USA in the last 12 months. While almost 70% of players were from Illinois, guests from 20 other states also participated. The top players included former Chinese National Team memberMingyu Shi (2794), Diwei Shi (2627), Cheng Li(2582), Yi Chi Zhang (2582), Yue Wu (2533), Jim Butler (2554) and Samson Dubina (2515), just to name a few.

The Open Singles event received entries from 48 players. It started at 11 am on Saturday and ended around 6 pm. Mingyu Shi took first placeand Cheng Li second (9, 7, 4, 6). Third place went to Yi Chi Zhang and Jim Butler. Fifth, sixth, seventh, and eighth place went to Micaiah Skolnick, SamehAwadallah, Diwei Shi and Fernando Yamazato respectively.

The Open Doubles and U-3800 Doubles attracted 12 and 16 teams respectively, giving hope to the tournament director that the art of playing doubles will be kept alive despite so much focus in this sport on individual ratings and achievement.

The Open Doubles first place prize was won by Mingyu Shi andDiwei Shi after a four game match in which they defeated Yi Chi Zhang and Cheng Li (5, 8, 2, 0). The third places were won

by Fernando Yamazato and Felipe Morita along with Samson Dubina andSamehAwadallah. The U-3800 Doubles held on Sunday ended with a victory by a pair from Lindenwood University (Gabriel Skolnick and Luke Reft) who defeated Marcel Borceanand Gabriel Bardan (7 8 11). Third place went 54

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to Krzysztof Szostak and Henry Poleckiand a pair from Fox Valley Table Tennis club,Matthias Stender andBun–HiongCarls Chua.

The Women Open Singles event attracted 10 players, considerably fewer than was hoped for. Perhaps offering another rated women’s event would attract lower rated players who might have been too intimidated by top seeded Yue Wu (2533) and Yitong Liu (2393). As expected, the event ended with first place going to Yue Wu and second place to Yitong Liu (3, -9, 10, 4, 2). Third place went to local players Maria Kretschmer (2233) and Barbara Wei (2206).

The tournament director collected informal feedback during and after the tournament via e-mail. While most of the feedback was positive, the more seasoned players who attended many events of this rank recommended several improvements that will be considered for next year.

In the end—despite early challenges with getting the tournament off the ground, all of the hard work paid off and the plans for next year’s tournament are already underway.

Under 1900 RR: NarasimhanTigeRamakrishnan, Joseph Masminster Under 1400 RR: Sid Naresh, AdvitheeyChelikani Under 18 Youth: Nathan Hsu, TapabrataDey Open Singles RR: Mingyu Shi, Cheng Li Under 1700 RR: Deepak Somarapu Josh Chung Under 1200 RR: Kyle Hess, ZigmasVievesis Under 2000 RR: Xiaoming Zhang, Ken Oh Under 800 RR: Suraj Menon, Omar Salas-Lieves Recreational: Kei Wai Lai, Lawrence Tran Under 2300 RR: ArturKurek, Maria Kretschmer Under 1800 RR: Joseph Masminster, Mansoor Ali Abdulrasool Open Doubles RR: Mingyu Shi / Diwei Shi, Yi Chi Zhang / Cheng Li Under 2500 RR: Fernando Yamazato, SamehAwadallah Under 1600 RR: Deepak Somarapu, Hui Lin Under 1000 RR: Danny Sternfield, Thomas P. McCormack Under 14 Youth: LavanyaMaruthapandian, David Sun Women Singles RR: Yue Wu, Yitong Liu Under 2400 RR: Nathan Hsu, Gabriel Skolnick 40 and Over: Don R. Hamilton, Spenser Minh Lam Under 2200 RR: Nathaniel Ming Curran, Arkadiusz Zyworonek Under 1750 RR: Vidhan Chandra, LavanyaMaruthapandian Under 3800 Doubles RR: Gabriel Skolnick / Luke Reft, Marcel Borcean / Gabriel Bardan

2014 Missouri Winter Games

by Bill Lewis A total of 233 matches were completed on 12 tables during the ninth edition of the Missouri Winter Games Open. The ball sponsor for this tournament was ButterflyOnline.com. This tournament was held March 1, 2014 at the O’Reilly-Tefft gym in Springfield, MO and there were 54 players in attendance from five mid-western states. The day’s preeminent player was Russ Hamilton from nearby Bentonville, Arkansas who sported a stylish 2256 USATT rating. Hamilton’s ability to throttle each of his championship finals opponents doomed many a would-be challenger. Hamilton, though he possesses exceptional crosscourt hitting, combined this honed nuanced skill with his precise ability to accurately place last millisecond hits. The end result for those who played him: A loss for them - a victory for him.

The Open Round Robin event had 24 competitors play through six round robin groups. A total of 47 matches would ultimately be decided. The top two finishers from each round robin yielded 12 finalists: Russ Hamilton and Jim Zhang from Lawrence, KS in group 1; Richard Martin from Kansas City and Bill Kindig from Alton, IL from group 2; Chunyen Liu from Overland Park, KS and Alex Larson from Rogers, AR in group 3; Jeff Johnston from Smithville, MO and Cal Bayer from Lawrence, KS from group 4; Dale Boswell from Springfield, MO and James Chambers from Garfield, AR from group 5; and Terry Brecheisen from Kansas City, KS and Robert Johnson from Springfield, MO in group 6.

When the resulting single elimination winnowing was sifted four semifinalists emerged. One semifinalist consequently defaulted which left Richard Martin sole possessor of 3rd place. The finals match then saw Hamilton go up against Johnston. Though neither man is by any stretch height deprived it would be Hamilton who would be the more aggressive. True to Hamilton’s nature he characteristically lost the first game then stormed back to win three successive sets thereby capturing the signature $150 prize and coveted 1st place medal. Hamilton was the new Open Round Robin champion.

The Open Singles drew 8 players through two round robins which yielded a total of 13 matches. Russ Hamilton would win his initial group 1 round robin while Richard Martin would win group 2. Each of these players would set down their respective round robin opponents though Martin would need a game four to accomplish this task against one very determined St. Louis, MO opponent: Herschel Tian. Getting off to another slow start Hamilton would allow Martin to win the psychologically enhancing game one of their 1st place finale. Hamilton would then stave off this challenger and sweep through the next three games for a three sets to one victory. Hamilton would thus secure the $100 prize as the principal and prime beneficiary in Open Singles.

The Under 2200 elicited seven competitors and they clashed and clanged through 10 matches. When the combatants were finally disarmed and the flying 40mm ordnance had all safely landed the smoke cleared to reveal two players still standing: Richard Martin who came from group 1 and Jeff Johnston from group 2. Doing it the old fashioned hard way, Johnston dropped the critical first two games of their Under 2200 finals match at 11 to 2 and 13 to 11.

The tough part was front and center: How to win the next three games. Was he to play it safe on each and every hit and possibly win by outlasting his opponent, or, go for the gusto and not hold back? As a past Over 40 national hardbat champion, Johnston doesn’t know the meaning of the words ‘to hold back.’ He threw the obligatory caution to the wind and opted for the latter. With seasoned and timely hitting Johnston won his next three games by scores of: 11 to 5; 11 to 8 and 11 to 9. Johnston was himself

his own enabler and won the Under 2200, claiming stake to $75 dollars and winning the 1st place alloyed medal.

Open Round Robin 1st Place: Russ Hamilton, Bentonville, AR 2nd Place: Jeff Johnston, Smithville, MO 3rd Place: Richard Martin, Kansas City, KS Open Singles 1st Place: Russ Hamilton, Bentonville, AR 2nd Place: Richard Martin, Kansas City, MO Open Doubles 1st Place: R.Hamilton/T.Umebayashi AR

2nd Place: D.Chu/J.Zhang, Lawrence, KS Under 2200 1st Place: Jeff Johnston, Smithville, MO 2nd Place: Richard Martin, Kansas City, MO Under 2000 1st Place: David Chu, Lawrence, KS 2nd Place: Dale Boswell, Springfield, MO Under 1800 1st Place: Nik Terzic, Ballwin, MO 2nd Place: Terry Brecheisen, Kansas City, KS 3rd Place: David Chu, Lawrence, KS Under 1600 1st Place: Jim Zhang, Lawrence, KS 2nd Place: Bill Kindig, Alton, IL Medal 3rd Place: Alex Larson, Rogers, AR Under 1400 1st Place: Marko Terzic, Ballwin, MO 2nd Place: Cal Bayer, Lawrence, KS 3rd Place: Randy Liu, Battlefield, MO Under 1200 1st Place: Cal Bayer, Lawrence, KS 2nd Place: Jiawei Huang, Lawrence, KS 3rd Place: Tom Jourdan, Vinita, OK Novice Singles 1st Place: David Houchens, Springfield, MO 2nd Place: Ty Walters, Springfield, MO Hardbat Open 1st Place: Jeff Johnston, Smithville, MO 2nd Place: Ben Lewis, Springfield, MO

$150.00 $100.00 $50.00

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$100.00 $75.00 $100.00 $ 50.00 $75.00 $50.00 $75.00 $50.00 Medal Medal Medal Medal Medal Medal Medal Medal Medal Medal Medal Medal Medal $75.00 $50.00

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Unveiling of the ITTF’s Quad Goal:

Reach Top 5 in Every Criteria

By Sheri Soderberg Cioroslan In January the ITTF Executive Committee hosted approximately 80 guests (“table tennis volunteers and experts”) at a dinner in Dubai to roll out the ITTF’s quadrennial goal of reaching a top 5 rank in every criteria in international federation (IF) rankings.

ITTF President Sharara explained that a few years ago, he was delighted to discover that the ITTF’s website, as measured by objective criteria, was about #3 in popularity, compared with all IFs. That piqued his interest and he began searching the Internet quite prodigiously. His mission was to answer the question, “How are we perceived?”

His searches revealed several studies and surveys of the top sports in the world. At least 12 of them had table tennis listed in the top 10, but never in the top 5. Football/soccer usually scored #1.

Cricket appeared in the top 5 in 50% of the surveys. Swimming also consistently was ranked higher than table tennis.

These findings stirred the president to set a clear objective for this quad: in everything we do, be in the top 5! This starts with our website, our World Championships, and our development program.

After his re-election in Paris, President Sharara approached the IOC to gather more information. The IOC already conducts its own assessment of sports in the Olympic program. About 17 categories with numerous subcategories (adding up to approximately 40 criteria in total) are measured. While it once released its conclusions more openly, the IOC now limits the information it releases to IFs. Each IF is entitled to know only its own assessment by the IOC. President Sharara shared his objective and asked the IOC where we are strongest and where we are weakest in comparison to the other IFs. He learned that we already are in the top 5 in terms of tv viewers during the Olympics and also percentage of seats filled/attendance (99.2%) at the Olympics. A weak area, conversely, was print media, where the ITTF ranked #17.

This revelation, combined with his own admission that even as the ITTF president, he might not even be aware of 40% of our own Olympic development activities, led him to the frank conclusion that we don’t promote our sport enough. We need to be bolder. We have to mention what we do well. If we are a sport of introverts, we have to overcome that barrier. We have to, in a good way, be willing to boast and be arrogant. We need to promote our sport! And, that “P” for “promotion” fit in nicely with President Sharara’s previously espoused “P4 Plan,” dating back to his original election in 1999. (P4 = Popularity, Participation, Profit, & Planning) With the newly expanded, “P5 Plan Priorities” in mind, President Sharara determined that it is not acceptable for an IF to set objectives

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without knowing two factors: 1) the human resources/skill set available and 2) how much money can be directed toward achieving the desired objectives.

A good analysis leads to “success, success, success” whereas a poor understanding of those two factors leads to “failure, failure, failure.” (His emphasis.)

Our tool for moving forward is the codename: DBI. It stands for Data-Base Intelligence. DBI will be utilized to develop a “Human Resources Data-Base,” a summary of skills and areas of expertise that exist within the not only roughly 25 professionals already on staff, but also within the entirety of our global table tennis family, friends and even neighbors.

Always keeping in mind the overall goal “in every criteria, move up to the top 5,” the ITTF will then solicit strategic input for goals and objectives from elected volunteers, officials and experts at international and continental levels as well as national associations and ITTF staff.

The meeting in Dubai started the clock ticking on setting the plans in motion. All initial input will be sought between now and approximately March 15. In Tokyo, the ITTF’s EC will finalize the professional staff structure for 2014-2016.

Addressing the financial side, the ITTF will strive to forecast within 5% how much revenue it will generate for the quad. After ensuring that the ITTF’s reserve will be equal to one year of operational expenses, the ITTF’s newly-formed Finance Committee will allocate the spending on this “top 5 in all we do” initiative to an amount that neither overspends nor underfunds the ultimate objective. That analysis is slated to be determined by June.

Merging all of the information gleaned from the steps described above, the ITTF will then announce in September its short-term (2015-2016), medium term (2017-2020) and “flex-time” (ongoing) goals and objectives. By year-end, 2014, the ITTF will establish performance indicators to measure progress and success of the plan.

Looking at this from a yearly perspective, it will look like this: 2014: Activate Design Action Plan based on DBI and P5 2015: Implement P5 Plan, using DBI 2016: Review of P5 Plan / Refine DBI Process / Review Performance Indicators What this will mean for the ITTF is change. It’s another step toward modernizing our federation and embracing a call for new ideas. Keeping in mind that some “crazy” ideas of the past are now considered to be the norm, all ideas are welcome.

The crowd endorsed the president’s presentation with loud applause, indicating their enthusiastic willingness to participate in the “Top-5 in Sports” ITTF initiative. President Sharara closed by saying that follow up will be conducted through emails.

photos courtesy of ITTF

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RANKINGS

US National Trial Rankings 2014 US Team and 2014 US Entry to the World Team Championships in Tokyo, Japan The US National Team is composed of the Top Four players as they finished at the trials. The next finishing players are alternates (in the order in which they finished). The Top Ten players are listed on this page. If a player is unable to compete, then the next alternate is chosen to compete in their place.

The U.S. entry to the 2014 Worlds will include the US Team plus one additional player selected by the coaches and approved by the USATT High Performance Committee. This year, the additional players selected for each team are Kanak Jha for the men’s team, and Angela Guan for the women’s team.

TOP MEN 6. Shao Yu 1. Timothy Wang 7. Kanak Jha 2. Adam Hugh 8. Chance Friend 3. Yahao Zhang 9. Samson Dubina 4. Jim Butler 10. Cory Eider 5. Billy Xu Ding

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TOP WOMEN 6. Angela Guan 1. Lily Zhang 7. Diane Jiang 2. Prachi Zha 8. Tina Lin 3. Crystal Wang 9. Laura Huang 4. Erica Wu 10. Joy Li 5. Judy Hugh

USATT National Rankings TOP MEN

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 25 27 28 29 30 31 32 33 34 35 36 37 38 39 40 41 42 43 44 45 46 47 48 48 50

GA 2796 CA 2711 GA 2711 CA 2709 NY 2704 CA 2679 PA 2649 NY 2647 VA 2641 CA 2639 TX 2636 NJ 2629 NJ 2614 GA 2607 CA 2594 NY 2594 MS 2590 CA 2588 MD 2587 MS 2583 CA 2582 GA 2582 CA 2581 GA 2580 TX 2579 CA 2576 NJ 2575 NY 2573 MD 2573 CA 2567 CA 2547 TX 2543 MA 2540 TX 2538 CA 2533 NJ 2533 NJ 2532 CA 2529 NJ 2528 GA 2528 CA 2524 MD 2523 MD 2522 NY 2516 CA 2516 UT 2513 NY 2512 MO 2512 CA 2512 MD 2511

TOP WOMEN

Shi, Mingyu Zhou, Xin Li, Kewei Zhang, Xiang Zhang, Kai Liang, Yonghui Li, Bochao Provost, Damien Kim, Jang Ho Yuan, Xiao Jie Wang, Timothy Zhuang, David Hugh, Adam Shi, Diwei Liu, Dan Liang, Jishan Li, Cheng Jha, Kanak Zhang, Jake Zhang, Yi Chi Zhang, Weijian Li, Hangyu Han, Zheng Feng, Yijun Hazinski, Mark Kashyap, Anal Zhao, XinXu(Anthony) Shao, Yu Wang, Qing Liang Guo, Hao Nguyen, Khoa Zhang, Yahao Li, Grant Butler, Jim Huang, Jeff Eider, Cory Yang, XinYang Chen, Yu-heng Zhong, Zongqi (Henry) Chen, Zihao Tan, Peng Xiao, Han Chen, Bo Wen Gao, YanJun Chodri, Kunal Najem, Alfred Landers, Michael Yamazato, Fernando Wang, Rui Li, Peter

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Gao, Jun Zhou, Xiao (Sophia) Tang, Li Ying Zheng, Jiaqi Li, RuiNi Zhang, Lily Tian, Maggie Ooka, Hiroka Hsing, Ariel Wu, Yue Zhao, Jing Yi Chih, De-Rong Wang, XinYue Zhang, Bijia Wang, Crystal Tong, Fei-Ming Yip, Lily Hugh, Judy Wu, Erica Li, Tao Jha, Prachi Liu, Yitong(Wantong) Hazinski, Shu Fu (Sara) Lee, Sumi Li, Yawei Chen, Diane Guan, Angela Wang, Amy Jiang, Diane Lin, Tina Fukushima, Karin Peng, Ying Kretschmer, Maria Yang, Grace Zhang, Yi Jing, Wenchan Ma, Lucy Zhang, YiYun Wei, Barbara Wang, Mendy (Ke) Ikeizumi, Claudia Sipos, Renata Hui, Jingwen Huang, Laura Wang, Heather Jia, Zhen Liu, Shuhan Yang, Michelle (Min) Charoenmit, Chanya Xiao, Claire

4/8/2014 4:53:06 PM About Ratings and Rankings

usatt_PPad_quarterpg_2_2014.indd 1

These lists were compiled on 4/4/14 (ages are as of that date) and includes all tournaments processed through that date. Due to space limitations, a maximum of 3200 members are listed -- the list is based upon those who most recently competed in a sanctioned tournament. For a full list of ratings, please visit www.

USATT.org. This document may not be reproduced without prior written permission of USA Table Tennis.

Copyright 2014. Think you’ve been left out by mistake? Email ratings@usatt.org

Ratings Questions?

You can now search for all your results online at www.usatt.org. Should you have any ratings-related questions, contact Andrew Horn, USATT Headquarters, 4065 Sinton Road, Suite 120, Colorado Springs, CO 80907. To find out your rating if you cannot access our website, send a self-addressed, stamped postcard with your name and the date of your last tournament. You may also contact us at 719866-4583 or by e-mail at ratings@usatt.org.

How are ratings calclulated? http://www.teamusa.org/USA-Table-Tennis/Ratings

Spring Issue/April 2014 • usatt.org/MAGAZINE

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NATIONAL RANKINGS OVER 80 MEN OVER 60 WOMEN OVER 30 MEN UNDER 18 GIRLS NC 1950 Diwakar, Madhu MD 1993 Liu, Charlene GA 2711 Li, Kewei CA 2528 Zhang, Lily MD 1648 Greenberg, MortonNJ 1929 Alvarez, Ann NJ 2629 Zhuang, David MD 2396 Wang, Crystal MO 1605 Sokol, Stanley TX 1928 Roufeh, Tahereh (Mahin) CA 2576 Kashyap, Anal CA 2383 Wu, Erica TN 1598 Kitchel, Dwain CA 1918 Livshin, Bella NY 2573 Shao, Yu CA 2377 Jha, Prachi FL 1590 Palumbo, Alfred NC 1916 Fan, Ling CA 2547 Nguyen, Khoa CA 2327 Guan, Angela NJ 1549 Sheng, Tan Tsu CA 1902 Cheung, TingNing TX 2538 Butler, Jim NJ 2325 Wang, Amy OH 1531 Myers, Neil CA 1898 Xianyu, Hui NJ 2533 Eider, Cory CA 2323 Jiang, Diane TN 1506 Neely, Bill CA 1856 Suzuki, Chiyako NY 2516 Gao, YanJun NJ 2321 Lin, Tina FL 1490 Cincotta, Joseph MD 1799 Sakai, Donna UT 2513 Najem, Alfred CA 2245 Yang, Grace HI 1486 Lum, Bill CA 1778 Sung, Monica WI 2501 Barsoum, Emad WA 2225 Ma, Lucy UT 1462 Mathis, John CT 1774 Choi, Eun Sun NY 2494 Awadallah, Sameh NJ 2213 Wang, Mendy (Ke) CA 1453 Hartmann, Rudy CA 1736 Martinez-Simons, Patty OH 2489 Dubina, Samson TX 2204 Huang, Laura CA 1444 Miller, Al VA 1697 Kaminsky, Barbara MD 2473 Baring, Harold FL 2196 Charoenmit, Chanya CA 1441 Olson, Richard CA 1695 Chan, Yude TX 2464 Cretu, Razvan PA 2179 Xiao, Claire CA 1372 Kanekar, Suresh CA 1679 Tsung, Julian IN 2448 Seemiller, Daniel CA 2173 Chu, Isabel OVER 75 OVER 50 MEN OVER 30 WOMEN UNDER 16 BOYS UNDER 12 BOYS CA 2071 Tay, Chong NJ 2629 Zhuang, David Yong-Xiang CA 2660 Gao, Jun CA 2588 Jha, Kanak CA 2225 NY 2058 Braithwaite, GeorgeIN 2448 Seemiller, Daniel NY 2512 Ooka, Hiroka NJ 2532 Yang, XinYang MN 2176 IN 2055 Hicks, H. NY 2432 Boggan, Eric CA 2392 Tong, Fei-Ming MD 2522 Chen, Bo Wen CA 2173 NC 1950 Diwakar, Madhu TX 2416 Schwartzberg, Perry NJ 2385 Yip, Lily CA 2516 Chodri, Kunal CA 2083 NJ 1929 Alvarez, Ann NY 2375 Tran, De TX 2345 Lee, Sumi CA 2439 Avvari, Krishnateja IN 2026 WA 1904 Grossman, HowardGA 2364 Xin, Peng TX 2332 Li, Yawei CA 2381 Cheng, Newman CA 2024 WA 1821 Wolfe, Wes NY 2355 Li, Yu Xiang CA 2330 Chen, Diane CA 2356 Shah, Aarsh MA 2008 AL 1801 Peters, Ronald NJ 2348 Osmanov, Roman NJ 2293 Peng, Ying NY 2352 Wu, Tinglei NJ 2002 NY 1777 Nazarbechian, Tomas NY 2318 Henry, Michael IL 2261 Kretschmer, Maria TX 2351 Zhai, Hao IL 2001 NC 1756 Guillory, Ralph MA 2314 Shapiro, Vladimir GA 2235 Zhang, Yi NJ 2345 Alguetti, Gal NY 1977 CA 1747 Fahlstrom, Ragnar VA 2310 Doverman, RichardAZ 2210 Sipos, Renata CA 2343 Liu, Victor CA 1972 FL 1732 Shultz, John CA 2306 Baddar, Mohamed A. MD 2202 Wang, Heather MD 2333 Ke, Roy PA 1960 CA 1730 Lu, Yueh Yun FL 2305 Fleisher, Dickie NC 2200 Jia, Zhen CA 2332 Kumar, Shivansh CA 1956 CA 1716 Kuluva, Neil MI 2301 Xu, Xuan Steve CA 2130 Dole, Gina NJ 2332 Wang, Jack NJ 1930 FL 1710 Holck, Bruce CA 2297 Schmidt, Avishy MI 2099 Murakami, Tamaki NJ 2329 Chen, Timothy MD 1916 OVER 70 MEN OVER 50 WOMEN UNDER 22 MEN UNDER 16 GIRLS UNDER 12 GIRLS NV 2175 Resek, Errol NJ 2385 Yip, Lily GA 2796 Shi, Mingyu MD 2396 Wang, Crystal NJ 2325 IL 2170 Inui, Tadao (Tom) IL 2261 Kretschmer, Maria CA 2709 Zhang, Xiang CA 2327 Guan, Angela TX 2027 CA 2106 Ukapatayasakul, Bill CA 2130 Dole, Gina NY 2704 Zhang, Kai NJ 2325 Wang, Amy CA 1933 FL 2075 Concepcion, ElmanCA 2010 Nguyen, Thuy CA 2639 Yuan, Xiao Jie CA 2323 Jiang, Diane CA 1930 CA 2071 Tay, Chong MD 1993 Liu, Charlene GA 2607 Shi, Diwei NJ 2321 Lin, Tina VA 1870 NV 2063 Von Schimmelmann, NJ Ron 1929 Alvarez, Ann CA 2594 Liu, Dan CA 2245 Yang, Grace TX 1834 CA 2061 Leung, Che-Him TX 1928 Roufeh, Tahereh (Mahin) MS 2590 Li, Cheng WA 2225 Ma, Lucy MD 1825 NY 2058 Braithwaite, GeorgeCA 1918 Livshin, Bella CA 2588 Jha, Kanak NJ 2213 Wang, Mendy (Ke) FL 1808 IN 2055 Hicks, H. NC 1916 Fan, Ling MD 2587 Zhang, Jake TX 2204 Huang, Laura CA 1787 CA 2007 Chau, Y.C. CA 1902 Cheung, TingNing GA 2582 Li, Hangyu PA 2179 Xiao, Claire TX 1787 NC 1950 Diwakar, Madhu CA 1898 Xianyu, Hui GA 2580 Feng, Yijun TX 2146 Li, Joy KS 1782 MD 1910 Lonergan, Terry FL 1867 Hu, Yanju NJ 2575 Zhao, XinXu(Anthony) CA 2129 Deb, Ishana CA 1730 WA 1904 Grossman, HowardCA 1856 Suzuki, Chiyako MD 2573 Wang, Qing Liang CA 2126 Huo, Luvena MA 1711 WA 1893 Lee, Joseph NJ 1850 Tang, Suyan CA 2567 Guo, Hao NJ 2124 Hu, Xiyue CA 1612 NY 1876 Gudzenko, Gary MD 1799 Sakai, Donna TX 2543 Zhang, Yahao TX 2027 Hsieh, Tia CA 1596 OVER 70 WOMEN OVER 40 MEN UNDER 22 WOMEN UNDER 14 BOYS UNDER 10 BOYS NJ 1929 Alvarez, Ann NJ 2629 Zhuang, David Yong-Xiang CA 2529 Li, RuiNi CA 2588 Jha, Kanak GA 1763 CA 1778 Sung, Monica NY 2573 Shao, Yu CA 2528 Zhang, Lily NJ 2345 Alguetti, Gal TN 1745 VA 1697 Kaminsky, Barbara CA 2547 Nguyen, Khoa CA 2495 Hsing, Ariel CA 2343 Liu, Victor CA 1657 MD 1480 Kronlage, Yvonne TX 2538 Butler, Jim NJ 2472 Zhao, Jing Yi NJ 2332 Wang, Jack WA 1526 CA 1464 Hellwig, Irina IN 2448 Seemiller, Daniel TX 2461 Chih, De-Rong NJ 2324 Alguetti, Sharon NJ 1526 NV 1381 Arpon, Joyce NY 2432 Boggan, Eric WA 2399 Zhang, Bijia CA 2301 Tio, Nicholas VA 1518 TN 1333 Gove, Ruth TX 2416 Schwartzberg, Perry MD 2396 Wang, Crystal CA 2294 Gong, Renny CA 1487 CO 1327 Longee, Jinny TX 2415 Oak, Niraj CA 2383 Wu, Erica CA 2294 Gao, Felix VT 1356 FL 1320 Williams, Nahed TX 2414 Subonj, Viktorian CA 2377 Jha, Prachi MD 2293 Nie, Derek MD 1353 CA 1316 Do, Linda MA 2389 Chui, Chi-Sun GA 2375 Liu, Yitong(Want CA 2277 Kumar, Shivam WI 1270 MO 1291 Davis, Rosemary GA 2383 Ko, Carlos CA 2327 Guan, Angela TX 2256 Li, Jonathan CA 1246 FL 1237 Cline, Jan NY 2375 Tran, De NJ 2325 Wang, Amy CA 2229 Tong, Howard TX 1155 CA 1229 Quon, Harriet CA 2373 Jafar, Shuja CA 2323 Jiang, Diane CA 2225 Kumar, Nikhil MI 1152 CA 1222 Ho, Laura MD 2366 Abass, Larry NJ 2321 Lin, Tina OH 2222 Hamrahian, Seyed MD 1149 CA 1143 Brin, Harriet GA 2364 Xin, Peng CA 2245 Yang, Grace CA 2194 Chang, Matthew NJ 1137 OVER 60 MEN OVER 40 WOMEN UNDER 18 BOYS UNDER 14 GIRLS UNDER 10 GIRLS GA 2364 Xin, Peng CA 2660 Gao, Jun NY 2704 Zhang, Kai MD 2396 Wang, Crystal CA 1933 CA 2291 Malek, Attila CA 2392 Tong, Fei-Ming GA 2607 Shi, Diwei NJ 2325 Wang, Amy CA 1930 KS 2259 Mojaverian, Parviz NJ 2385 Yip, Lily CA 2588 Jha, Kanak CA 2245 Yang, Grace MD 1825 TX 2259 Hou, Randy TX 2345 Lee, Sumi GA 2582 Li, Hangyu CA 2129 Deb, Ishana CA 1730 TX 2258 Chan, Henry CA 2330 Chen, Diane GA 2580 Feng, Yijun CA 2126 Huo, Luvena CA 1596 OH 2248 Tannehill, John NJ 2293 Peng, Ying CA 2567 Guo, Hao TX 2027 Hsieh, Tia CA 1170 FL 2248 Chu, Bin Hai IL 2261 Kretschmer, Maria NJ 2532 Yang, XinYang MD 2023 Lu, Amy CA 1150 NV 2175 Resek, Errol CA 2130 Dole, Gina MD 2522 Chen, Bo Wen CA 1933 Wu, Youruo TX 1103 NJ 2175 Shtofmakher, Simon MI 2099 Murakami, Tamaki CA 2516 Chodri, Kunal CA 1930 Sung, Rachel NJ 1028 IL 2170 Inui, Tadao (Tom) CA 2057 Leitman, Marina CA 2512 Wang, Rui NY 1927 Ackerman, Estee CA 1022 CA 2163 Kim, Jin Up CA 2010 Li, Tzu-Ying CA 2486 Tran, Theodore GA 1877 Lin, Emilie TX 787 MA 2158 Hlava, Jiri CA 2010 Nguyen, Thuy NJ 2468 Wang, Allen VA 1870 Lu, Jie OH 782 CO 2148 McAfee, Richard MD 1993 Liu, Charlene CA 2460 Ren, Ruqin TX 1834 Zhao, Kelly NJ 778 TX 2137 Tran, Minh NY 1962 Drabkina, Olga CA 2439 Avvari, Krishnatej MD 1825 Ke, Tiffany FL 729 NV 2137 Chan, Ming NM 1938 Gresham, Toni CA 2436 Lin, Bryant FL 1808 Barvie-Perez, Sherlyn CA 715

Kumar, Nikhil Tran, Michael Gong, Steven Chen, Pin-Chung Luo, Henry Bai, William Cui, David Chen, Alan Pardeshi, Akash Feng, Yihao (John) Puri, Sahil Parthsarthy, Prasiddha Yung, Timothy Lu, Matthew Lu, Jason Wang, Amy Hsieh, Tia Wu, Youruo Sung, Rachel Lu, Jie Zhao, Kelly Ke, Tiffany Barvie-Perez, Sherlyn Yang, Rachel Gao, Katie Maruthapandian, Lavanya Tan, Angie Zhang, Angela Chen, Wendy Sung, Joanna Ng, Daniel Khan, Mohammed Li, Ted Du, Ethan Zhou, Jayden Zhang, Bowen Gao, Patrick Tomas, Marijan Chen, Ronald Bedi, Kabir He, William Mu, Kevin Hammond, Jacob Sofer, Daniel Zhang, Richard Wu, Youruo Sung, Rachel Ke, Tiffany Tan, Angie Sung, Joanna Yin, Emilie Chen, Tina Lan, Ellen Chen, Katie Giri, Swathi Chen, Maggie Khatami, Sarveen Fong, Molly Ruiz, Mylin Srivastava, Saanvi

NATIONAL RATINGS LIST (The Most Recent 3200 Tournament Players In Alphabetical Order by Last Name) LA MD NY FL OH NY NY OK NY NY MN NV CA GA CA OK NJ TX CA NY CA CA CA OK CA MN IN LA CA OH TX CA CA NY CA IL VA NY LA NY NJ NJ NJ NJ IL IL WA NY TX

NJ NY KY KY TX TX MO FL KS CA TX TX NJ CA CA IL FL MO NY NY NY WI CA PA CT CO UT IL MD WA FL CA NY NY TX FN NV NV CA CA CT CT MI CA CA CA FL WI FL FL PA FL CA NY IL CA FL

1900 2366 957 1914 741 2094 1639 1668 1927 1172 1381 1559 1682 1218 1629 2159 1623 1008 68 2108 2134 1216 1994 1300 1048 1853 683 1314 887 1817 1713 1391 482 1824 823 1645 1939 2149 1184 189 2221 1767 2345 2324 160 372 2015 1531 1552 1705 566 1255 1891 2030 2193 1435 658 1377 2096 2409 2006 1333 149 1772 1427 1504 1550 850 1559 1804 1533 1933 1505 1800 1314 1976 1573 975 1543 1191 1550 1846 977 799 1369 1670 1359 1916 195 1405 924 1386 1634 555 671 2037 809 583 2009 1519 1640 1245 1767 2149 718 2289 1018

Abadie, Spencer Abass, Larry Abouelardat, Ziad Abril, Ricardo Accursi, Christopher Acharya, Rahul Acharya, Rohan Ackart, Stephen Ackerman, Estee Ackerman, Glenn Ackerman, John Acopiado, Rodil Adachi, Ryousuke Adams, Billy Adams, Steve Addy, Winfred Adebayo, Vincent Adeyinka, Oluwatobi Adi, Sarah Adini, Eyal Aebersold, Charles Afrah, Navid Afshar, Sherwin Agbasi, Sam Agpaoa, Anthony Aguila, Gaylord Aguilera, Frank Ahmad, Toysir Ahmed, Raeed Akers, Richard W. Alamina, Louis Alamoudi, Yazan Alamuthu, Akash Alaua, Luis Alban, Jonathan Alberski, Tadeusz Albright, David Wesley Alegue, Alejandro Alfaro, Manuel Alger, Griffin Alguetti, Adar Alguetti, Eyal Alguetti, Gal Alguetti, Sharon Ali, Ashmal Ali, Faraz Ali, Reda Alic, Emir Alirezaei, Reza Allaire-Bourgie, Laurent Allan, Ahmad Allen, Gregory Allen, Jack Allen, John Almirol, Carlito Almogela, Alan Al-Ramis, Mohammed Alter, Ron Altman, Vladimir Alto, Earl Alvarez, Nicolas Aly, Adam Amarnath, Shashank Amatya, Pradyumna Amayo, Ricardo Ameen, Michael Ameris, Paul Ami, Arnold Amin, Ashesh Amstislavskiy, Eric Amstislavskiy, Mark An, HaiQi Anand, Gautam Andrade, John Ang, Ernest Angeles, Kyle Angstadt, Patrick Anklewicz, Andrzej Anne, Chanakya Ansari, Irfan Anumulapally, Pranav Apostol, Von Erick Apterman, Dilan Apterman, Mark Arashev, Begench Araujo, Jose Arceo, Eddie Archambo, Steve Archbold, Mason Archbold, William Arciero, Chris Arciero, Matthew Arciniega, Jake Arellano, Angelica Arellano, Keyla Arellano, Ronald Arfanis, John Argote, Claudio Arias, Frank Armstrong, Ernest Arnold, Benjamin Arnold, James Arratia, Ari Artoun, Narbeh Arun, Gautham Arun, Sagar Arzola, Fabio

OH 1677 Asare, Francis MD 2242 Asgarali, Nazruddin NC 790 Ashkin, Jeffrey CA 1289 Athalye, Rohan MO 1400 Atmaca, Cagatay PA 1101 Attenberger, Mark CA 2338 Au, Kevin NC 1636 Auerbach, Craig NC 1156 Augustine, Patrick CA 1634 Aung, San CA 936 Avarell, Kim OH 2014 Averin, Alex WI 2116 Avery, Aaron CA 2439 Avvari, Krishnateja NY 2494 Awadallah, Sameh CA 2089 Awale, Sandesh IN 2168 Ayangade, Oluwole CA 1719 Azimzadeh, Kamran CA 1869 Aziz, Sultan TX 1952 Babalola, Wole NC 1678 Babuin, Mike MA 1149 Backus, Rodman ME 1235 Bacon, Jerry WA 855 Bacon, Neil MI 1435 Badillo, Scott IN 328 Baer, Alexis IN 1004 Baer, Brittany MO 1846 Baez, Alfredo OH 1869 Bafna, Shreyans VA 1785 Bagchi, Ayan FL 1202 Bahr, Michael CA 766 Bai, Edwin CA 2024 Bai, William TX 1489 Baig, Saqib NY 1613 Baik, Yeu Jin MA 1580 Baird, Jim CA 1633 Baird, Will CA 585 Bajpai, Aarushi CT 1453 Baker, Chuck WA 1347 Baker, Darryl TX 1441 Baker, Derek TX 567 Baker, Hayden OH 1304 Baker, John IL 1282 Baker, Quinn OH 545 Baker, R. Brett WA 1477 Bakke, Douglas CA 1944 Balakrishnan, Rishi CA 484 Balasubramanian, Balakumaran CA 1664 Balderama, Jason CA 1764 Baldonado, Eugene CA 1191 Baldonado, Thomas IL 1456 Baldwin, Mike NC 1047 Bales, Nathan CO 1919 Ball, Kevin AZ 1649 Balmer, Brad CA 1996 Baltaxe, Michael AZ 1487 Bandapally, Sunil NY 1418 Banfield, Vaughan CA 1700 Banh, Dalton NC 1539 Banks, Tee MA 833 Bannister, Ramon GA 1486 Banot, John GA 1156 Banot, Supakan(Jeed) NJ 2217 Bao, Larry NY 2097 Baptista, Joseph IL 1777 Baran, Karol AZ 588 Barber, Wally SC 1864 Barbour, Lee IL 1832 Bardan, Gabriel IL 1194 Bardoczi, Bill VA 1689 Barnes, Hal AR -13 Barone, Mia AR 2040 Barone, Scott AR 325 Barone, Sharon AR 1512 Barone, Shelby FL 1384 Barrau, Carmel TX 1049 Barrera, Christian IN 1278 Bartling, George NJ 1722 Barton, Hugh VT 1892 Barucic, Asmir VT 1196 Barucic, Irfan FL 1808 Barvie-Perez, Sherlyn CA 1399 Basiao, James GA 988 Basu, Sunny OH 303 Batchelder, Ross MA 2055 Bavly, Larry KS 1426 Bayer, Cal IL 837 Bayr, Zita MO 1024 Bean, Joseph NJ 1099 Beauchamp, Timothy LA 2271 Beaumont, John OR 974 Beck, Jenny VT 1212 Becker, Peter OR 1485 Bednarz, Ben GA 2214 Beebe, T. J. OH 1042 Beer, Richard CT 1716 Behera, Sudhir FL 2029 Bekurti, Elidon NJ 764 Belinkis, Nathaniel CA 1111 Belo, Hilarion FL 2118 Benincasa, Giacomo FL 1700 Benitez, Patricia MA 1459 Benkley, Mark OH 897 Bennett, Richard MA 202 Berellini, Giuliano NY 1812 Berg, Mark

IL NY CA TX MN NC CA VA TX CO IN CA CA TX CA NJ NJ TX MA CA WA NY AZ MA NY CA NJ GA WA AL FL CT AZ PA CA CA FL MA MA MA FL IL CT WI NC VT CA FL MO WA CA MA MA CA CA VA MN NC NY IL FL FL OH NY CA CA CA CA NJ NJ

AR MS UT OR NC IN GA AL VA CA CA MI FL MD AZ IN ON FL MI NY TX IL CA CA TX CA OH WA OR PA CA CA NY GA OH TX

598 1186 1374 1214 1957 1980 1403 1656 1666 1823 1669 1285 1163 1223 1769 1335 1225 1551 1432 1281 1898 699 1540 682 1249 504 1030 943 904 1361 1004 1021 1926 1152 1410 2118 1485 2198 2235 2012 2007 2031 1404 1611 1564 1432 1565 1755 1766 1761 831 1538 1579 1933 1488 1656 1346 1863 2058 1806 1654 1137 1953 598 1540 1577 1141 1143 1266 1733 1541 1365 868 1460 1702 1512 952 1708 1803 1351 1020 1820 1267 1826 707 1828 2075 2174 1385 1532 1233 1854 1985 1769 1720 1298 1647 1115 1322 619 2116 1710 1905 1233 1528 1805 2538

Berger, Jennifer Bergman, Jim Bergman, Neal Bergmann, Grant Berman, Anton Berman, Charlie Bernstein, David Berry, Sam Bertschi, Justin Betancur, Ann Marie Betts, Steve Bhachawat, Yash Bharadwaj, Sudhanva Bhardwaj, Nishant Bhartia, Saurabh Bhatia, Pravir Bhatia, Viren Bhatnagar, Neeraj Bhobe, Rahul Bhutkar, Aishwarya Bi, Alan Bianchi, Ettore Bill, Joe Billmers, Meyer Billow, Brian Bilotta, Ryan Birenbaum, Andrew Bires, James Bishop, Akiko Bishop, Donald Blass, Juli Blauvelt, Tim Block, Adam Block, Eli Blyth, William Bobrow, Adam Bocanegra, Jose Bockoven, Chase Bockoven, Connor Bockoven, Ralph Bogavac, Svetislav Bogdan, Jan Bogie, Marvin Boldon, Kyle Bolling, Erik Bolton, John Bookey, Justin Borges, Jose Boswell, Dale Boudour, Yazel Bourgeois, Tim Bourget, Stephen Bourque, Matthew Boyko, Yuriy Boyle, Mickey Bragg, Lewis Braianov, Todor Brain, Simon Braithwaite, George Brandt, John Brantley, Barry Brenner, Bard Brewster, Keith Briggs, Brendan Brigitt, Andrew Brigitt, Eugene Brigitt, Victoria Brin, Harriet Brissett, Luz Brito, Ricardo Brockmann, Andrew Brooks, Charles Brookshire, Bruce Brown, Dan Brown, Grant Brown, James Brown, Larry Brown, Luke Brown, Sean Brown, Steve Bruckel, Jane Bruno, Daniel Brushman, Brad Bryan, Andre Bryant, Daniel Bryant, Robert Brzycki, Brian Bu, Alexander Bubis, Igor Bublitz, Gary Buchanan, Winston Budiman, Danya Buente, Kevin Bui, Brian Bui, David Buluchevskiy, Dmitriy Bunya, Peter Burchfield, Mike Burke, Bennett Burns, Paige Burnside, Richard Burris, Theo Burton, Craig Busch, Wolfgang Bushkanets, Ilya Bussey, David Butler, Jim

WV MA OH OH OH TX TX MO NE CA KY CA VT CA CA FL FL WA FL MN CT NV NY FL FL CA FL FL LA WA MI NY FL IN TX NJ MI MI TX CO IL IL TX FL MO TX TX OR CA RI CT AZ VA OH MN NY TX CA TX CT AR AR CA IN NV PA CA FL TX CA MA CA CA CA NV CA MN CA NM AZ CA CA CA NJ VA CA NY VA CA TX IN CA WI CA MN FL NC NM CA IL NY IL NJ CA NY GA CA

1641 1357 1382 663 1359 2167 2035 760 1892 230 1804 1916 1939 1117 1611 1640 1559 1392 1571 1965 1468 1286 1463 1594 1313 1070 1120 1214 1762 789 1381 2293 2124 1585 550 1571 1811 1325 800 1536 1333 830 1589 437 2159 1015 1035 2049 1574 1627 1703 980 1531 2010 1293 1109 1504 2054 1882 849 1223 881 208 1720 2105 2383 2265 2126 2258 1935 606 1312 1385 1266 2137 1695 1744 1820 888 1413 1925 74 2073 1388 1459 2194 1881 1668 347 1036 1871 1811 556 1119 1687 2196 2378 1651 1264 1759 1007 1252 2002 910 916 1110 1962

Butts, Mike Bychkov, Vladimir Byler, Erwin Byler, James Byler, John Byles, Roberto Byles, Roger Cai, Alice Caines, Devon Cajigas, Alberto Calipo, Willians Calvert, Thomas Cameron, Ken Campbell, Dan Campos, Arthur Canepa, Felipe Cao, Tan Cao, Tao Cao, Thang Cao, Trac Capasso, Anthony Caples, Buddy Caplin, Glenn Caplin, Stuart Capo, Enrico Caraco, Derol Cariglio, Joseph Cariglio, Michael Carlisle, Billy Carlson, Harold Carmean, Rick Carney, A.J. Carra, Robert Carrillo, Jose Arturo Carroll, Brandon Carroll, Gregory Carter, Barry Casey, William Cashin, Bill Casi, Trent Cassidy, Ronald Casstevens, Rex Castillo, Alann Castillo, Daniela Castillo, Maria Castillo, Richard Castillo, Ron Castle, Roger Cavazos, Anthony Cavicchio, Charles Cedro, Chris Cejudo, Jesse Cerrato, Ezio Cevik, Burak Cha, Sonny Chafetz, Harry Chai, Andrew Chai, Jim Chai, Ryan Chakraborty, Debraj Chambers, James Chambers, William Chan, Avery Chan, Barry Chan, Benjamin(Tian) Chan, Calvin Chan, Chi Wing (Felix) Chan, Chi-Kin Chan, Henry Chan, Jason Chan, Jessie Chan, Joaquin Chan, Long-Hin Chan, Ming Chan, Ming Chan, Yude Chandra, Vidhan Chandrashekaran, Shreyas Chang, Chi-Hsin Chang, Chung-Fu Chang, Dylan Chang, Ethan Chang, Fernando Chang, Kee Chang, Kyong Sik Chang, Matthew Chang, Ming-Hong Chang, Soon Chang, Sydon Chang, Toshi Chang, Vincent Chang, William Chao, Madison Chappelle, Tamara Charney, Michael Charoenmit, Chanya Charpentier, Lucas Chartrand, Rick Chau, Eric Chawla, Tarun Checa, Luis Chelikani, Advitheey Chen, Alan Chen, Alexander Chen, Alvin Chen, Andrew Chen, Andy

GA NJ FN CA NY CO TX CA TX CA CA CA MA MA GA OR TX TX NJ TX MN TX FL MD GA OH MD CA MD CA NY NJ NJ CA TX CA CA CA CA GA CO NY CA WA CA CA CA CA WA CA TX MD MA TX NY CA IN OR MD CA GA IL FL NY WA FL TX MN CA CA CA CA CA NJ CA NJ IL CA NY CA WA TX WA CA FL CA NJ NJ CA WA CA NJ CA KS NJ TX NC TX IN CA TX MA IA NJ IA OH IL

328 1140 2736 976 115 1733 439 2330 613 900 1051 2431 324 587 603 2095 1756 1661 1028 1209 1590 787 1770 1411 1378 2134 1353 1644 1523 1246 1591 1514 2329 1150 956 1940 1612 1634 2053 2207 1894 1802 2043 1706 2124 1821 2381 410 1687 842 1032 1619 2013 1948 2170 1902 918 2070 1420 1160 1547 1253 1389 1975 1229 1712 1110 1977 376 749 2035 2516 1159 898 1550 809 738 823 429 1164 1784 1782 1205 2219 2248 2173 2050 2086 2160 1710 1962 1989 1324 1730 1789 2180 734 2026 1864 2286 893 2389 1317 1577 1628 1346 1215

Chen, Ben Chen, Bin Chen, Bob Chen, Christopher Chen, Claire Chen, Dean Chen, Dennis Chen, Diane Chen, Emma Chen, Ethan Chen, Evan Chen, Huaiyu Chen, Jasmine Chen, Jason Chen, Jesse Chen, Jia Feng (Jason) Chen, Judy Chen, Justin Chen, Katie Chen, Kuei-Mei Chen, Leon Chen, Maggie Chen, Michael Chen, Patrick Chen, Patrick Chen, Po Hsu Chen, Ronald Chen, Ryan Chen, Spencer Chen, Stephanie Chen, Steven Chen, Timmy Chen, Timothy Chen, Tina Chen, Vincent Chen, Wei Chen, Wendy Chen, William Chen, YingZhao (Anthony) Chen, Zhicong Chen, Zhimin(Jimmy) Cheng, Chen Cheng, Emmy Cheng, Gang Cheng, Horace Cheng, Joshua Cheng, Newman Cheng, Rachel Cheng, Ting-Chung Chennu, Bala Cheong, Henry Cheong, Si Cheung, Kevin Cheung, Michael Latyan Cheung, Ming Cheung, TingNing Chhatiawala, Harin Chia, Brian Chia, Ken Chillara, Rishi Chin, Kingsley Chin, Ron Chin, Samuel Chin, Wayne Ming Chinn, Larry Chirinos, Veronica Chirkli, Abdul Chirmule, Shardul Cho, Rachel Cho, Stephen Chodri, Aditi Chodri, Kunal Choe, Timothy Choi, Changhyeon Choi, Han Pyo Choi, Jacob Choi, Kevin Choi, Ruby Choi, Sky Choi, Ungsam Chou, Bertha Chow, Philip Chramiec, Pete Chu, Anthony Chu, Bin Hai Chu, Isabel Chu, Jonathan Chu, Jonathan Chu, Nathaniel Chu, Raymond Chu, Sammy Chu, Stephen Chu, Suming Chu, Tat Wai Chu, Tony N.T. Chu, Tsz Chu, Victor Chu, Zhihan Chua, Bun-Hiong Chua, Ethan Chuang, Scott Chui, Chi-Sun Chung, Jedidiah Chung, Joon Chung, Josh Ciarrochi, Joe Ciofiac, Nicolae

CA FL IL NY CA NJ IL NY AZ AZ IN MI MI IN CA NJ NY FL AR NV MI IL CA TX AZ MI GA CA NC VA TX GA AR MD GA CA NC OK HI CA

OH PA NE WA PA TN MI IN IN CA TX MN VA NY CO MA WA IL MN IN CA OR MD IN NC GA NC MN MD MD NJ NJ FL IN NY AK CA CA CA NY NJ FL MI GA NJ

1036 2323 2004 2119 1113 739 1505 1077 1139 1204 2263 2057 2142 2400 1576 2253 1855 1341 1234 1046 521 1310 1502 1698 1944 1028 1385 1650 1831 1964 2087 1751 811 1508 1917 930 1361 1648 1579 1034 1993 1780 2192 1757 1216 1699 1126 951 1211 1670 1432 2464 461 1372 2366 1178 2008 2230 1342 2180 1447 1776 1225 1755 1293 1642 1405 1317 2111 1096 601 368 636 953 1830 799 1293 1238 2082 1967 2146 2254 1304 1033 1694 1716

Cisneros, Rogelio Ciz, Richard Claflin, Steven Clang, John Clark, Barbara Clark, Barry Clark, Robert Clarke, Glenroy Clavijo, Deborah Clavijo, Sergio Clyde, Stephen Cobb, Dennis Cobb, Dennis Cochran, Joseph Cohen, Ed Cohen, Randy Coiro, Alec Cole, Ryan Collins, Fred Collins, Jeff Collins, Michael Colombo, Kevin Colter, Gerald Compton, Robert Cone, Derrick Conklin, Scott Conn, Elijah Connell, Grant Connelly, Tim Constantin, Costel Cook, Grayden Cook, Joshua Cook, Tanner Cooke, Peter Cooper, George Copeland, Mark Corbett, Tilden Correa, David Correa, Frank Cortez, Nelson Cote, Alicia Cottrell, Blake Coulter, Chip Cowles, Rod Cox, Brian Cox, Robert Craighead, Kevin Craw, Stephen Creel, Claude Creel, Stephen Crescitelli, Luis Cretu, Razvan Crist, Anthony Cristofaro, Frank Croitoroo, Mark Crozier, Bruce Cui, David Cui, Jie Cumby, Chad Curran, Nathaniel Czarnecki, Scott Da Vee, Mark Da, Leezan Dabbs, Ryan Dagher, Charles Dahake, Nikhil Dale, Gardner Dalton, Rufus Damyanov, Veselin Dancis, Barry Dancis, Elaine Dang, Alyssa Dang, Sarah Danielson, Lee Dannenfelser, Tom Danziger, James Darnall, Diann Dart, John Darukhanawalla, Malcolm Darukhanawalla, Nash Dassonval, Philippe Dattel, Barry Daugherty, Michael Dault, Joe Dave, Ishaan David, Ajay

Spring Issue/April 2014 • usatt.org/MAGAZINE

63

RATINGS

CA UT UT AZ WI CA NY TX TX WI AK FL NY IL CA MI OH NC VA CA LA CA

UT FL FL FL GA NY CT MI RI NE TN FL OH NV IL WA WA CA FL CA NC IL CO FL OH MI AZ CT RI MD MD NJ TX OH CA IL IL IL GA TX NJ TX MO SC NY IL IL SC OH MD WA MD OH CO IL MO NV TX FL MI NC NY NY NH CA

TX IL IL IL NY NY SD OR

64

1606 1641 1362 1294 1757 1864 1846 1547 626 1835 1650 1660 1113 1370 2129 1079 1297 1327 1471 1766 2156 874 1168 1654 1739 2362 701 415 1136 2200 2169 1929 1649 1728 1472 1688 1334 788 1845 2502 1733 1148 2218 1950 1463 1301 1352 895 1167 1812 890 770 1771 2511 902 1570 339 1572 1774 1911 1114 1975 1014 1606 1998 1285 1704 810 1832 1494 1921 1084 1057 1526 2033 2489 1492 886 1481 1796 1062 1624 1272 1011 838 186 1588 964 1744 1652 1452 1361 924 484 1082 317 1476

Davila, Ruben Davis, Byron Davis, Carol Davis, David Davis, Drew Dawalbhakta, Samiha De Asis, Jed Rave De Coatpont, Bertrand de Coatpont, Lucie De Fabry, Lucas De May, David Deacon, Richard DeArmond, Christian DeAsis, Francis Deb, Ishana Decraene, Parker Decristofaro, John Deepee, Steven Defrank, Tim Dehdashti, Massoud Del Vecchio, Martin Demartini, Cliff Deopurkar, Ashwin Desai, Gaurav Desai, Phil Desai, Vinay Dev, Rishi Devalapalli, Pranav DeVenezia, Richard DeWitt, Richard Dey, Tapabrata Di, Xue Dickey, Gordon Dickson, Roger Dieker, Eric Dietz, Roy Difuntorum, Reynaldo Dilley, Mackenzie DiMarco, Gregory Ding, Billy Ding, Feng Dinh, Thuan Dinh, Tri Diwakar, Madhu Dixon, Lawer Djoumaliev, Hristo Doelman, John Doenges, Kevin Doerr, Timothy Dok, Daphne Dolan, Kevin Donadio, Alexander Dong, Chun Dong, Steven Donthi, Sai Dorrell, Jimmy Dorsey, Owen D’Ortenzio, Mario Douglass, Robert Dousmanis, Christos Downing, Charlie Dowridge, Winston Doyle, Don Doytchev, Doytcho Drake, Kyle Drake, Wenyan Dreyfus, Stephen Driscoll, Olga Driskill, Ryan Drissen, John Drolet, Joey Drsek, John Du, Brandon Du, Ethan Duan, Changping Dubina, Samson Ducek, Premysl Dudas, Attila Dudenhoeffer, Todd Duhaylungsod, Mark Duich, Jan Dunlap, Caleb Dunlap, Fred Dunn, Andrew Dunn, Arthur Dunn, Leina Duperron, Robert Durrer, Thomas Duysens, Alexandre Dy, Edison Dydynski, Jerry Dyer, Don Dyer, Jonathan Eagle, Jack Eagle, Todd Eastman, Ben Edwards, David

FN NC NJ CT NJ IN IN OR AZ VA NJ FL FL KS IL WV WV IN MI TX IN SC NC MI IL FL CA CA CA NY NV WA AZ IL FL CA NJ CA KY KY IL IL AR AR OR NJ TX VA NJ IN GA OH OR FL IL TX MA CO CA AL MA CT NJ NY GA IL CA NC NY MA NV NY NJ CA TX OK CO TX CA OH TX AZ MA MO NJ CA CA NJ NY NJ FL FL OR MI WA FL IL OK MA MN NJ WA CA NY CA CA MA TX TX CA WA WA CA CA CA CA NV GA

2156 909 769 1748 2533 1850 928 1841 1409 1637 1843 430 309 1617 1495 2011 1621 875 1485 2151 1623 1668 1289 1555 1404 1445 1134 1525 1519 1364 1432 1311 1176 1745 1159 1306 928 1747 1828 1715 1704 192 519 1587 1565 1060 701 1451 1624 735 1700 1658 1120 1820 1741 1110 2052 1360 935 1779 1528 1624 113 1977 2580 1585 70 1010 2388 1467 1474 1503 2090 1599 1299 846 1346 1890 1533 882 2018 1444 1898 1268 778 1490 1589 241 289 540 1900 1448 1678 1753 1655 1744 2161 1214 2121 1930 1068 1547 433 1565 811 1840 650 917 2453 1590 795 837 1558 1515 235 1419 1841 1338

Edwards, Gillian PA Ehlert, Kurt CA Ehrenreich, Martin IL Eichner, Howard OH Eider, Cory CT Eiler, Brandon NY Eiler, Mark NM Eiles, Travis AZ Ekbundit, Patrick CA El Oukaili, Talal FL Elazrag, Eymen MD Ellsworth, John WI Ellsworth, William CT Ely, Cole CA Emilianowicz, Eryk OH Emmons, Stephen A. MA Emmons, Theron Roy CA Emmons, Todd IL Enders, Wayne RI Enebish, Munkhbileg CA Engel, PJ CA England, David OK Englebreth, Bill DE Engstrom, Jim CA Erdenebileg, MyagmarsurenMA Erdos, Tamas MO Esch, Jim CA Escobar, Wilfredo AK Espinosa, Gabriel NY Estill, Alan TX Estrella, Alfred CA Evans, Adam NJ Evans, David NY Evans, J. CA Ewert, Matthew OR Ezzo, Steve CA Fabian, Steven FL Fahlstrom, Ragnar NY Fakharpour, Babak NY Fakharpour, Peyton NY Falcis, Peter CA Falcis, Pierre FL Falco, Angela CA Falco, John IL Fan, Yun NJ Fang, Bryan TX Fang, Katherine TX Fanous, Medhat TX Farkas, Brian TX Farkas, Joe AZ Farrar, William TX Faulstich, Stephen NM Fechner, Joann LA Federico, Steve PA Feerst, David NY Feher, Sam CA Fei, Xianger MD Feinstein, Marilyn Sommer MA Feist, Bob MN Feldman, Danny MN Felsher, Steven KS Feltenberger, Donald MD Feng, XinYi VT Feng, Yihao (John) FL Feng, Yijun CA Feng, Ying FL Ferguson, Michael TX Ferland, Jacob NY Fernandez, David TN Ferreira, Antonio Luis CA Ferrenberg, Allan CA Fields, Tobias FL Files, Justin VA Finney, Emma IL Fish, David NJ Fitzgerald, Kathleen FL Fleming, Mark FL Fleshman, Tom FL Flexer, Dominique FL Flores, Brandon TX Flores, Mark Andrew CA Flores, Salvador AZ Fomin, Dmitri WV Fong, Joseph FL Fong, Molly NV Fong, Scott NY Fong, Shawn NJ Foo, Alysha OR Foote, Graham NC Forman, Gary NC Forster, Michael FL Foster, Ed VA Fountain, Eric CA Fowler, Brian CA Frahler, Jeff MD Francisco, Ramon Paolo MI Franeczek, Janusz FL Franks, Cameron NY Frayberg, Alex OH Frayne, Elliot OH Fredricks, Glenn OH Fredrickson, John MI Freeman, Chase FL Friedlander, Judah IL Friedman, Gerry CA Friedman, Oliver TX Friedman, Thomas NY Friedmann, Nadav NJ Friend, Chance NM Frisbee, Stanley CO Frost, Andrea MO Frost, Bryan MO Frye, Scott CA Fu, Adrian TX Fu, Alice CA Fu, Ava FL Fu, Billy OK Fu, Michael IN

TABLE TENNIS

1916 1538 1576 1490 1368 1351 1323 1770 460 1323 1565 1584 1303 2363 2027 1208 1214 1797 1516 920 1887 1710 971 1078 2208 1572 2294 1444 1827 1787 1487 1984 2516 1856 1726 1820 1158 790 529 549 1500 1062 904 1365 657 885 754 855 687 1832 1331 1845 995 770 1682 1023 1540 542 224 466 1464 1045 1411 1964 1154 2029 1404 834 1828 1022 1437 1503 1290 666 427 1402 1475 2017 1181 700 1840 1483 1432 1084 929 967 968 1526 1062 1933 1058 1241 2294 2173 1898 1807 1212 2122 1347 496 1501 1372 1228 1283 1624 1609 1581 1806 1584 1308 1040 911 1425 1272 1838 1562 630 1519

Fu, Yao Fu, Zheng Fudala, Christopher Fullen, Dave Fulton, Ethan Fung-a-fat, Jill Funkhouser, Bob Furdui, Stelian Furze, Eric Fusa, Fernando Gabbidon, Ian Gableman, Jim Gabor, Bob Gabriel, Freddie Gacki, Slawomir Gaidarev, Peter Gail, Chris Galban, Jun Gallagher, Kevin Galm, Steve Gandhi, Nimesh Gann, Charles Ganti, Krishna Gao, Annie Gao, Brian Gao, Di Gao, Felix Gao, Jimmy Gao, Junjie Gao, Katie Gao, Patrick Gao, Sean(Zhongyi) Gao, YanJun Gao, Yuzhang Gao, Zhongwei Garabidian, Ronald Garcia, Leonel Garcia, Miguel Garell, Charles Garell, Paul Garretson, Steve Gascoigne, Ian Gaskins, George Gaysin, Arsen Ge, Nicholas Geer, Ezra Geer, Nathan Geer, Silas Geer, Wesley Geete, Jayant Geeze, Christopher Geeze, Donald Gehrkin, Jonathan Geisinger, Jeffrey Gennuso, Greg Gharpure, Chinmay Gholston, Zackery Gibbons, Mark Gibson, Celeste Gibson, Jim Gibson-Birch, Piers Gilday, Tim Gile, Peter Gilkes, Rohan Gillman, Art Gingold, Greg Ginther, Dean Giovannini, Matteo Girdner, David Giri, Swathi Girton, Ken Glass, Ray Gleeson, Andrew Glickman, Donna Glickstein, Brandon Gmach, Ben Gmach, David Gmach, Gal Gmach, Maili Godfrey, Michael Godhwani, Aditya Goel, Siddarth Goff, Dale Goff, Don Goff, Robert Gold, Abe Goldfarb, Matthew Goldsmith, Phil Goldstein, Lev Gomez, Elias Gomez, Enrique Gong, Daniel Gong, Renny Gong, Steven Gong, Yunhua Gonzales, Steve Gonzalez, Alberto Gonzalez, Sergio Good, Kevin Goodchild, Dustin Goodchild, Zack Goode, Michael Gooden, Herrick Goodfellow, William Gopalan, Rishikumar Gopin, Michael Gordon, Andrew Gordon, William Goring, Kali Gorodin, Valeriy Gorzko, Jakub Gosar, Jubin Gotliffe, Harvey Gradinaru, David Graff, William Graham, Donovan Graham, Sean Grambo, Alan

FL TX TX MO OH NC WA OH CT NY NY NY FL IL WI NY NV NY CA OR WA CA FL KS CA CA CA AZ CA NC UT CA NC OR WA NY NJ TX TX NY IL NY NJ WA CA NV AR NJ MA NY CA MO CA AR CT OK AR OH MD OH AR AR OH NY CA TX OH VA OH IL TN CA TX MD MD NJ OH CO OH FL VA AR CA OK CA CA CA IL GA IL MA CA NY FL TX TX LA CA NY CA CA CA PA WA CA MI WI IL CA KS WA FL MO CA PA FL FL FL

1374 1408 1042 1386 1144 1639 1388 1655 1321 205 326 1226 2002 1187 1465 1178 1687 1887 672 1736 1904 924 1773 1565 2327 1898 1765 1431 823 944 1181 2567 1245 1555 1996 2102 298 564 889 1800 2151 1088 1117 1934 1186 1647 1690 1128 1332 68 994 1834 701 1884 1432 1353 37 2159 1209 1954 2254 652 2222 286 2581 923 1012 1535 1187 1473 1638 1421 2058 1188 481 800 1055 1892 1809 1222 1657 765 1453 1495 1781 1316 1972 1625 1553 1329 1959 271 929 1287 2579 2352 1477 217 1176 2309 1246 2403 1479 1064 2009 1479 1568 1624 2263 1709 1302 969 1790 852 1595 1075 1519 738

Grana, Jamie Grant, Giancarlo Graves, Owen Gray, Adam Grazier, Michael Green, Vincent Greenbaum, Michael Greene, Dan Greenfield, Austin Gregor, Becky Gregor, Danko Gregor, Paul Greydinger, Dimitri Gribinski, Nathalie Grider, Jon Griesel, Thomas Gripentog, Robert Gristede, George Grodsky, Gilbert Groom, Michael Grossman, Howard Grubsky, Victor Gu, Maxwell Gu, Peidi Guan, Angela Guan, Walter Gubbi, Vidyadhara Guerin, Bill Gunda, Abhinav Gunn, Zannie Guo, Bryan Guo, Hao Guo, Jia Guo, Jian Xin Guo, Jimmy Guo, Min Xin Gupta, Krishna Gupta, Sanjana Gupta, Vaibhav Gurevich, Boris Gurklys, Paulius Gutierrez, Gustavo Guttman, Daniel Gyonjyan, Tigran Ha, Khiem Ha, Thomas Hadfield, Paul Hadley, Paul Hagenburg, Todd Hagiu, Alexander Hajilov, Mansour Halbig, Fred Hall, Gordon Hall, Jamey Halsey, Jackson Hamby, Mike Hamilton, Alanis Hamilton, Don Hamilton, Elliott Hamilton, James Hamilton, James Hamilton, Yi-Mei Hamrahian, Seyed Han, Yiguang Han, Zheng Hanks, Andrew Hanlin, William Hanson, Dana Hanzlik, Mark Hara, Erico Hardin, Christopher Hardy, Shelley Harihara Iyer, Ramkumar Harley, Douglas Harley, Taliesin Harmon, Josh Harris, Anwen Harris, Joshua Harris, Scott Harrison, Deb Hart, Robert Hartmann, Joyce Hartmann, Rudy Hash, David Hashemi, Ross Hashimoto, Margaret Hashimoto, Masaru Hashimoto, Wataru Hashtroudi, Hassan Hashwani, Malik Haugh, David Haumeder, Susan Hay, Alistair Hayes, Tyler Hazinski, Mark Hazinski, Shu Fu (Sara) He, Bob He, Charlotte He, George He, Jiaming He, William He, Xiaolan Hecht, Matt Hegstrom, Christopher Hejazi, Alireza Helfand, Joseph Heller, Aaron Hemingway, Robert Hendawi, Ahmed Hendrickson, Guy Hendrickson, Kahea Henry, Ray Henry, Sonjay Henry, Stephen Heo, Richard Hernandez, Guillermo Hernandez, Sean Hersey, Sebastian

FL MA IL NJ FN IN OR NM IL NY NH NY NY MI NY MA AZ CA NY OR AL PA SC NV CA FL OR OH OH MD AZ FL PA IL IL CO FL OH

TX CA MI CA FL RI CA CA CA PA IL GA NY IN CA MO TX NV MD NY CA TX MD CA MD OR MO AZ NJ MD IL CA TX NJ NY IL PA MI CA KS CA CA TX OH CA MD AL NJ TX

1488 1918 1185 1691 2243 2055 1049 1136 624 1515 1128 813 1492 2054 1880 2158 1468 999 1135 2009 1720 1527 1698 1562 1894 2008 2085 1032 1086 1970 1084 1658 1416 1491 1793 1624 1710 1512 1745 1533 1682 968 955 1338 2002 411 100 87 1261 1993 1647 1667 648 1470 1107 1033 1681 1044 1818 1487 2027 2225 2495 2316 2046 1069 2170 2124 1522 2003 117 1147 372 242 2079 1081 1647 2533 1054 670 2069 2204 1464 1170 1391 1889 1367 1810

Hersey, Steve Hershenow, Barry Hess, Kyle Hetes, Pavol Hetherington, Matthew Hicks, H. Hicks, Jim Hicks, Randy Higuera, Mauricio Reyes Hill, David Hill, Douglas Hill, Harold Hines, Elliot Hinshaw, Donald Hirata, Jonathan Hlava, Jiri Hlushko, Gregory Ho, Chee Ho, Gordon Ho, Hung Ho, Hung Mike Ho, Quan Hoagland, Tim Hoang, Khuong(Kevin) Hoang, Thanh Hoang, Thuan Hoarfrost, Ryan Hobrath, Ben Hobrath, Gary Hochman, Stephen Hodge, Nicholas Hodges, Mike Hoffman, Brian Hoffman, Mark Hogshead, Edward Hoi, Pham Holck, Bruce Hollenbaugh, Paul Holman, Ken Holmes, Paul Holton, Chris Homan, Dave Hong, Derek Hooker, Allan Hopkins, Steve Horn, Michael Horn, Nick Horn, Rikki Hornick, Dennis Horodenski, Karol Horton, William Hosein, Rafi Hoshino, Yuta Hou, David Houchens, David Houser, John Howard, Jack Howes, Jeff Hrishin, Andriy Hsiao, Mark Hsieh, Tia Hsin, Jeffrey Hsing, Ariel Hsu, Nathan Hsu, Ryan Hsu, Simon Hu, Qingqing Hu, Xiyue Hu, Yingyao Hua, Peter (Liyang) Hua, Yang Huang, Alec Huang, Chuipong Huang, Ethan Huang, Haibin Huang, Haozong Huang, Jack Huang, Jeff Huang, Jiawei Huang, Jimmy Huang, Kerry Huang, Laura Huang, Lisa Huang, Miranda Huang, Nathaniel Huang, Ping Huang, Ray Huang, Shelly

Rating Difference

MD CA MD NC MD MI MS CA NJ NJ IL MN MA OH SC CA LA CA MN AL CA NJ NJ FL CO TX FL MD MN VA CT CA IL PA NC FL FL WA OH WA IL CA WA GA MI NJ TX CA CA NJ CA CA TX NJ

NJ NC CA TX NV FL NY NY CA CA CA MO UT NY CA NJ IL TX NJ OR OH NJ CA FL GA CA FL IL MO MO FL OH IL

1290 1610 430 1591 1945 1163 2253 2466 2614 2384 826 2003 594 766 1030 2126 767 1772 2156 1547 1203 531 462 1109 2032 2211 1500 933 1911 1770 1026 1401 2170 2270 2091 940 1461 984 2036 2164 1964 1868 749 1236 1190 1446 961 2373 1262 499 152 1824 1703 1980 1193 1720 1160 1385 613 1131 2283 1551 2039 1540 2588 2377 1787 1583 341 2323 1156 966 1724 1293 1513 442 2032 1100 1847 1357 1769 1241 1152 1645 2116 1875 1538 613

Huang, Siliang Huang, Terry Huang, William Huang, Xiang Huang, Xinsheng Michael Huang, Yihao Huang, Zesheng Huang, Zihao (Justin) Hugh, Adam Hugh, Judy Hughes, John Hui, John Hui, Kelly Huland, Matt Hull, Paul Huo, Luvena Hurst, Robert Hutchins-Knowles, Brian Huynh, Benjamin Huynh, Kevin Huynh, Xuanthai Hwang, Clarissa Hwang, Stephanie Hyttinen, Arvo Ibegbu, Basil Ikeizumi, Claudia Ilanga, Mareuvir Imran, Ziyan Inderieden, Dan Inger, Mike Inkel, John Innamuri, Pruthvi Inui, Tadao (Tom) Iodkovskiy, Vladimir Ip, Spencer Irish, Janet Irish, Phillip Ishii, Art Itunin, Aleksandr Iturriaga, Bernardo Jablonski, Zbigniew Jackson, Jace Jackson, Jadon Jackson, Marc Jackson, Ronald Jae, Youngshin Jaed, Abu Jafar, Shuja Jain, Sahil Jain, Ved Jain, Yash Jamagocyan, Varujan Jampana, Sreeman Jang, Tae Geon Jara, Fabiola Jariwala, Nikhil Jarman, Hunter Javaherian, Nasrin Jayaratne, Sachiko Jecov, Dmitri Jeerapaet, Kit Jeet, Cheddie Jeong, Tae Jong Jha, Ashish Jha, Kanak Jha, Prachi Jia, Tao Jiang, Amanda Jiang, DaHong Jiang, Diane Jiang, Michael Jiang, Zexin Jimenez, Chae Sun Jin, Duk Jin, Jeffrey Jindal, Nirmit Joe, Billy Joe, Lisa Johnson, Adam Johnson, Mark Johnson, Mark Johnson, Paul Johnson, Philip Johnson, Robert Johnston, Jeff Johnston, L. A. Johnston, Raymond Jones, Benjamin

USATT Rating Chart Higher rated Lower rated player wins: player wins: Higher Lower Lower Higher player player player player gains: loses: gains: loses:

0-12 13-37 38-62 63-87 88-112 113-137 138-162 163-187 188-212 213-237 238 & up

8 7 6 5 4 3 2 2 1 1 0

8 10 13 16 20 25 30 35 40 45 50

NJ TX FL MN OK TX MN NC MD FL NY IL IL NY HI CA CA TX WA WA CA VA FL WA AZ CA NJ CA NJ LA NJ CA NY VA WA GA MA CA IL AR VA OH NC IL CA MD MD NC CA NJ NH NY NY IL MA FN OH OR IN IN CA NY NJ IL IL OH TN OH OH OH OH CA IL IL AZ

GA LA CA CA NY IL NJ IL NJ IL WA FL CA IL IL MN IL CO IL CT NY NY FL IA MD CA WI FL FL MI TX TX AZ AZ AZ TX NJ CA GA NY IL CA

1835 1241 2132 1504 1028 1532 1725 1516 1080 1733 2057 59 663 802 1691 1990 1874 1891 1086 1840 879 1697 1911 1905 1531 2014 1900 1777 1511 1910 575 618 763 1813 1083 1684 1698 2576 1611 874 1412 1791 1309 1474 1714 2333 1825 1335 1265 1346 2068 945 1021 1858 1221 2235 1696 1786 1073 1908 1857 737 1638 1919 1653 1658 1745 1932 1984 2084 782 865 1448 968 1347 1544 925 1726 1314 1494 1438 1602 1486 1281 1433 1977 2083 1370 1547 1527 997 798 2144 1667 765 921 1132 255 665 1507 930 846 1277 1906 2182 1910 1600 520 1470 1509 1339 1279 1205 201 1947 1581 1014 1704

CA Jones, Clifton CA Jones, David CA Jordan, Garth FL Joshi, Sandhya CA Jourdan, Tom TX Joy, Rony NY Judd, David MN Juntilla, Michael MN Juran, Donald CA Kadin, Rick Kadzinski, Jean Philippe SC NY Kagathi, Bhavika NY Kagathi, Raj IL Kahane, Gabriel IL Kahanu, George CA Kahng, Alex FL Kaiser, Tod TX Kajihara, Caroline IL Kakade, Aniket NY Kakade, Manish FL Kalustov, Artem CA Kaminsky, Barbara CA Kanani, Jean Marie MO Kanatsu, Naoki Kanchanapelly, RadhakrushNY MD Kandadi, Sohan PA Kandell, Scott WA Kang, Danny IL Kang, Kyoung Jung GA Kang, Sung Ho CA Kannan, Krithik GA Kanyavong, Sichan NY Kaplan, Zachary CA Kapsalakis, Dean PA Karimov, Shavkat CA Karp, John NJ Kasha, Steven CA Kashyap, Anal CA Kasperski, Grzegorz MD Kassees, Ranya CA Kasson, Scott CA Katbi, Tarek TX Kauffman, Ronald IL Kaye, Gordon IL Kazemi, Behnam HI Ke, Roy NJ Ke, Tiffany AR Kearney, Joseph F. CA Keely, Roger MN Kelkar, Rucha GA Kelly, Timothy FN Kelston, Henry MD Kendall, Gail VA Kendle, Bradlee OR Kenudson, Cris NY Kerber, Michael TX Keren, Isaac AZ Keswani, Max TX Keszthelyi, Zsolt WY Khailo, Andre MO Khairzad, Kamran MI Khan, Ali OR Khan, Amir FL Khan, Hussain Ali GA Khan, Mahmood MN Khan, Mohammed CA Khan, Mohammed NJ Khandelwal, Harsh CA Khandelwal, Siddharth OR Khatami, Ali TN Khatami, Sarveen CA Khaung, Eant (Henry) OK Khoja, Faiz IL Khoja, Zohayr Khoshkhoosani, Seyede OR CA Khoutorsky, Ariel VT Kiker, Chris TX Kim, Byungsam IL Kim, Charles NJ Kim, David CA Kim, Jacob MA Kim, Jang MN Kim, Jun Ki MD Kim, Samuel SD Kim, Sean SD Kim, Seon Ho WI Kim, Valeri NY Kimmel, Steven CA Kimura, Hiroko GA Kindig, William AR King, Douglas AR King, Robert MA Kini, Vivek NJ Kippschull, Bryon MA Kir, Jan CO Kirlew, Kahairi MN Kirman, Igor FL Kirman, Shaye AR Kisic, Maria NJ Kisler, Tom CA Kislyuk, Alan WI Kjos, Clayton MN Klase, William CA Klingberg, Steve CA Klunthong, Aroon IL Knapp, Fred WA Knowles, Juan CT Knox, Toni NY Ko, Enoch GA Ko, Mincheol MN Ko, Samson NJ Ko, Sean TX Kocay, Jonathan NJ Kofman, Shawn NJ Koh, C. Brandon MN Kommel, Aziz CA Kondas, Daniel VA Kondo, Leroy (Lee)

1584 1073 1189 1609 1539 1582 986 1806 1899 1472 1539 1172 1479 755 1431 1525 1874 1827 2261 1283 1115 1946 2066 1469 1514 1480 1799 1509 1077 878 7 1259 1821 2225 1467 985 1991 2277 2332 1498 2026 2198 1432 2027 2300 853 1623 1639 1508 744 1283 1424 1502 901 933 919 1253 1943 1874 1691 904 1368 1633 799 1792 1918 1060 1717 1024 2117 1983 1632 1735 2240 1634 213 1087 1103 69 233 960 1536 787 2162 258 549 1709 306 2094 1782 1345 1511 1097 946 893 1618 956 1202 1970 546 1055 1808 1751 1573 2281 1497 1737 1043 2368 1134 1137 322 1492 1324 290 2218 1796 1566

Kong, Alvin Kong, Jonathan Kong, Kailyn Kong, Shek Korb, Kevin Kornegay, Stephen Kothari, Burair Kotz, Paul Kouatli, Omar Kovacs, Tony Kovalov, Max Koven, Brett Kozlowska, Anna Kramer, Samuel Kravchenko, Pavlo Kravtsov, Alexey Krecek, Michal Kressner, Scott Kretschmer, Maria Krijestorac, Haris Krimshtein, Anna Krishnamoorthy, Satish Krishnan, Ananda Kristo, Robert Krit, Shaker Kronlage, Yvonne Krug, Andre Kruse, Scott Krynski, Paul Kuang, Brian Kuang, Connor Kuang, Jeffrey Kumar, Alok Kumar, Nikhil Kumar, Pavan Kumar, Rohan Kumar, Sharath Kumar, Shivam Kumar, Shivansh Kung, Ling-bing Kuo, Patrick Kuok, Joey Kurapati, Allen Kurcz, Marcin Kurek, Artur Kuroki, Riko Kusnic, Lance Kwekel, Joshua Kwok, Hoi(Oscar) La Barge, Dustin La Greca, Hernan La Rose, Dennis La, Timothy Labell, Max Lackie, Frank LaDuca, Jeremiah Lahman, Phillip Lai, Alex Lai, Evan Lai, Jason Laine, Bryan Lake, Charles Lake, Kyle Lam, Anita Lam, Calvin Lam, Chi Lam, Conan Lam, David Lam, Harrison Lam, Hau Lam, Jude Lam, Michael Lam, Si-Dung Lam, Spenser Lam, Thang Lamba, Shyl Lambek, Bernard Lan, Ellen Lande, Arnav Lande, Aryeh Landis, Raymond Landry, Kyle Lang, Hongyuan Lang, Lixin Lange, Michael Lange, Roberto Lange, Tracy Lanoff, Sam Lardon, Mike Laronde, Roy Larson, Sven Larson, William Lasnik, Howard Latourette, Josh Lau, Albert Lau, John Lauer, Doug Launonen, Matti Lauro, Michael Law, Michael Le Vettet, Pascal Le, Long Le, Long Le, Qui Le, Tuan Dai Le, Van Thanh Leadbeater, Andrew Leathe, Peter Lee, Byeong Cheol Lee, Chan Lee, Cher Lee, Christian Lee, Christopher Lee, Dae Hee Lee, Daniel Lee, David Lee, Gan Wah Lee, Gordon

GA OH MA NJ NY WA NJ CA NY CA MI TX WA CA NJ IN NY NY NJ NY CA TX IL TX FL FL PA OH OH AZ CA FL NY GA NY PA IA CA CA WA TX PA MS NM NC LA VA MN MD MA

CA TX TX CA NY IL CA

IL MN MD FN CA NY CA PA NJ CA VA IN CA IN IA NY OH CA MA MA IN MN NY IL CA MS CA IL OH CA GA MI FL LA GA CA NJ CA CA CA NY CA MI CA CA GA WA CA

MD CA CA CA GA GA NJ LA CA CA

2055 1814 2149 1468 1736 1893 1479 1143 738 1727 2299 789 506 777 1288 855 1979 2138 1989 2426 2057 2105 143 1657 1419 2049 2154 1280 1643 1890 2061 1748 1095 1695 1855 1184 1583 117 263 472 1932 2649 2590 1557 1806 2198 1720 1921 1583 2540 1674 1483 2256 2146 343 660 1070 2105 2311 2101 1536 1159 2455 2068 1176 2529 1626 1601 1657 1697 899 2010 1524 1293 2355 1626 2226 428 1550 1624 1451 2594 1762 2679 2165 1549 1560 2001 1657 1243 1270 1751 1714 1309 936 2069 960 1065 1871 2038 1213 2164 1719 2436 1877 1977 1790 1516 1425 1799 1680 191 1685 394 2321 1194 1584 294

Lee, HaeJoon Lee, Jack Lee, Jay Lee, Jin Lee, Johnson Lee, Joseph Lee, Joshua Lee, Kai Lee, Kenneth Lee, Kenneth Lee, Lester Lee, Matthew Lee, Morgan Lee, Nathan Lee, Sumin Lee, Wendy Lee, Young-Woon Lee-Freithofnig, Ludovic Lehman, Christopher Leibovitz, Tahl Leitman, Marina Lemal, Bernard Lemke, Robert Lemma, Warren Leon, Billy Leparulo, Willy Leshinsky, Michael Leslie, Tom Letic, Marijo Leu, Gia Leung, Che-Him Leung, Gar Bo Levine, Jesse Lew, Hwa Lewis, Andrew Lewis, Andrew Lewis, Paul Li, Alison Li, Alvin Li, Axel Li, Benjamin Li, Bochao Li, Cheng Li, Chia-Yeh Li, David Li, Dian Li, Eric Li, Fuliao Li, George Li, Grant Li, Henry Li, Ivy Li, Jonathan Li, Joy Li, Katia Li, Kevin Li, Kevin Li, Kevin Li, Lei Li, Leon Li, Mengqun Li, Michael Li, Qiuxia Li, Richard (Yin) Li, Roy Li, RuiNi Li, Shengyu Li, Shiangtian Li, Ted Li, Tony Li, Tyler Li, Tzu-Ying Li, Weiming Li, Xingchu Li, Yu Xiang Li, Yueh-Fen Li, Zhongtang (kevin) Lian, Anna Lian, Bill Lian, David Lian, Kevin Liang, Jishan Liang, Simon Liang, Yonghui Liang, Zhicheng Liao, Fafa Liao, Jeffrey Liao, Liang Licea, Radu Li-Falcetta, Marco Likic, Stefan Lillie, John Lilly, Joshua Lim, Alelandro Lim, Arisrei Lim, Changwoo Lim, Elijah Lim, Ezra Lim, June Lim, Kenneth Lim, Micah Lin, Allen Lin, Andrew Lin, Bryant Lin, Emilie Lin, Hao Lin, Hsueh-yen Lin, Hui Lin, Jessica Lin, Jonathan Lin, Katie Lin, Michelle Lin, Patrick Lin, Qifan Lin, Tina Lindberg, James Lindo, Howard Lindsey, Mark

MD MD NJ OR NY TX MN OH TX NY MA OH MD KS CA CA OH KS OH IL NJ NY NJ IL OH NJ CA MO FN MO OH VA VA MD OH MI NY CA CA TN GA CA CA IL FL TX NY CA WA TX CA NC NJ CO CA CO CA CA GA TX NC NY IL WA MO NJ NJ FL NJ NY FL NJ NC CA MD IN NC VA NJ NC CA MI NJ MI CA NH NY WA CA CA PA CA CA CO CA FL MD WA WA CA PA WA CA FL FL NY CA NV FL CO IL NY CT FL FL FL CA NV

1350 1088 1337 1807 883 1203 817 501 882 458 1594 1399 1993 2021 2594 446 2277 1024 1452 1268 1567 502 1932 876 783 1935 215 1284 2381 1222 1922 708 463 1660 874 1079 799 2343 1977 1451 2375 1140 1918 1200 1387 1825 946 1571 1882 1067 2102 2027 538 641 2088 1329 570 1349 869 1419 1855 1963 1674 653 2163 402 190 339 1376 2163 1406 1888 731 2331 1916 1553 1344 1870 1930 948 1943 2069 1231 1829 1730 663 219 1143 1487 1292 2226 826 1515 617 1845 1957 1547 1152 2225 1228 1328 2006 255 1787 1780 2084 940 915 2155 1521 1437 1100 736 2306 1662 1556 1713 1255

Ling, Bo Ling, Zihan Christopher Lipschutz, Joel Lipscomb, Scott Lipsits, Alexander Lisook, Sam Litak, Katarzyna Liu, Annie Liu, Austin Liu, Benjamin Liu, Brian Liu, Carol Liu, Charlene Liu, Chunyen Liu, Dan Liu, Ethan Liu, Fangyi Liu, Gwen Liu, Jim Liu, John Liu, Jonathan Liu, Justin Liu, Kai Liu, Kaibai Liu, Kane Liu, Leslie Liu, Nicole Liu, Paul Liu, Quande De Liu, Randy Liu, Roger Liu, Shuren Liu, Shuyi Liu, Su Liu, Taylor Liu, Tianyi Liu, Victor Liu, Victor Liu, Xuan Liu, Yiqing (Linda) Liu, Yitong(Wantong) Liv, JunJie Livshin, Bella Lkhagvajav, Baasanjav Llapa, Arturo Lloyd, Lindsey Lo, Graham Loadholt, Wendell Lock, Raymond Lockwood, Charles Loe, Kock Logabalan, Vignesh Logan, Richard Loi, Brandon Loi, Duc Loi, Tan Lok, Chui-Chu Lomaka, Alexandre Long, Nancy Longpre, Luc Lopez, Elvis Lopez, Raul Lorenc, Swavek Lotz, David Louvier, Andrew Low, Brandon Low, Ethan Low, Joe Low, Yee Lowe, Trenace Loyola, Edward Lu, Andrew Lu, Benjamin Lu, Guo Hui Lu, Jason Lu, Jerry Lu, Jianwei Lu, Jie Lu, Matthew Lu, Michael Lu, Phuong-Tram Lu, Samuel Lu, William Lu, Xiaotian Lu, Yueh Yun Lubin, John Lui, Mark Lukens, Greg Lungu, Adrian Luo, Dongmin (Don) Lurty, Scott Luu, Ha Ly, Dan Ly, Jaden Ly, Quyen Lynum, James Ma, Darwin Ma, Kent Ma, Lucy Ma, Seigo Ma, Sirui Ma, Steve Ma, Yung Maadhavan, Sarranyan Maamoun, Adam Mack, Raymond Madabusi, Preethi Madden, Lester Mader, Olivier Madigan, Thomas Darrel Madrid, James Magloire, Rotchild Mahajan, Aviral Maharaj, Dayanand Maharaj, Dylita Maharaj, Shiva Mahishi, Aniruddha Mainster, Martin

MA UT UT TX TX CA IL CA CA CA CA CA CA CA GA NY IL RI IL AL AL CA CA CA IL CO CA IN FL GA TX IN WA FL MN OK FN IL CO CA NC MO LA OH LA TX FL TX KS OH SC FL CA RI FL FL OR OR GA TX NY WA IA CA AR OK IL VA PA FL GA OH NY IL NY OR MN FL GA FL AL AR IL CT CA NC CA MN TX TX TX CT CT CT TX OH CA CA TX NY NV FL CA PA TN NY AZ TX OR KS KS CA CA CA NY AR AZ IL

1623 1729 1628 1818 1878 617 1667 1920 2291 2022 1269 1561 1494 1577 471 1901 1572 1748 1842 1115 1609 1170 1950 178 1083 1746 1671 1160 933 2256 986 1641 1034 1009 1979 1795 1846 373 1274 1021 1836 2123 1633 941 1757 1924 1591 938 1782 1882 1415 1488 1694 1595 1398 1058 734 954 1850 582 2111 1900 1548 2045 637 1219 993 1251 1975 1429 952 2033 1431 1563 1526 1076 1759 1326 697 1768 1782 772 1253 2288 1181 2005 925 598 1355 1914 1178 1825 2081 1792 1781 490 943 2199 1321 1924 1901 1707 1862 1889 1566 512 1511 1670 972 692 1201 1586 1432 1347 1434 1772 1937 2052

Maisel, David Majors, Bruce Majors, Dale Mak, Joshua Mak, Kam Malcy, Vivian Maldre, Katrin Malek, Amanda Malek, Attila Malek, Scott Malladi, Bhargav Malladi, Bhavya Maloof, Unan Mancilla, Robert Manem, Tejas Maness, Wesley Mani, Ganesan Mani, Murali Maniates-Selvin, Jasper Mann, Eli Mann, Thomas H. Mannem, Keshav Mannem, Rohan Mannur, Gandhar Mansholt, Roger Mao, Jerry Mao, Toon Maple, Steve Mar, Christopher Mar, John Marchese, Ryan Marcum, Jerry Mardari, Alexei Marik, Victor Markov, Andrey Marks, Douglas Marksheid, Hannoch Maroon, Jim Martin, Dennis Martin, Michael Martin, Michael Martin, Richard Martin, Richard Martin, Ronald Martinez, Glenn Martinez, Gustavo Martinez, Jose Martinez, Mario Maruthapandian, Lavanya Masminster, Joseph Massey, Randy Masters, Mark Masterson, Sean Mathews, Matt Matthews, Bjorn Matthews, Michael Mayevskiy, Sofiya Mayevskiy, Yevgeniy Mayfield, Matthew Mayfield, Reece Mayzlin, Alex Mbow, Umar McCalley, Brandon McCarthy, Jack McCarthy, Konnie McClanahan, Johnny McCormack, Thomas McCormick, Michael McCoullum, Henry McCoy, Tyson McDonald, Jack McEwan, Orlando McFadden, John McGarvey, Phil McGimpsey, William McGranaghan, Ian McGrane, Tim McKee, Mizell McLeod, Al McLeod, Michael McNeil, Warren McNerlin, Bradley McNicholas, Bradley McPherson, Emani McPherson, Ronald McQueen, Jim McRitchie, Michael McTigue, Connor Mdahaduzzman, Munna Medcalf, Randall Medina, Roderick Medina, Samuel Medunjanin, Adnan Medunjanin, Amel Meeks, Ronald Mefford, Jacob Megressa, Iyoel Mehta, Subal Mei, Christopher Mei, Jianglin Meimban, June Melad, Reagan Melekhov, Alex Meleshenko, Alex Memon, Kashif Mendez, Daniel Mendoza, Francisco Meng, Kevin Meng, Todd Menon, Rohit Menon, Suraj Mercado, Richard Meredith, Aidan Meredith, Steven Messmer, Matt Mhapsekar, Viful Migliaccio, Thomas Mihai, Sebastian

CA FL NC FL OH KS CA IN IN MN TX OH NC IN CA MA OH WA CA NJ CA FL HI HI NY CA NJ NC CA TX TX KS TX NY NV MD CA FL FL MN NJ MN NY PA RI FL CA IN GA FN IL NC OH GA IL CA WI IL FL MD FL FL NC MN TX TX TX IL TX CA NY CO VA NY CA FL MA NC CA TX AR NM IA NC MD IL NY CA MA FL HI IL IL WA MN FL CA

2105 946 1730 1138 1045 1764 653 108 280 1994 1347 1327 1771 1778 234 1396 620 1891 2236 1479 1013 1288 794 1167 1687 863 136 2349 1884 1396 862 2259 1891 1266 2050 1695 2429 1697 1836 1935 1710 695 683 1438 475 2001 2060 1335 1511 2361 1869 1127 749 1712 1596 1641 1647 1739 1546 1412 1895 1161 1862 1496 837 1176 1155 1265 1982 2100 1711 1678 1552 1404 870 1056 751 1689 801 1853 762 995 1929 1732 2364 978 1893 2034 1719 1331 1480 740 1341 1063 1169 2110 1667

Mihet, Emilian Mijares, Javier Miklowcic, Jerred Milanov, Juliana Millard, Newell Miller, Carl Miller, Dale Miller, Dion Miller, Dionta Miller, Greg Miller, John Miller, Paul Miller, Tom Miller, Tony Min, Jerry Mino-Kenudson, Mari Minor, Hunter Mioduszewski, Vince Miranda, Rudy Mistry, Jayesh Mitchell, Craig Mittal, Prashant Miyashiro, Angie Miyashiro, Stewart Mizrahi, Gabi Mo, Emily Mo, Jason Mo, Qiyuan (Caleb) Moayery, Mohammad Mody, Mehernosh Mohan, Arnav Mojaverian, Parviz Mojtahed, Masoud Mok, Michael Mokuolu, Adedayo Moledina, Iqubal Molla, Zaman Mombekov, Kenshemir Monopoli, Jerry Monson, Brian Montealegre, Miller Montzka, Tim Moon, In Hak Moore, Chad Moore, Hunter Morales, Angel Morales, Guillermo More, Ranjit Morian, Nicholas Morita, Felipe Moriyama, Hiroyuki Morley, Michael Morris, Aubrey Morris, James Morris, Mathew Movsessian, Claude Moy, Nori Moy, Zachary Moyant, Kyle Mozingo, James Mozur, Joseph Mozur, Mike Mrzlak, Brendon Mu, Edward Mu, Emily Mu, Fuchen Mu, Kevin Mueller, Jonathan Mueller, Rick Mugren, Abdulaziz Mugren, Ibrahim Mui, Mike Muller, Harry Munoz, John Munsayac, Jonathan Murali, Chandrasekaran Murdock, Chris Murnahan, Tony Murthy, Akhil Musgrove, Tim Myers, Wayne Nabb, Jerry Nabity, Kevin Nadeau, Laurence Nadmichettu, Raghu Nagarathnam, Manikandan Nagel, Raymond Nagvekar, Sanam Nagy, Laszlo Nail, Danny Nakamura, Takeo Nam, Hyunsook Nam, James Nam, Thomas Nangrani, Sushant Napartovich, Mark Naqvi, Syed

Spring Issue/April 2014 • usatt.org/MAGAZINE

65

RATINGS

FL IL IL IL IL MA ME NC NJ IL FL CA CA NY TX NY TN FL MD AR AR CA OH CA TN CA OH OH CA FL GA NY CA TN WA CO FL MN CA CA CA MN MD CA AL CA CA CA CA CT WA MN VA OR FL CA WA OH CA CA OR IN CA CA OH CA CA MN CO MN MD OH MI FL FL IL AR CA

SD CA MO TX OH GA PA NY TX TX IL FL NC MD WA IL CA NY

66

995 1972 507 536 1582 1021 1462 1372 117 1194 1937 2021 1652 1777 1727 2083 1506 2029 1197 467 1136 1532 298 1943 1882 1756 1730 302 910 2067 1763 1258 1614 1724 1738 1995 1517 1730 1464 1606 1445 1651 1522 1694 1692 562 2336 1425 2547 1944 2003 2052 2098 1666 2238 1691 1078 1363 2235 612 1973 1730 2001 2010 741 1647 2188 1758 1755 1537 2293 1570 1570 1297 1309 2078 1872 1312 1508 453 918 1433 2115 1373 1275 1367 1486 2020 2415 771 1226 1961 725 2014 1919 1037 1584

Narasimhan, Balaji Naresh, Arcot Naresh, Nandan Naresh, Sangita Naresh, Sid Nasjleti, David Nason, Jim Nasser, Moustapha Natakala, Anshul Natali, Christopher Nathanson, Uri Nayak, Avinash Nayak, Shrikant Nazarbechian, Tomas Nedrow, Randy Needle, Matthew Neely, Bill Neimark, Dashiel Neis, Adriano Nelluri, Megha Nelluri, Pramod Nelson, Steven Nervez, Remus Nestor, Branton Neuendorf, Tim Neumann-Takane, Layan New, Bob Newberry, Will Newby, Jean Newton, Dwight Ng, Daniel Ng, Samantha Ngai, Winston Ngo, Harrison Ngo, Hoang Ngo, Huan Ngo, Nelson Nguyen, Aaron Nguyen, Andrew Nguyen, Andrew Nguyen, Anh Quoc Duy Nguyen, Brenda Nguyen, Han Nguyen, Hung Nguyen, Hung Nguyen, Julia Nguyen, Justin Nguyen, Ken Nguyen, Khoa Nguyen, Kim Nguyen, Ky Nguyen, Lai Nguyen, Nam Nguyen, Nha Nguyen, Nhan Nguyen, Paul Nguyen, Phuong Nguyen, Quang Nguyen, Quoc Bao Nguyen, Stacy Nguyen, Tai Nguyen, Tay Nguyen, Thong Nguyen, Thuy Nguyen, Tina Nguyen, Tommy Nguyen, Trieu-Tien Nguyen, Vu Nguyen, Yen Ni, Quan Nie, Derek Nie, Sen Niederreiter, Jens Nieves, Jose Nieves, Ricardo Niewiarowski, Lukasz Nilangekar, Parimal Niyati, Karl Noguerole, Rob Noldner, Austin Noone, Charles Norat, Timothy Nordby, Mark Norman, Delbert Normil, Andre Northcutt, Brann Nunez, Paul Oak, Anushka Oak, Niraj Obernuefemann, Sam Obiozor, Francis OBrian, Chris O’Bryan, Eugene Ochsner, John Offord, Keith Ogawa, Tad Ogilvie, Joe

MN NC PA IL NJ CA MO IL CA CA MA CT FL NJ NC CA NY IL MA NV WA FL FL IL FL FL AR MI IL FN FN IL NV MA

OH NC NC NY CA CA IN LA CA IL CA IL OR NJ CA IL CA FL IL CA NJ NJ NJ NJ NY PA OH FL NV IL AK AK CA WA IL PA MN CA CA NJ TX WA IN CA WI MD TX OH OH NJ NJ NY NY OR MN FL MI FL FL MO NC IL MI NJ OH PA AZ IN FL CO GA CA CA NC AR AR FL MN MA NY NM TX MN

1174 1582 1806 1887 1977 1392 1807 1575 1441 755 1248 1332 1356 1620 1212 627 740 1744 761 1456 1339 1892 1744 2127 1550 2376 1261 1841 1951 1605 784 1179 1688 1939 1717 485 986 1625 1717 1755 1602 1254 1278 1560 1375 1618 2095 1608 1436 1300 384 1354 1855 2001 1872 609 834 220 866 2184 1025 1087 1732 836 1061 1257 841 701 797 621 1960 435 2402 1817 800 1506 1425 1474 788 1906 1101 1451 2271 2291 1764 1807 848 1424 1638 1981 952 1859 985 1258 2280 1493 1830 438 425 1356 825 988 2041 1553 2131 1711 1684 2238 1467 1657 1421 1836 1453 1484 2140 2056 1120 103

Ogitchida, Mukwa Ogundipe, Femi Ogunshola, Abolaji Oh, Ken Oh, Soon Seok Ohanesian, Sako Okumura, Koichi Olingou, Serge Olson, Richard O’Neal, Richard O’Neil, Kevin Onnen, Don Onychir, Peter O’Reilly, Brian Orenstein, Raphael Orgel, Anna Orloff, David Oros, John O’Rourke, Bob Ortegon, Carlos Ortiz, Mariano Orvdia, Yariv Osmanagic, Edis Osmialowski, Jaroslaw Ostrowski, Ted Ou, Jonathan Oudthone, Kitt Overbeek, Brad Owsiak, Boguslaw O’Young, Luc O’Young, Nicholas Packard, Jerry Padernilla, Godfred Page, Robert Page-Guiot, Zacharie Paglin, Laura Pahl, Jesse Pahl, John Pak, Young Palgon, Robert Palm, Richard Palmer, Stan Palmisano, Vern Palmore, David Palys, Dennis Pan, Johnny Pan, Zack Pandana, Herman Pandya, Rohan Pang, Chong Panjwani, Armaan Pao, Pei-Lin Papadimitriou, Ioanna Pardeshi, Akash Parfenov, Sasha Parikh, Rohan Park, Eugene Park, Gene Park, John Park, Joshua Park, Kyong (Sara) Park, Paul Park, Paul Parker, B.J. Parker, Robert Parrish, Jamo Parrish, Jane Parsi, Vidul Parthasarathy, Ajitesh Parthasarathy, Maithreyi Parthsarthy, Prasiddha Pasumarty, Rithvik Patel, Aashay Patel, Anjalee Patel, Farhan Patel, Pratik Pattison, Eric Paul, Jess Paulus, Dick Pavelski, Aaron Pawlak, Dan Payne, Robert Pech, Keith Pech, Seth Pei, Andrew Pei, Patrick Pellew, Michael Pelshe, Andy Peng, JohnYeng Peng, Peng Penvela, Simon Peradotto, Dave Perdomo, Frank Perera, Nelma Pereyra, Patricio Perez, Richard Perrine, David Perry, Joel Petrushkevich, Sergey Pettrey, Rick Peysakhovich, Leo Pfeister, Michael Pham, C. T. Pham, Minh Pham, Nhu Phong Pham, Tuan Phan, Sang Phan, Tung Philipsen, Dirk Phillips, Ben Phillips, Justin Phipps, Cameron Phipps, Jon Piazzo Jr., Stephen Picciotto, Daniel Pickett, Ronald Pierce, Lewis Pietila, Andrea

MN 363 MI 1090 IN 1323 MA 1463 CA 2058 CO 1392 CA 1491 FL 2014 OH 639 SC 1999 CT 725 IL 2004 MN 2137 IL 1888 PA 1797 FL 1434 MD 1508 OH 1789 TX 1875 CA 1048 CA 1531 NC 1641 AZ 1465 CA 1365 AZ 1951 MN 1649 TX 1312 GA 1611 GA 1215 GA 1167 WA 1887 MO 2259 CA 746 FL 1436 TX 1382 TX 1375 MI 1539 GA 1609 PA 595 TX 767 TX 1166 MI 1373 MA 1923 NH 1465 IL 1947 CA 2014 MD 1432 CA 1972 TX 1790 UT 1234 TX 472 AZ 558 MD 2111 FL 767 NJ 1475 FL 1760 CA 1229 IL 1549 FL 1537 CO 631 MN 901 WI 1333 MD 1909 CA 553 CA 1159 TX 1890 NY 365 MA 642 IL 1920 Tiger CA 282 CA 1286 CA 1761 CA 1619 CA 829 NY 333 CA 499 CA 474 CA 913 NJ 982 CT 1479 CA 229 MA 1774 CA 1807 FL 1507 CA 1312 TX 1340 NY 855 CA 220 TX 1888 MI 1409 OH 1685 MI 243 CA 1284 FL 1489 CA 1659 OR 944 AR 1078 MT 1764 NM 1018 ID 1669 MO 1361 IL 415 IL 1349 IN 1575 IN 1854 CA 271 TX 1461 TX 559 FL 2214 NV 2175 CA 1934 SC 1541 CO 1087 TX 1016 WI 1621 FL 1450 VA 576

TABLE TENNIS

VA Pietila, Trevor WA Pietrofesa, Paul WA Pinapati, Richard GA Ping, Jinde OK Pinili, Keiran Mark AL Pinzon, Carlos IA Pisanu, Ricky CA Pisarczyk, Tomasz CA Pitrof, Jeff FL Plankenhorn, Heiko IL Plassman, Carl FL Plugowski, Bogdan FL Podvin, Joe NH Polecki, Henry NH Polishuk, Leonid FL Pollard, Kevin NJ Polumuri, Swamykumar CA Pon, Karen TX Ponchai, Arnon CA Pong, Johnny AZ Poon, Jerome NC Poore, Brian FL Porter, Paul IN Portillo, Christopher NY Potaychuk, Simen NY Poteryakhin, Victor MI Potts, Ken CA Pourmehr, Darien Pourmehr, Fred(Faramarz) FL CO Pourmehr, Kathy OR Pouv, Sophal FL Preiss, Austin CA Prescott, Jane IL Preston, Dave TX Prewitt, Gary CA Prewitt, Tim FL Priestley, Robert NJ Prieto, Alberto CA Primus, Caesar IL Printz, Jesse NY Pritchard, Scott CA Pronk, Adriaan OH Protsch, Florian TX Pryce, Doug

Puchalski, Krzysztof IN Puchulutegui, Jorge FL Puls, Chris NH Puri, Sahil FL Purohit, Shilpi MI Qi, Alexander IL Qin, David OH Qin, Jonathan AZ Qu, Anthony GA Qu, Eric GA Quarshie, Kenneth NV Quiala, Everth NV Quon, Harriet FL Rabjohn, Dusty IL Rackard, Dennis WI Rackley, Kai PA Radig, Parker IN Radivojevic, Radoslav CA Radom, Mark TX Raghavan, Aneesh WA Raghavan, Anika GA Rahdar, Behdad FL Rahman, Habibor VA Rahmani, Mendy Ramakrishnan, Narasimhan MN MN IL Raman, Atul MI Raman, Sruti WA Ramanath, Munagala MD Ramaswami, Shreyas CT Ramaswamy, Ashwin CA Ramaswamy, Krishna CA Rambod, Max MD Rambod, Roxana MD Ramesh, Samarth CA Ramnath, Rohit WI Randmer, Glen NJ Ranii, Cynthia CA Ranocha, Roman WA Rao, Rajeev TX Rapp, Peter FL Rastogi, Mikey NH Rather, William NY Rattu, Mohammad NJ Raudebaugh, Bart NJ Rautis, James WI Ray, Milan WA Ray, Olden MA Ray, Om CA Raymond, Jim CA Rayta, Walt WA Razo, Mario MD Rea, Mark CA Reddy, Mohan WA Redekopp, Dallas TX Redman, Jon FL Reff, Michael PA Reft, Luke FL Rehmani, Armaan AZ Rehmani, Asif WA Reid, Ricardo AZ Reilly, Austin MA Ren, Joshua FL Ren, Lei WA Rendon, Oscar FL Renta, Roberto MI Resek, Errol IL Reyes, Luis

Reyla, Monellie June MD Reynard, Kenneth CA Reynolds, Daniel CA Reynolds, Jim TX Reynolds, John IN Rhee, LeAnne

2000 1386 959 1138 776 1850 1708 1699 1041 1441 1412 1593 1823 1025 780 1352 746 1609 2119 2242 1278 2126 1894 1756 638 1734 1222 37 1542 1259 1436 1726 1153 1277 1876 292 2228 1217 329 1139 1544 987 1431 1928 2354 1333 1990 1241 1997 1626 1400 658 492 491 371 1967 1537 1745 1189 1742 1524 1513 1667 1956 1304 1996 1928 1810 1531 2182 1270 1036 1678 1496 1850 1085 505 2073 1799 1272 779 1888 2107 1248 1691 1510 1264 1739 1616 1618 1985 927 596 1202 702 1844 748 188 1685 2509 1337 2037 1956 1504 892 1482 911 2107 913 1353 1291 1147 1830 1838 2297 1319 1549 1755

Rhee, Samuel Rho, Christopher Rho, Edward Rhodes, Carol Rhodes, Dennis Richardson, Cedric Riek, Norman Riel, Cole Riel, Luke Riggs, Ken Ritter, Ben Rivera, Edwin Rivero, Carlos Robbins, Bradley Robbins, Phil Robbins, William (Bill) Roberge, John Roberson, Samuel Roberts, Courtney Roberts, David Roberts, Paul Robertshaw, Gregg Robertson, Zach Robinson, Scott Rockwell, David Rockwell, Sam Rodrigues, Mel Rodriguez, Estevan Roeder, Eberhard Roemmich, Ryan Roeser, Tom Rofoogaran, Massood Rogers, Dave Roglin, Daniel Rojas, Irving (Chinoz) Rollins, Kenny Romonti, Ciprian Rosales, Justin Rose, Greg Rosenbaum, Vladimir Rosenfeld, Daniel Rossman, Herbert Rostankowski, Michael Roufeh, Tahereh (Mahin) Rousseau-Emond, Vincent Routt, Terry Rowe, Dwight Roy, Hank Roy, William Roychoudhury, Rohon Rozanski, Andy Rozumalski, Ron Ruan, Anthony Ruan, Cynthia Ruan, Ethan Rubin, David Rubio, Ivan Ruiz, Felipe Runcie, Trey Running, Thomas Rutan, Chip Ryan, Chad Ryan, Douglas Ryberg, Cole Ryu, Hyunook Ryu, Songeun Ryvkin, Dmitry Saadat, Seyed Sabas, Joseph Sabas, Kristopher Sabau, Emilian Sabo, Robert Saekow, Louis Sahakian, Ara Sahar, Adam Sahgal, Aayush Saito, Ayane Sakai, David Sakai, Donna Sakurada, Steve Salas-Lieves, Omar Salay, Mickey Salcido, Alexander Saldin, Miguel Saleem, Shiraz Salib, Peter Salmon, Chip Salmon, Trevor Samkoff, Rhoda Sammy, Alexander Sampath, Anand Sampson, Bill Sandalow-Ash, Nathaniel Sandberg, Kenneth Sandoval, Arthur Sang, Yoo Pou Sanghani, Rohan Sankuratri, Ashwin Santana, Carlos Santos, Emil Santoyo, Nicholas Saperstein, Robert Sapp, Shaun Saria, Roberto Sayatouic, Renee Sbarra, Jeremiah Scaccia, Lee Scarp, A.J. Schaaf, Charles Scheipner, George Schichtel, Robert Schiff, Jeff Schiller, Lenni Schlager, Gary Schmidt, Avishy Schmidt, Mike Schmidt, Tilo Schmucker, Philip

OH CT OR MA CA NY TX FL CA MI MI NV NV WI FL OH OH CA IL IN PA NY TX TX TX IN MN CA NC MA MA IL WA FL ME NY

MN NC CA IL CO NY NJ MD GA CA CA CA FL WA MA MA NY MA CA BC MD IL NY ME WA NJ AR NY CA MA NJ MD FL OH GA GA CA NY CA CA OR TX CA OR CA KS MI NY CA CA FL CA NY OH MA FL FL RI MN RI MD CA MA DC FL IN CA MN WA CA CA TX MI CA CA PA AZ MN

CO MI

607 1625 1877 1029 1662 2121 2416 1627 1488 1380 1312 923 1124 1543 974 1013 649 1173 2204 2448 2281 841 1476 1025 928 1970 1428 1534 1921 1802 1502 1297 1391 1347 792 625 1613 1762 2054 2356 1921 1514 1496 1195 1637 1686 2011 2219 1572 1721 1252 1398 1400 2573 2314 1560 1486 2118 1838 1753 1497 800 795 788 629 2168 2032 1549 1316 1231 1343 2607 2796 2112 1658 1657 673 1479 1198 1317 2031 601 992 1468 1244 1658 1142 1567 2293 1814 899 621 1472 1732 984 1951 1301 1700 1653 1530 1548 939 1844 1575 1505 799 1810 1620 1648 1920 1776 10 1975 2210 491 328 1773 870

Schneider, Andrew Schneider, Benjamin Schock, Phil Scholnick, Nathiel Schrader, Lisa Schuback, Joshua Schwartzberg, Perry Scott, Barry Scott, Larry Scrivano, Daniel(Danny) Scrivano, Joe Scudder, Emmanuel Seale, Li-Rong Searles, Duane Sebastiani, Rossana Seeds, Matthew Seeds, Todd Seeman, Jeff Seemiller, Daniel Seemiller, Daniel Seemiller, Randy Segal, Brian Segesta, Alex Segrest, James Segrest, James Charles Seibold, Lee Seidenfeld, Ian Seiple, Kenneth Sekaran, Senthil Kumar Seltzer, Tynan Selvin, Lawrence Selvin, Paul Senapati, Kaustabh Ishan Senko, Hisae Senthilkumar, Varun Seo, Gina Serna, Johan Sethi, Shashi Settle, D.J. Shah, Aarsh Shah, Ejaz Shah, Gokal Shah, Jigneshkumar Shah, Maanav Shah, Mohit Shah, Rajesh Shahnazari, Erick Shahnazari, Robert Shak, Ray Shaker, Ausama Shankar, Alok Shao Jun, Chan Shao, Paul Shao, Yu Shapiro, Vladimir Sharg, Vladimir Shariati, Mehran Sharifi, Hossein Sharma, Rajeev Shaykevich, Yuriy Shea, Richard Shehab, Kareem Shelkowitz, Phyllis Shelton, Cody Shen, Jimmy Shen, Kevin Sheng, Ben Sheng, Tan Tsu Sheppard, Austin Sheppard, Thomas Shi, Bobo Shi, Diwei Shi, Mingyu Shi, Qing Michael Shi, Xin Ping Shiau, Albert Shiau, Emily Shih, Paul Shih, Wen-Shi Shiju, Tharun Shim, Kern Shin, John Shin, Peter Shiono, Koji Shirzay, Bashir Shiu, Emmanuel Shivakumar, Kaushik Shiwa, Felipe Shodhan, Shashin Shortz, Will Shtein, Daniel Shuhe, Ma Shultz, Anthony Shultz, John Shunney, John Shurslep, Alex Shwartz, Ron Siaw, George Silberman, Allen Silva, Manuel Simkovic, Jozef Simmons, Phillip Simon, Craig Simon, Richard Simone, Angelo Sindona, Mike Singer, Stuffy Singh, Jaideep Singh, Kiran Singh, Vivek Singhal, Saarthak Singla, Aman Sinha, Shay Sipos, Renata Sirek, Joshua Siripurapu, Abhinav Sisselman, Mark Situ, Rong

CA 2267 WA 1412 TX 1555 GA 1387 (Jay) NY 1041 PA 2337 PA 2337 WA 1208 MN 1319 AL 1867 OH 1387 GA 1569 FL 2222 KS 1164 IL 1006 IN 1211 FN 1719 NY 471 NC 1655 MI 1076 OH 1880 VA 1206 NY 1611 GA 1662 IL 1353 IL 1065 AR 1378 SC 1230 IL 712 IN 1708 TX 440 TX 1062 KY 2183 IL 1363 MN 1877 CA 1834 CA 1500 IL 1915 MD 1149 MI 1516 MO 1605 IL 2143 WA 2019 CA 1673 IL 1537 IL 1622 OH 1145 WA 1369 LA 1641 NY 63 NY 1824 GA 952 WA 275 NY 1488 WA 1422 TX 1831 IL 1389 AZ 1453 MD 1929 CA 1844 NM 1936 CT 1930 NY 712 IN 1268 FN 1964 MO 809 PA 1571 MN 646 MI 1154 CA 1867 MO 1173 CA 1410 NY 1682 WI 2133 CA 1850 CA 715 NV 1844 TX 1724 IL 1991 VA 1529 FL 1775 WA 1169 CA 1765 IL 1892 MD 1481 CA 1162 CT 2107 CA 1758 IL 969 LA 1399 MI 1352 NC 1010 GA 2108 CA 1274 NY 1500 OH 1552 TN 1341 OH 1432 CA 1298 CT 1819 MN 274 CA 1575 SC 1105 WA 1818 FL 1258 MN 767 FL 1983 OR 1592 AZ 1494 TX 1693 TX 1172 TX 2414 WI 1927 NY 2127 CA 865 FL 1751 FL 1974

Siu, George Sivaprasad, Abhi Sivaraman, Niranjan Sivasankaran, Jeyakumar Skangalis, Anris Skolnick, Gabriel Skolnick, Micaiah Skowronek, Ron Skowronski, Julia Skripnik, Ivan Slaback, Steve Slater, Charlie Slocombe, Andrew Slocum, Terry Slomba, Luke Smedstad, Don Smirnov, Alexandr Smirnov, Daniel Smith, Cameron Smith, Diallo Smith, Greg Smith, Jay Smith, Kirk Smith, Kyle Smith, Lake Smith, Ryan Smithey, John Smothers, Cameron Snarr, Mike Sneath, Rod Snell, Miki Snell, Peter Snider, Nicholas Snigurskaya, Natalia Snow, Liam So, Preston So, Yiu Sobota, Sylwester Sofer, Daniel Sofian, Virgil Sokol, Stanley Solis, Engelbert Solomon, Christian Soltero, Angel Soltwisch, David Somarapu, Deepak Sommers, David Sonachalam, Sekar Song, Bryan Song, Daniel Song, David Song, George Song, Jeffrey Song, Joanna Song, Shanpeng Song, Zhenmin Soni, Amrit Sooc, Johnny Sotero, Reginald Soto, Patrick Sourou, Simplice Spanjol, Isak Sparkes, Niv Speicher, Randy Speier, Sven Speight, Brian Spellman, Dennis Sperberg, John Speshock, Derrick Spesick, Tom Spies, Zach Spitz, Noah Spitzer, Robert Sranko, Ladislav Sribhashyam, Sashrik Srivastava, Saanvi Stadelman, Ralph Standridge, Bryce Stastny, Jaroslav Staylor, John Steffan, Clinton K. Steffens, Wayne Steinegger, Rainer Stender, Matthias Stepanov, Matvey Stephens, Tim Stephenson, Dennis Sterling, Daryl Sternfield, Danny Stewart, Doug Stewart, Sidney Still, Sam Stirbu, Petrica (Petro) Stockhausen, Derrick Stottlar, Gary Stover, Lincoln Strain, Fielder Strawn, Jeffrey Streng, Andrew Studenikin, Artem Sturm, Chad Sturtevant, Mike Su, Alex Su, Chad Su, Christian Su, Emily Su, Hugo Su, Mengjin Suarez, Jose Subonj, Anna Subonj, Christina Subonj, Viktorian Subramanian, Vijay Suen, Edmund Suh, Nathanoel Sujo, Carlos Sujo, Luis

IL 315 CA 1594 CA 411 GA 897 IL 2018 TX 2048 CA 1381 MI 1180 MD 1693 CA 1762 CA 831 NC 2096 CA 2270 FL 1814 IL 461 IL 728 IL 695 CA 1586 CA 1596 CA 1778 CA 1930 TX 1248 CA 2195 867 OR 1738 CA 1856 WA 2184 IN 1282 MN 746 MN 608 MN 1657 MN 514 MI 2071 FL 1494 NH 1322 IL 1242 IL 1512 IL 1940 IL 499 VT 1083 IL 1727 IL 1050 CA 512 WI 1712 NY 907 MA 1273 CA 2193 WA 633 FL 197 CA 1314 CA 1730 NY 795 CA 822 TX 1917 MA 540 MA 734 UT 1225 MA 1831 CA 1906 CA 2076 NV 1517 PA 1749 AZ 1728 NY 120 FL 1138 NJ 1850 CA 1678 MD 2326 OH 2248 TX 1050 CA 1543 WA 2007 CA 1199 NY 707 FL 1706 FL 1946 WI 1064 IL 1250 OK 637 OH 1473 RI 1295 FL 1693 NY 1624 MN 646 CA 1901 OR 1556 GA 2013 MO 1546 MO 1641 CA 1511 CA 1192 PA 1644 CA 2243 NC 1760 CA 753 IL 516 IL 597 FL 2024 LA 1261 WI 1604 TX 1084 OH 1116 CA 2254 Singh CA 1404 CA 1262 MO 1303 CA 1927 WA 2235 CA 2023 CA 2301 OH 1899 FL 1530 OH 1207 OH 1161 UT 2047 CA 1255 IN 1291

Sukthankar, Satej Sukul, Bala Sun, Brian Sun, Charley Sun, David Sun, Kelvin Sun, Lynn Sun, Mingyi Sun, Patrick Sun, Vivian Sun, Winnie Sun, Xizi Sun, Zheng Yu Sundel, Martin Sundrani, Adam Sundrani, Sabreena Sundrani, Sean Sung, Jia-Yu Sung, Joanna Sung, Monica Sung, Rachel Suriya, Vijay Surmann, Olaf Sussman, Noah (Mike) Suwito, Wan Suzuki, Chiyako Suzuki, Michiya Swan, Kevin Sweeney, Aileen Sweeney, Cormac Sweeney, John Sweeney, Liam Sweeris, Dell Swift, Ben Swift, William Sypolka, Marek Szacilowski, Tomasz Szostak, Krzysztof Szot, Tim Szpila, Robert M. Szpringiel, Krzysztof Szymanski, Mark Tabibian, Farkhondeh Tai, Alex Takamatsu, Hajime Takeda, Yuji Takemura, Hiromasa Takemura, Tomoko Talati, Arjun Talluri, Karthik Tan, Angie Tan, Christopher Tan, Emily Tan, Jackson Tan, Jerry Tan, Steven Tan, Tammie Tan, Xiaofeng Tandon, Tarun Tang, Alan Tang, Allan Tang, Haine Tang, Jason Tang, Joseph Tang, Stanley Tang, Suyan Tangirala, Srivatsav Tangyingyong, Sutanit Tannehill, John Tanner, Ralph Tantravahi, Pranav Tao, Wucheng Tarasov, Vladimir Tatar, Ben Tatti Gopah, Deepak Tauber, Akos Taxman, Royal Taylor, Dan Taylor, Jason Taylor, Jimmy Taylor, Louis Tedesco, Trent Teitel, Gideon Tembe, Akash Tenerife, Ange Teodorescu, George Teotia, Seemant Terzic, Marko Terzic, Nikola Thai, Quyen Thakkar, Neel Theil, Martin Therriault, James Thigpen, Rick Thio, Ethan Thobani, Aiman Thobani, Namir Thompson, Delroy Thompson, Levi Thor, Sitha Thorn, Kristen Thornton, Jon Thounaojam, Opendro Thrasher, Steven Thu, Aung Tian, He Tien, Kenny Timsuwan, Sakda Tio, Fredrick Tio, Nicholas Tith, Kosal Tittel, Timothy Tiu, Adam Tobias, Zack Todd, William Tokuhara, Burt Tolen, Robert

VT NY TX FL CO PA CA CA CA TX MI OH FL NY CA MN CA CA IL CA MN TX NC CA FL CA OK OH CA CA NH CA NY AR AR CT IL NJ NY MN MN NY TX MN CT NY NY TX TX TX GA CA NY CA CA CA CA OH CA WA CA CA CA CA OH TX TX IL MI CA AR TX TX IL CA GA VA CA TX CA FN MA FL FL MI MD FL VA NC WA OH IL OR WI CO NH IN CA CA AZ SC NY TX LA MA TX NY MN TX CA NY NY IL OH CA OH FL WI

1356 2084 1470 2321 1736 1467 2229 1075 1545 2106 2057 954 935 2375 1982 1687 2059 1955 880 2193 2176 2137 1554 2486 1224 854 1161 1641 810 1347 1618 552 1750 1420 232 2045 1739 1548 367 2116 943 1867 1307 1710 1620 1155 798 1699 1769 1845 1142 1809 1983 1679 2089 254 1891 1574 1025 1572 1427 2356 1418 521 1508 1000 1433 1430 1447 2106 1890 1355 760 1173 835 1152 1679 1134 783 1862 1603 347 1643 1835 1358 1597 831 1678 1332 937 847 1925 1558 1730 1443 2274 1584 1604 926 1407 1801 1461 1231 1111 1305 1213 273 1023 1246 1636 1357 2182 1322 1646 848 2044 1712 1112

CA Tomas, Marijan CA Tomazos, Eleftherios Tomescu, Nicolae (Nick) IL FL Tomlinson, Simon CO Tomoi, Sam CT Ton, Win FL Tong, Howard VT Tong, Kwan Ed MN Tong, Teddy Torres Zevallos, Roberto CA CA Toth, Bence CT Toth, John CO Tran, Brandon CA Tran, De DE Tran, Erica WA Tran, Hoang CA Tran, Joe NJ Tran, Kiet CA Tran, Lawrence NC Tran, Matthew CA Tran, Michael FL Tran, Minh AR Tran, Sabrina WA Tran, Theodore NY Tran, Thinh FL Tran, Thomas PA Tran, Tiffany CT Tran, Tuyen TN Treigherman, Daniel TN Treigherman, Philip NY Treitel, Robert NY Trestman, Grogoriy OH Trinidad, Marcos MO Tripodi, Alex NY Tripodi, Hannah NY Triumph, Clyde NY Trofimov, Denis NJ Trofimov, Michael CA Troyer, Candyce NJ Truelson, Thor TX Truelson, Viktoria TX Truong, Cuong (Philip) MD Truong, Quoc Huy GA Truong, Tuan GA Trusiewicz, Mike CA Tryon, Dave PA Tsai, Jeffrey OR Tsai, Joey GA Tsang, Boris WA Tsang, Brian MA Tsaur, Ethan NJ Tse, Anika GA Tsitoghdzyan, Tigran TX Tsung, Julian IN Tsvor, Sergey MI Tu, Cindy NY Tu, Edmond OH Tu, Jinbiao OR Tu, Joseph NY Tu, Lucy NJ Tu, Norman MA Tu, Truong Manh TX Tun, Tun NV Tung, Faith TX Turakhia, Ashwin NY Turpin, William CT Tyrell, Ryan MD Tysl, Robert NJ Uganski, Alex TX Ukapatayasakul, Bill CA Umebayashi, Tetsuro TX Uniyal, Vendag CA Uniyal, Vivikt TX Upshaw, Ramar TX Uritskiy, Nick NY Usdan, William NY Vaddadi, Naveen PA Vaden, Michael FN Vadlamani, Siddharth OH Valdoria, Rodel IL Valeeva, Renata AZ Vallabh, Amit TX Valliant, Frank BC Van Brussel, Avery CA Van Camp, Robert NY Van Dusen, Philip CA Van Haverbeke, Neal FL Van Name, Jonathan MD Van Nynatten, Fred CA Van Steen, Alex OK Vanderhoff, Peter PA Vanegas, Jorge IL VanSlyke, Bob CA Vartani, Henry VA Vasquez, Antonio OH Vasquez, Jerry MD Vasu, Viresh MA Vattuone, Richard VA Vaughan, Doug MI Vays, Lev GA Veach, Clinton MI Vega, Alberto NY Vega, Oscar FN Veizer, Keith WI Vekhov, Yegor NV Velazquez, Manny MI Velez, George AZ Velumani, Senthil MA Venkat, Ramamoorthy Venkataraman, Shivakumar MD PA Vera, Eddy MN Vergara, Mauricio OR Verma, Vishesh IN Vermaji, Piyush NC Verny, Allen OH Vesel, Richard CO Vieira, Michael WA Vievesis, Zigmas

957 1390 1926 1594 1128 2214 1591 1365 1215 1104 2036 1383 1935 1316 1405 1788 980 204 1481 2015 1799 1798 1752 1463 1692 1151 1605 1437 1628 963 1046 412 1121 739 946 574 1701 2468 247 2325 880 1176 2396 1913 987 472 1145 83 517 1377 824 2332 2163 1578 1661 917 1539 1049 2290 2498 2213 2321 934 1539 728 2046 1293 2573 1962 1620 2512 806 663 2465 2636 690 473 1491 2367 977 1135 842 2212 2823 1821 650 1283 1257 1992 1306 1210 1133 770 695 1804 770 2218 1563 821 1548 2127 360 2357 2449 1975 1005 1471 1379 1376 952 2240 2032 835 1598 2109 795 1338 1141

Vijay, Kumar Villacarlos, Paul Villanueva, Marc Villorente, Kirkfred Vincioni, Ray Virgo, Ernest Viriamu, Alex Vitzthum, Tom Vn, Dat Tien Vo, Loc Vo, Quang Vogt, Dan Vollmar, David Von Allmen, Tom Vonderau, Kodi Voronin, Alex Voros, Magdolna Vu, Alex Vu, Howard Vu, Van Vuong, Dean Wada, Satoko Waheed, Imran Wakabayashi, Kei Wald, Aaron Wald, Adam Walk, Bill Walker, Dennis Walker, John Edd Walker, Mary Wallace, Kevin Wallis, Zachary Walls, Christopher Walters, Tyler Walzer-Goldfeld, Jules Walzer-Goldfeld, Stefan Wan, Clemens Wang, Allen Wang, Alton Wang, Amy Wang, Brandon Wang, Ching Wang, Crystal Wang, David Wang, Eric Wang, Ethan Wang, Evan Wang, Franklin Wang, Grace Wang, Haohan Wang, Ian Wang, Jack Wang, James Wang, Jessica Wang, Kan Wang, Kenneth Wang, Li Wang, Lin Wang, Maoxi George Wang, Max Qinmin Wang, Mendy (Ke) Wang, Michael Wang, Neo Wang, Odo Wang, Percy Wang, Q S Wang, Qiang Wang, Qing Liang Wang, Ray Wang, Robert Wang, Rui Wang, Sean Wang, Shoujin Wang, Shuai Wang, Timothy Wang, Warren Wang, Wesley Wang, Yidi Wang, Ying Wang, Ying-bei Wang, Yun Wang, YuQin Wang, Zhe Wang, Zhen (Eugene) Wang, Zili Wareham, John Wasserman, Si Watanabe, Makiko Waters, Julian Watkin, Roger Watson, Logan Waugaman, Daniel Wazir, Ammar Webb, David Weber, Ronald Weghorst, Carson Wei, Barbara Wei, George Wei, Jerry Wei, Tom Wei, Tong Wei, Tyler Wei, Wilson Wei, Yang Song Weiland, Jim Weissman, Alan Wells, Dave Welsh, Robert Wen, Alina Wentz, Michael Wetzler, John Weyessa, Nemera White, Jeffrey Whiteman, Bryan Whitmeyer, Michael Whittier, Todd Wilcox, Yoko Wilder, Donna

CA OH LA MN OH VA MD IN FN GA MO AZ CA AR WA FL IL IL CA MN CA CA CA WA CA NY CA KS NY CA

TX CA IL NY MD CA AL WV MN GA WI AK OH TX FL MD CA CA OH WA NY FL CA CA NY CA PA NJ CA CA CA PA CA CA MS IL GA MD CA TX MS NY NY MD AZ WA OR OH IL NJ GA NV MO NY OR MD MD CA NY CA CA CA UT WA CA IL TX CA MD CA SC NY WI CA MD NY FL NJ CA NJ NY NJ CA MA MN WA WA

1038 1521 1635 992 1055 1379 1766 1288 2289 1595 2079 2241 1650 751 1821 1280 2097 2331 799 840 1545 1001 1240 1852 130 1261 2184 1671 1045 2117 1648 564 2112 857 2292 1747 1520 1336 1318 528 855 1891 1556 1702 2092 701 494 2383 1113 836 1740 1707 1646 1358 507 2352 539 671 2495 819 374 1898 2179 1752 2167 2298 2098 1654 1765 2124 2150 2344 1447 1663 993 1704 1685 1683 1510 2084 971 1260 1565 2512 601 1545 1122 1006 864 1512 603 1802 415 1437 1965 2245 1545 2317 49 904 281 855 1845 2261 1787 668 1268 1502 199 1900 2532 1371 1998 1464 1670 1935 848 496

Wilford, Ryan Wilke, Michael Wilkins, Chad Wilkinson, Stan Williams, Kristopher Willis, Jonathan Willis, Reginald Willitts, Jim Wilson, Aaron Wilson, Blair Wilson, Everton Winkler, Matthew Winton, Jeremy Wolf, Paul Wolfe, Wes Wolfe, Zack Wolski, Michael Wolski, Wojciech Wong, Albert Wong, Alec Wong, Benjamin Wong, Daniel Wong, David Wong, Francis Wong, Isaac Wong, Jon Wong, Jordan Wong, Kin Ho Wong, Michael Wong, Michael Wong, Qing Wong, Sylvia Wong, Wai Woo, Bradley Woo, Phillip Wood, Klaus Woodall, Dustin Wooley, Timothy Workman, Gretchen Wrazidlo, Dawson Wright, Tyler Wruck, Douglas Wruck, Wade Wu, Alan Wu, Bryan Wu, Daniel Wu, Emily Wu, Erica Wu, Isaac Wu, Meileen Wu, Mingrui Wu, Nathan Wu, Peter Wu, Peter Wu, Ryan Wu, Tinglei Wu, William Wu, Xiao Kang Wu, Yue Xian, Alan Xian, Jason Xianyu, Hui Xiao, Claire Xiao, Cong Xiao, Jeff Xiao, Junyu Xiao, Yueming Xie, Eric Xie, Frank Yingze Xie, Tian Xie, Tianming Xie, Zhiqiao Xiong, Charles Xiong, Lily Xu, Callie Xu, Fang Xu, Jinlong Xu, Zhongkai (John) Xue, Yi Yan Xue, Yong Jian Yakura, Ken Yamada, Koji Yamate, Michael Yamazato, Fernando Yammie, Adam Yan, Peng Yan, Telon Yang, Alexander Yang, Ben Yang, Chang Yang, David Yang, Derek Yang, Emily Yang, Emily Yang, George Yang, Grace Yang, Haohua Yang, James Eddie Yang, Justin Yang, Kevin Yang, Kevin Yang, Kevin Yang, Len Yang, Peter Jie Yang, Rachel Yang, Raymond Yang, Shuo Yang, Steven Yang, Victor Yang, Xiankun Yang, XinYang Yanga, Dennis Yao, Kaelan Yao, Maxwell Yashgul, Gregory Ye, Cheng Ye, David Ye, Sophie

NY CA CA AZ CA TX MD NY MI OR CA AL NY CA NJ IN IL IL NC NJ NY NJ IL FN NJ UT CA CA NJ NC CA PA CA NY MN CA CO CA CA NY MI OH AR CA CA CA IL TX NY CA FL NC UT MD

TX CA VA CA MA NY WA OH VA CA CA MA GA CA KS FN NY NJ AL TX CA WY CA GA WA CT TX CA MO TX MS TX PA MD NJ TX MA PA CA NJ TX TX TX GA WA TX IL WA TX NJ WA CA MA MA MA NH CA NH NY LA FL FL NJ

896 964 2332 1142 652 1512 2232 1112 1972 1785 1170 1649 1753 1056 2385 1079 1255 2082 1458 1382 1613 957 1479 2438 2055 1866 1676 1632 2085 1964 2133 1823 1715 830 1220 1298 1890 1865 1913 1881 1352 1549 1281 1778 129 1047 1308 2077 1264 1806 1778 917 1012 1073 1982 2351 1614 800 1251 1711 1836 2399 1499 1518 1861 1867 1706 1375 1395 1601 2423 2704 167 1867 1501 2528 1359 1107 1504 1644 1450 923 2709 2006 2543 2583 1790 1367 2272 236 1640 648 1803 550 364 777 420 1834 1054 2132 1688 1139 1949 782 2575 1090 2566 1928 2054 1567 1691 1572 1559 1284 1490 1031 951 2528

Yee, Christopher Yee, Jeffrey Yee, Jordan Yee, Tim Yeh, Andy Yeh, Min Yeh, Stephen Yen, James Yeotis, Dean Yi, Jason Yin, Emilie Yin, Xinhua Ying, Yun Yip, Danny Yip, Lily Yoder, James L. Yoder, Matthew Yoon, Joseph Yorgason, Ronald You, James Young, Donald Young, Jessica Young, Vanessa Moo Yu, Di Yu, Frank Yu, Jordan Yu, Kent Yu, Kevin Yu, Kyle Yu, Ming Yu, Nelson Yu, Normen Yu, Tony Yu, William Yu, Zeling Yuan, Joe Yue, Edward Yuen, Alex Yuen, Kevin Yuen, Roger Chang Zachos, Robert Zadrozny, Edward Zaldivar, Fernando Zandpour, Frank Zarehbin, Aziz Zarehbin, Kai Zarycki, Stanislaw Zavala, Irving Zeitlin, Inga Zelener, Alexander Zeller, Carlos Zeng, Andrew Zeng, Megan Zeng, Ruoheng Zerrudo, Dino Zhai, Hao Zhan, Kanghong Zhan, Richard Zhang, Albert Zhang, Angela Zhang, Benjamin Zhang, Bijia Zhang, Bill Zhang, Bowen Zhang, Chao Zhang, Daisong Zhang, Gordon Zhang, Gregory Zhang, Henrik Zhang, Jim Zhang, Jun Da (James) Zhang, Kai Zhang, Karen Zhang, Kui Zhang, Lihao (Jasper) Zhang, Lily Zhang, Mengwen Zhang, Siming Zhang, Teddy Zhang, Wei Zhang, William Zhang, William Zhang, Xiang Zhang, Xiaoming Zhang, Yahao Zhang, Yi Chi Zhang, Yukong Zhang, Yumeng Zhangliang, Bojun Zhao, Allison Zhao, Brian Zhao, Eric Zhao, Ethan Zhao, Franz Zhao, Jasmine Zhao, Jospeh Zhao, Katie Zhao, Kelly Zhao, Kevin Zhao, Michael Zhao, Michael Zhao, Moshi Zhao, Wei Zhao, Wenhui Zhao, XinXu(Anthony) Zhao, Ying Zheng, Jiaqi Zheng, Liansheng (Eric) Zheng, Long Zheng, Luke Zheng, Wei Zheng, Yi Zheng, Yifei Zhitomirskiy, Dmitriy Zhong, Chaozong Zhong, Davie Zhong, Eric Zhong, Zongqi (Henry)

CA NJ MD IL IL CA TX NY WA NJ WA GA PA CA MN NY NJ CA TX GA CA MA CA CA WA AR WV CO MI IL

1829 1526 1569 1291 1565 2711 1472 1952 1235 901 459 1352 1989 1759 1943 237 2629 2105 1390 1676 802 895 1153 173 1437 997 1518 1485 1407 2054

Zhou, Dong Yong Zhou, Jayden Zhou, Lijun Zhou, Rachel Zhou, Sarah Zhou, Xin Zhou, Yi Zhou, Zhenmo Zhu, Eric Zhu, Franklin Zhu, Henry Zhu, Sabrina Zhu, Shaobo Zhu, Sui Ning Zhu, Xiaohaun Zhu, Xiaoyu Zhuang, David Yong-Xiang Zhuang, Jian Zhumagaliyev, Arman Zhuo, Evan Zhuo, Helena Ziolek, Bruno Ziyalan, Christopher Zou, Joseph Zubarev, Yakov Zumbach, Simon Zuniga, Royce Zwisler, Ross Zywicki, Kevin Zyworonek, Arkadiusz

Spring Issue/April 2014 • usatt.org/MAGAZINE

67

Paddle Palace Presents

USATT Tournament schedule *For the most up to date list of tournaments please visit http://www.teamusa.org/USA-Table-Tennis/Events/Event-Info Pennsylvania State Closed, Philadelphia, PA, 4/26/2014 - 4/27/2014, ggg, Ken Weinstein, 215-247-5555

West Michigan Holland Spring Open 2 Star, Holland, MI, 5/17/2014 - 5/18/2014, gg Brian Fowler, 616-617-1016

Arizona Closed, Phoenix, AZ, 4/26/2014 - 4/27/2014, g, Jay Turberville, 480-529-2829

LYTTC May Open, Dunellen, NJ, 5/17/2014 - 5/18/2014, gg Barry Dattel, 732-200-5820

NJ State Championship, Westfield, NJ, 4/26/2014 - 4/27/2014, gg Larry Bavly, 617-383-5129

Potomac 2014 Spring Open, Potomac, MD, 5/17/2014 - 5/18/2014, gg Herman Yeh, 301-915-4079

Westchester 2014 April Open Pleasantville, NY, 4/26/2014 4/27/2014, gggg Will Shortz, 914-769-9128

Westchester 2014 May Open, Pleasantville, NY, 5/24/2014 5/25/2014, gggg Will Shortz, 914-769-9128

2014 Rhode Island Table Tennis Spring Open, Manville, RI, 4/26/2014 - 4/27/2014, g Manuel Silva, 401-769-6666

America’s Team Championship, Rockford, IL, 5/24/2014 5/25/2014, gggg Edward Hogshead, 815-262-1868

ggg, Jon Bosika, 810-658-8153

DAC April Open (41 Points), Davison, MI, 4/26/2014 - 4/27/2014,

SVTTC Butterfly Open, Milpitas, CA, 5/24/2014 - 5/25/2014, gg Steven Wang, 650-235-6796

2014 Wisconsin Closed State Championships, Milwaukee, WI, 4/26/2014, Linda Leaf, 414-281-3123

Neil Smyth Memorial Open, San Diego, CA, 5/24/2014 - 5/25/2014, gggg Attila Malek, 714-280-6821

Charlotte $1000 Loopalalooza Open, Charlotte, NC, 4/26/2014 4/27/2014, gg John Pahl, 704-651-5464

Clearwater Spring Open, Clearwater, FL, 5/24/2014, gg Keith Hanley, 727-726-2181

Texas Wesleyan Open (31), Fort Worth, TX, 4/26/2014, gg, Jasna Rather, 817-715-4062

Texas Wesleyan Open (31), Fort Worth, TX, 5/31/2014, gg Jasna Rather, 817-715-4062

2014 Indiana State Championships, Indianapolis, IN, 4/26/2014 4/27/2014, g, Robert Clyde, 317-895-8394

$16,000 Meiklejohn North American Seniors Open, Laguna Woods, CA, 6/5/2014 - 6/8/2014, gg Craig Krum, 909-227-0822

Vernon Hills Spring Open, Vernon Hills, IL, 4/26/2014, g, Engelbert Solis, 847-312-0590

LYTTC June Open, Dunellen, NJ, 6/7/2014 - 6/8/2014, ggBarry Dattel, 732-200-5820

Florida Orange Blossom Table Tennis Series Spring Classic Open, Lakeland, FL, 5/2/2014 - 5/3/2014, gg, Brad Woodington, 863-370-5163

g

HCTT Circuit Tournament, Columbia, MD, 5/3/2014, Fan Yang, 443-538-5034

Ararat Open 2014, Glendale, CA, 6/14/2014 - 6/15/2014, gg Victor Shahbazian, 818-634-7245

St. Louis Open, St. Louis, MO, 5/3/2014 - 5/4/2014, gggg, Daniel Seemiller, 574-654-7476

gg

San Antonio Spring Open, San Antonio, TX, 5/3/2014 - 5/4/2014, gg, San Antonio Table Tennis Club, 210-254-0987

2014 Missouri Show-Me State Games Open, Springfield, MO, 6/21/2014, gg William Lewis, 417-890-8092

NYISC May 2014 Open, College Point, NY, 5/4/2014, gg, Yu Shao, 646-234-5291

Michigan Closed State Finals, Grand Rapids, MI, 6/21/2014 6/22/2014, gg Brian Fowler, 616-617-1016

NW LA Open, Canoga Park, CA, 5/4/2014, g, Allen Verny, 818330-5756

2014 NNTTC Joola Open, Newport, VA, 6/21/2014 - 6/22/2014, gg Dan Barrett, 757-729-2335

Newgy Cincinnati Open, Cincinnati, OH, 5/9/2014 - 5/10/2014, gggg, Samson Dubina

2014 HI June Open (22), Palisades Park, NJ, 6/21/2014 - 6/22/2014, Byung Jun An, 718-928-8551

Joseph Bae Open, Santa Ana, CA, 5/10/2014, gg, Ardeshir Afshar, 949-463-8000

Florida Sunshine State Games Table Tennis Open 2014, Lakeland FL, 6/21/2014 - 6/22/2014

3rd Annual Robert Bluestone Memorial Event, El Paso, TX, 5/10/2014, g, Mark Nordby, 915-282-8210 NJTTC 2014 May Open, Westfield, NJ, 5/10/2014 - 5/11/2014, gg, Larry Bavly, 617-383-5129

Atlanta Open Giant Round Robin U2000, Norcross, GA, 6/7/2014, Wendell Dillon, 770-923-5110

2014 Washington Table Tennis Open, Chantilly, VA, 6/14/2014 Jay Park, 703-944-8819

Brad Woodington, 863-370-5163 California State Open, Santa Monica CA, 6/21/2014 - 6/22/2014, gg Ichiro Hashimoto, 818-700-0948

Sacramento Spring Open, Sacramento, CA, 5/10/2014, James Therriault, 916-308-3209 Robo-Pong May 2014 BTTC Open, Hollywood, FL, 5/17/2014 5/18/2014, ggg Carlos Zeller, 954-849-5436

68

TABLE TENNIS

NJTTC 2014 Giant Round Robin Westfield NJ, 6/21/2014 - 6/14/2014 gg Larry Bavly, 617-383-5129

PaddlePalace.com

For the most updated ratings,

visit USATT.ORG

GHTTC June 2014 Open, Hartford, CT, 6/22/2014, gg Wilbert Lawrence, 860-819-0356 South Florida Newgy US Open Warm Up (53 Points), Dania Beach, FL, 6/27/2014 - 6/29/2014, ggg Terese Terranova, 954-695-3218 2014 Summer Sooner State Games, Oklahoma City, OK, 6/28/2014, g Britt Salter, 405-306-7227

2014 Summer Slam VI, El Paso, TX, 8/16/2014, gg Mark Nordby, 915-282-8210

Westchester 2014 June Open, Pleasantville, NY, 6/28/2014 6/29/2014, gggg Will Shortz, 914-769-9128

Dana Point Open, Dana Point, CA, 8/17/2014, g Attila Malek, 714280-6821

2014 US Open, Grand Rapids , MI, 7/1/2014 - 7/5/2014, ggggg Joyce Grooms, 719-866-4583

2014 Butterfly MDTTC August Open, Gaithersburg, MD, 8/23/2014 - 8/24/2014, gg Charlene Liu, 202-459-9096

LYTTC July Open, Dunellen, NJ, 7/12/2014 - 7/13/2014, gg Barry Dattel, 732-200-5820

Westchester 2014 August Open, Pleasantville, NY, 8/23/2014 8/24/2014, gggg Will Shortz, 914-769-9128

Mid-Florida Table Tennis Tour-2014 Lakeland July Classic Open, Lakeland, FL, 7/18/2014 - 7/19/2014, gg Brad Woodington, 863-370-5163

Pacific Coast Open Santa Monica, CA, 8/23/2014 - 8/24/2014, gg Ichiro Hashimoto, 818-700-0948

SportsFest XVIII, Allentown, PA, 7/19/2014, Fred Kistler, 610-7976637

The Butterfly Labor Day 2-Person Teams, Highland, IN 8/30/2014 - 8/31/2014, gg Mark Nordby, 915-282-8210

NJTTC 2014 Giant Round Robin, Westfield, NJ, 7/19/2014, gg Larry Bavly, 617-383-5129

2014 Southern Open on JOOLA North America Tour, Round Rock TX, 9/6/2014 - 9/7/2014, gggg Marynes Parra, 301-816-0660

HCTT Circuit Tournament, Columbia, MD, 7/19/2014 Fan Yang, 443-538-5034

HCTT Circuit Tournament, Columbia, MD, 9/6/2014, Fan Yang, 443-538-5034

NJTTC 2014 September Open, Westfield, NJ, 9/13/2014 - 9/14/2014, Larry Bavly, 617-383-5129

Dana Point Open, Dana Point, CA, 7/20/2014, gAttila Malek, 714280-6821

gg

Waco Table Tennis Tournament, Waco, TX, 7/26/2014, g, Jimmy Dorrell, 254-214-4933

NW LA Open, Canoga Park, CA, 9/14/2014 - 9/14/2013, g Allen Verny, 818-330-5756

Arizona Sizzler Open, Phoenix, AZ, 7/26/2014 - 7/27/2014, gJay Turberville, 480-529-2829

Mid-Florida Table Tennis Tour-2014, Lakeland September Classic, Lakeland, FL, 9/19/2014 - 9/20/2014, ggBrad Woodington, 863-370-5163

Westchester 2014 July Open, Pleasantville, NY, 7/26/2014 7/27/2014, gggg Will Shortz, 914-769-9128

2014 Butterfly Badger Open, Waukesha, WI, 9/20/2014 - 9/21/2014 gggg Linda Leaf, 414-281-3123

2014 HI August Open (22), Palisades Park, NJ, 8/2/2014 - 8/3/2014 Byung Jun An, 718-928-8551

Trolley Car Table Tennis Club, September 2014 Philly Giant RR, Philadelphia, PA, 9/20/2014, gg Ken Weinstein, 215-247-5555

Texas Wesleyan Open (31), Fort Worth, TX, 8/2/2014, gg Jasna Rather, 817-715-4062

gg Barry Dattel, 732-200-5820

Robo-Pong August 2014 BTTC Open, Hollywood, FL, 8/2/2014 8/3/2014, ggg Carlos Zeller, 954-849-5436

ARARAT Glendale Friendship Games 2014, Glendale, CA, 9/20/2014 9/21/2014, gg Victor Shahbazian, 818-634-7245

Knoxville Secret City Open Gold Dollar Upset Tournamnet Oak, Ridge, TN, 8/2/2014, gg Jude Lam, 865-300-4829

September Newgy Akron Open (42 Points), Akron, OH, 9/26/2014 9/27/2014, ggg Samson Dubina, 330-949-9230

NJTTC 2014 Giant Round Robin, Westfield, NJ, 8/9/2014, gg Larry Bavly, 617-383-5129 GHTTC August 2014 Open, Hartford, CT, 8/10/2014, gg Wilbert Lawrence, 860-819-0356 Florida Orange Blossom Table Tennis Series Summer Classic, Lakeland, FL, 8/15/2014 - 8/16/2014, gg Brad Woodington, 863-370-5163 LYTTC August Open, Dunellen, NJ, 8/16/2014 - 8/17/2014, gg Barry Dattel, 732-200-5820 2014 Decatur Open Tanner, AL, 8/16/2014, gg Chip Patton, 256772-7359

LYTTC September Open, Dunellen, NJ, 9/20/2014 - 9/21/2014

Westchester 2014 September Open Pleasantville, NY, 9/27/2014 - 9/28/2014, gggg Will Shortz, 914-769-9128 Arkansas Open, Little Rock, AR, 9/27/2014, gg Eugene Atha, 501835-5291 Best of the West Open, Phoenix, AZ 9/27/2014 - 9/28/2014, gg Jay Turberville, 480-529-2829 LYTTC October Open, Dunellen NJ, 10/4/2014 - 10/5/2014, gg Barry Dattel, 732-200-5820

Spring Issue/April 2014 • usatt.org/MAGAZINE

69

NOW AVAILABLE! CALL FOR DETAILS

70

TABLE TENNIS

Spring Issue/April 2014 • usatt.org/MAGAZINE

71

TIM BOGGANDS

IN HIS OWN WORDS

2013 Mark Matthews Lifetime Achievement Award Recipient

YVONNE KRONLAGE

Photo by Mal Anderson.

* See tabletennis.teamusa.org (USATT) (Hall of Fame) for expanded versions of each profile

72

By USTTA Historian Tim Boggan In her 1985 USTTA Executive Committee Election Campaign Statement, Yvonne Kronlage showed very clearly her disillusionment at the continued passionate effort she’s made, and will continue to make, to further the sport, but always with so little personal recognition. She feels she’s so often ignored, her valid USTTA complaints on women’s issues not taken up.

Why is that? Especially when back in 1972 she was named “Woman of the Month” by our National Publication, and in 1979 when, on her way to being elected USTTA Executive Committee Treasurer, her “Women’s World” article was very well received. Answer (so she’d been told) to her not being recognized: “Because no one knows you and what you’ve done.”

Well, though it’s certainly not true she’s unknown—she’ll get over 400 votes this election—she doesn’t get elected either.

But Yvonne is a combatant, is very persistent at going after what she wants. Two years later she has a new strategy, will let a man speak for her.

Dennis Masters, well known as USTTA Tournament Chair, writes 51-year-old Yvonne’s 1987 Campaign Statement for Vice-President—and this time she is elected: “Yvonne, he begins, “has worked for U.S. Table Tennis for over 25 years on the international, national, regional, and local levels. [Remember, this is being written by Dennis more than a quarter-century ago and he’s going back another quarter century.] Listed below are just some of her many efforts.

International: Team Manager and Coach in 1979 of the first U.S. Men’s and Women’s teams to the Pan Am Games—when t.t. was an exhibition sport.

Women’s Captain and Coach to the 1983 World Championships—Women’s Captain for a Women’s Team had been one of her goals.

Captain of the U.S. Girls Team to the 1981 Scandinavian Open Junior Championships in Sweden.

Trying to bring the World Veterans Championships to the United States. [In Apr. ,’88, Yvonne flew to the European’s and successfully got sanction approval (and consequently participation support) to run a super-tournament, a tripartite 1990 U.S. Open, World Veterans, and International Junior Championship.

A dream for Yvonne that, because of mismanagement, will turn into something of a momentary nightmare.]

National: Has been involved in every U.S. Olympic Sports Festival in an official capacity [continuing in ’87 to be Women’s Team Manager].

After being on a winning team herself (1983), she coached and captained U.S. Women’s teams at the annual Toronto CNE tournament, and also at the U.S. Open [and will do so in the future, as in the 1989 Open when she’ll also play for the U.S. Senior Women’s team].

Chairperson of USTTA Committees.

TABLE TENNIS

Raised funds for and has taken teams to many Junior Olympics.

Regional: Organized and has run Eastern Opens.

Founded and is President of the Maryland TTA. Ran Regional trials for Junior Olympics and National teams.

Was instrumental in getting table tennis in the Maryland Senior Olympics and Maryland State Games.

Local: Founded and ran clubs in Maryland for over 20 years.

Taught table tennis in many schools.

Coached many players of all ages. [“Why was there never a Girls’ Camp?” she asked. And then in 1980 ran one with over 20 participants.]

Has always showed initiative--organized many exhibitions in schools, malls, and sporting events.

Sponsored players and teams through her club and the MTTA. Worked to get women and juniors into table tennis. Instituted a Chaperone Program.

Directed tournaments year after year and will continue to do so [the Maryland Open in ’88, for example). Yvonne founded the Howard County Circuit. [In the 1986-87 season, Yvonne awarded $9,000 for 9 Circuit tournaments in which 600 players participated. This Circuit will run continuously for 30 years!]”

Yvonne is also a player who holds a number of National titles. She has played in the Senior World Championships, and in many U.S. Open and National Championships over a halfcentury span.

[At the 1961 National Team Championships she won the Outstanding Player Award. At the 1963 U.S. Open, Yvonne was a Mixed Doubles finalist (playing with English looper Derek Baddely, they defeated the strong Sol Schiff/Leah Neuberger team). And in the 1964-65 season, she was ranked #7 among U.S. Women.

Later, with her customary vigor, she’ll continue playing competitively into her 70’s. Here are her consistent U.S. Closed

History of U.S. Table Tennis

446655later-years playing highlights: Volume XIV Nowpublicly Available!

• www.timboggantabletennis.com ppaaggeessWON: two Over 40’s. After objecting that there wasn’t any Women’s Over 40’s in the 1978 Closed, that event was first held at the both the 1979 U.S. Open and 1979 Closed and Yvonne took both titles. WON: two Over 50’s. WON: three Over 60’s.

WON: three Over 70’s (another event Yvonne, had initiated.]

In 1987, Yvonne will be re-elected USTTA Executive Committee Vice-President—her third successful term in office.

In 1989, she’ll see her Eastern Resident Training Program become a reality in Sykesville, MD—with Richard McAfee as Head Coach, assisted by China’s Zhi Yong Wang.

In 1990, Yvonne embarked on her most ambitious venture, her gutsiest, the Baltimore Tournaments of Champions. She was the driving force that enabled the U.S. to stage a bona fide World (Veterans) Championship. Such a person is willing to take risks, get into trouble (Had “serious organizational, training, and staffing problems”), be criticized, fail….Succeed. (When much was chaotic, Yvonne coolly, courageously took the mike, and gradually provided a stable finish to the tournament, which brought forth a number of appreciative remarks from players.)

In 1994, Yvonne was inducted into the U.S. Table Tennis Hall of Fame. And thereafter has continued to lead an active, productive life. Currently she’s a member of the U.S. Hall of Fame Board of Directors.

465 pages

History of U.S. Table Tennis Volume XIV Now Available! • www.timboggantabletennis.com

Vol. II .......... .......... 1928-39 1928-39 ........ ........ 375 375 pages pages .......215 .......215 photos photos Vol. Vol. II II ........ ........ 1940-52 1940-52 ........ ........ 395 395 pages pages .......320 .......320 photos photos Vol. Vol. III III ....... ....... 1953-62 1953-62 ........ ........ 450 450 pages pages .......400 .......400 photos photos Vol. Vol. IV IV ....... ....... 1963-70 1963-70 ........ ........ 460 460 pages pages .......700 .......700 photos photos Vol. Vol. V* V* ....... ....... 1971-72 1971-72 ........ ........ 282 282 pages pages .......400 .......400 photos photos Vol. *Covers the the Ping-Pong Ping-Pong Diplomacy Diplomacy Years Years *Covers Vol. VI VI ....... ....... 1970-73 1970-73 ........ ........ 500 500 pages pages .......800 .......800 photos photos Vol. Vol. VII VII ...... ...... 1973-75 1973-75 ........ ........ 530 530 pages pages .......820 .......820 photos photos Vol. Vol. VIII VIII .... .... 1975-77 1975-77 ........ ........ 512 512 pages pages .......836 .......836 photos photos Vol.

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Vol. IX IX ....... ....... 1977-79 1977-79 ........ ........ 503 503 pages pages.......810 .......810 photos photos Vol. Vol. X X ......... ......... 1979-81 1979-81 ........ ........ 535 535 pages pages.......820 .......820 photos photos Vol. Vol. XI XI ....... ....... 1981-82 1981-82 ........ ........ 516 516 pages pages.......805 .......805 photos photos Vol. Vol. XII XII ...... ...... 1983 1983 ............. ............. 460 460 pages pages.......837 .......837 photos photos Vol. Vol. XIII XIII .... .... 1984 1984 ............. ............. 448 448 pages pages.......918 .......918 photos photos Vol. Vo. XIV XIV ...... ...... 1985-86 1985-86 ........ ........ 465 465 pages pages.......962 .......962 photos photos Vo. “How can can any any serious serious player player not not buy buy these these books?” books?”

“How -Larry Hodges, Hodges, USATT USATT Hall Hall of of Famer Famer -Larry

Send check check or or money money order order for for $40* $40* per per book book and and send send and and make make payable payable to: to: Send Tim Boggan, Boggan, 12 12 Lake Lake Ave., Ave., Merrick, Merrick, NY NY 11566 11566 Tim Please allow allow three three weeks weeks for for delivery. delivery. *Includes shipping shipping and and handling handling Please *Includes Name_________________________________________________________ Name_________________________________________________________ StreetAddress___________________________________________________ Address___________________________________________________ Street City/State/Zip___________________________________________________ City/State/Zip___________________________________________________ Email_____________________________Phone________________________ Email_____________________________Phone________________________ Vol. I .......... 1928-39 ........ 375 pages .......215 photos Vol. II ........ 1940-52 ........ 395 pages .......320 photos

9966 pphhoo 22 ttooss

Circle Volumes Volumes Ordered Ordered Circle

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Vol. II Vol.

Vol. II II Vol.

Vol. III III Vol.

Vol. V V Vol.

Vol. VI VI Vol.

Vol. VII VII Vol. Vol. VIII VIII Vol.

Vol. IX IX Vol.

Vol. X X Vol.

Vol. XI XI Vol.

Vol. XIII XIII Vol.

Vol. IV IV Vol.

Vol. XII XII Vol.

Vol. XIV XIV Vol.

Vol. IX ....... 1977-79 ........ 503 pages .......810 photos Vol. X ......... 1979-81 ........ 535 pages .......820 photos

IN MEMORIAM

Gary Gresher (1944 - 2013) A Remembrance of Gary Gresher

by Hall of Fame John Tannehill

“... I’m enclosing a copy of one of our favorite pictures of Gary.

He loved Vietnam and visited often - this one is a classic - and don’t worry, I’m sure he put the little lizard down later, gently.”

- Kathy Gresher

I

remember first meeting Gary Gresher and his wife Kathy at the Chicago table tenis club (Net and Paddle Club) of Mildred Shahian and Jim Lazarus in the late 60’s. I was a “ping pong nomad” in need of a place to stay in Chicago while training with Jim Lazarus and coaching other players including Gary. Gary and Kathy befriended me and opened their house in generous hospitality to me.

Later they would do the same in Berkeley, California after they moved there, and I was coaching and training at the San Francisco club.

Throughout this time Gary shared his insights, books, 74

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love for chess, wit, and general life view with me and influenced me greatly with his tough but gentle, funloving character. Trying to combine table tennis training with its cold technical precision and a student’s passion for knowledge of culture and history was made easier by Gary’s influence.

The loneliness of disciplining myself to the competitive sports life was made tolerable

by Gary, Kathy, and their son Charlie’s presence and support.

One of my best matches was played in Chicago during the World Team Trials against the national champion Dal Joon Lee. Gary was present

during the stress-filled match that went 25-23 in the final game to my victory, and I remember feeling grateful for Gary’s watching so calmly while I was battling for each point. It was his energy as well as mine that won that day.

Gary’s support showed me that no matter how technically fit your skill in table tennis, it amounts to very little without the real support of a friend on the sidelines who radiates concern for you. I miss Gary and his infectious love of live and adventure.

Spring Issue/April 2014 • usatt.org/MAGAZINE

75

Table Tennis Charity Foundation Introducing Table Tennis to Schools in Virginia Beach

by Dean Johnson (djab2b@aol.com)

Ocean Lakes High School in Virginia Beach, Virginia has introduced the Table Tennis Sports and Education Program as a part of the schools 2014 High School Founders Week. The program is part of a larger plan being implemented by the Table Tennis Charity Foundation to introduce table tennis in both public and private schools as an extension to mainstream sports such as football, basketball, and baseball.

“We’re excited to kick off this program here at Ocean Lakes” said Ken Lees, Founder and President of the Table Tennis Charity Foundation and sponsor of the program. “Ocean Lakes will provide its students with proper equipment to facilitate an active Ping Pong Club, a scholarship opportunity, both casual and competitive play, and ultimately, as we grow, school competitive participation between school teams!” He added. The Foundation will introduce the adaptive program to the school, including the donation of table tennis tables by the Table Tennis Charity Foundation and table tennis equipment supplier Kettler USA.

Members of Ocean Lakes High School Ping Pong Club playing on make-shift cafeteria table prior to receiving donation of regulation tables from Kettler USA.

The program kicked off with the Foundation’s chairman, neuropsychologist Dr. Scott Sautter, presenting a slide show to the students and a discussion of the science behind the benefits of table tennis.This was followed by demonstrations from local table tennis players Dean Johnson and Ron and Chris Weber.

It is the mission of the Table Tennis Charity Foundation to provide qualified schools with the Table Tennis Sports and Education Program – at NO cost. The goal is to “Cross-Train Your Brain”, both educationally and physically. The program provided to participating schools on behalf of the Table Tennis Charity Foundation benefits all ages and skill levels and will engage students, parents, faculty and staff who are committed to a successful integration and implementation.

Ping Pong Club members were grateful to receive 4 new tables donated by Kettler USA and have seen Club membership grow since receiving the new tables.

As described by Dr. Scott Sautter, “The neuroscience of playing Ping Pong has been described as a game of aerobic chess. It’s great for eyehand coordination, reflexes, balance, planning, strategy and a stress reliever exercising the mind and body in a safe activity for everyone.

The cool factor is that research has demonstrated the positive benefits to brain fitness, such as the report of a Japanese study that found just ten minutes of playing Ping Pong increased neuronal activity in the prefrontal cortex and cerebellum.” TheTable Tennis Charity Foundation is eager to raise awareness of the mental health and therapeutic benefits of playing Ping Pong.

Recently, USA Table Tennis endorsed Table Tennis Charity Foundation as a means to bringing“awareness of the benefits of playing table tennis to recreational players of any age and ability” said Ken Lees. “We are proud of the direction that Table Tennis Charity Foundation is heading, and hope to work towards increasing table tennis participation, including recognizing the physical and mental benefits playing the sport. We are excited about starting our program at Ocean Lakes, and look forward to bringing table tennis to all schools,” he added.

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Ken Lees, Founder and President of the Table Tennis Charity Foundation delivering presentation to students at Ocean Lakes High School in Virginia Beach on the benefits of playing table tennis. Photo by Dean Johnson

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Tournament 1400 1350 2650 2000 Event 1600 2250 1850 900 Choices

by Britt Salter, Mike Lauro, and Marguerite Cheung - ITTF level 2 certified coaches In this article, we examine an issue that, from our experience, is common with table tennis players below 2000. Far too often we see these players enter only rated events that are much higher than their current USATT rating. The players we’ve talked are mainly motivated to protect their current rating points and to sidestep the danger of losing points to players with the same or lower ratings.

By entering only high rated events, they hope to gain rating points with a lucky win against a much higher rated opponent. As coaches, we believe that this practice presents obstacles to improvement.

A player hones multiple skills by playing competitive matches against opponents with like ratings. Winning tough, competitive matches will give the player confidence in future matches. Learning how to win, especially close matches, and learning why a match was won or lost are critically important skills. The player may have to make adjustments and change tactics in order to win a match.

Properly evaluating the reasons behind a win or a “winnable loss” in a competitive match is a tool that will better serve the player’s future development than evaluating a loss against an opponent who vastly outclasses the player.

Playing only opponents rated 250 points or more above a player’s rating does not simulate competitive match play. Because the player is not expected to win and may be hoping to gain a rare upset, the player may not approach the match in the same way they would against an opponent of similar level. The prospects of a low rated player winning matches in higher rated events are usually not good, hence the player’s tournament experience may consist mostly of losing. Coming close to winning a game (or match) against a much higher rated player is not the same as winning a competitive match against a similarly rated opponent. The much higher rated opponent may be treating the duel as a warm up match, conserving energy and using the player to set up shots they want to practice for later matches against more challenging opponents.

The lower rated player is neither dictating the action nor likely to even see the opponents real game.

As an example, consider the following scenario. Let’s say a player with a rating of 1680 decides to go to a tournament offering the following events: U1100, U1300, U1500, U1700, U1900, U2100, U2300, and “Open” singles events. The player enters only the U2100, U2300, and Open events. Because this tournament will have competitive 2000+ and 2200+ opponents, the chances that the player will advance out of an initial round robin group are slim. The player is likely to run into other like-minded and similarly-rated players where they will have to engage in a competitive match.

What does the player learn from these matches that can be applied to future individual development and tournament competitions?

Basically, not much. Few of their matches will be competitive.

Against much higher rated opponents, the player may not actually

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experience a competitive match because they are dominated by the opponent’s higher skill. Wins will likely come from like-rated players and lower rated players. If the player is entering these events mainly to gain rating points, they may not be focused on learning from these more competitive matches.

As coaches, we feel that this 1680 player should first enter the U1700 event. We advise our students to enter the lowest rated event that they are eligible for. We want them to go into the event fully intending to win it! If they come up short but gave it their best effort, we are satisfied that we can use the results to improve the player’s development. We will modify training sessions as needed to address issues presented from the competitive matches.

As the player continues to play in tournaments, they may see their rating go up and down. But if we are doing our job as coaches, and the players are working hard to improve, then the overall trend of their rating will be UP! We also suggest entering the U1900 event. The player should be moderately competitive and is likely to have at least one or two tough matches. This will give them a first-hand look at “the next level”. Even if they lose most of their matches in this event, they will have the opportunity to learn what is required to compete at that level. If the player has boundless energy and is really ambitious, we’d be fine with them entering the U2100 event as well. They will probably get less benefit from this event, but it should be fun and they may play at least one competitive match.

We recommend that players ALWAYS enter the lowest rated event for which they qualify. Rating points may be won and lost, but the primary reason for playing in the lowest rated event is not related to rating points; it is to learn to build skills from playing competitive matches.

We want our students to learn to handle match pressure, fight for points, stay focused, maintain their composure, control their emotions, and adapt to players with different styles. We want them to learn how to find and exploit weakness of their opponent and to make appropriate adjustments in order to overcome tough opponents. In these tight matches, the difference between winning and losing may be miniscule. Small adjustments in serving, returning, placement, anticipation, balance, patience, consistency, or general shot selection are often the difference between a meaningful win and an agonizing loss. These skills are critical to building a solid foundation to advance to the next level. All of these skills matter! They matter at this level, the next, and the next…

Our advice to ambitious tournament players is fairly simple: DO NOT STRESS OR OBSESS OVER RATINGS POINTS!!!

As coaches, we are more impressed with experience that an event championship brings rather than sudden jumps in ratings points.

As players improve their skills and match playing ability, the ratings points will surely follow.

Spring Issue/April 2014 • usatt.org/MAGAZINE

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Table Tennis or Ping Pong?

So about a month ago I posted a video of me being interviewed on the Steve Harvey show for the launching of my website whoiswallygreen.com. As I was reading through the comments (as I usually do), I noticed one comment in particular. The comment noted how good it was, but stated that I should have used the phrase “table tennis” and not “ping pong”. It went on to say how ping pong is used in a derogatory way, conjuring up images of social/ casual table tennis as opposed to the sport he loves blah blah blah blah -- and not to mention the countless number of players who actually get angry when someone calls it that.

In my opinion I think its hilarious! All of you who do know me know how much I love the sport and want to see table tennis become a mainstream sport such as basketball or baseball. My life IS table tennis, ping pong, whiff waff, or whatever you want to call it. And my goal in this sport is to make it kool, popular and make it possible for players to make lots of money!

Now honestly, does anyone really think the phrase “table tennis” is real kool and inviting? Just try to step outside of the box for minute and really think about this. Of course

to the players it is but do you really think it is to people who dont know anything about this sport? I would say definitely not! Try it yourself. Go around and ask people who don’t play the sport what’s a better phrase for them and see what they tell you. I guarantee 90% if not more will say ping pong, and remember these are the same people we desperately need to help this sport grow!

Of course some of you will say “No, ping pong is what you play in the basement!” ...Yada yada yada. Says who??

Who made this rule that ping pong is played only in the basement, a hobby sport, or that its not the real sport table tennis is? The best players in the world call it Ping Pong!

I have never heard anyone in China call it table tennis. I am good friends with a few players who have even been on the Chinese National Team and never once in a conversation

did I hear them use the phrase table tennis - and this is coming from the best in the world by far! Not to mention table tennis is terrible name from a marketing perspective to make it popular. How many movies have you seen that used “table tennis” in the title? Answer....

ZERO. If it was such a great name for the sport it would be used universally, and its not.

One of the biggest historical events in this country is called “Ping Pong” Diplomacy! (Not table tennis diplomacy.) So instead of focusing so much energy getting angry when people call it ping pong just show them what its all about.

Ping Pong, Table Tennis, Whiff Whaf, Gossamer, Flim Flam....whatever... It all stands for same great sport we love so much. No matter what the name is, if its marketed and presented in the right way people will love it just as much as we do.

whoiswallygreen.com

Spring Issue/April 2014 • usatt.org/MAGAZINE

79

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