Friday, January 11th, 2008

Adam Hugh Photo By: Evan Rosen/The Triangle

Men’s standings through Friday (1/11)

Mark Hazinski ……….. (4-0)

David Zhuang ………… (3-1)

Khoa Nguyen ………… (3-1)

Eric Owens ……………. (3-1)

Han Xiao ……………….. (2-2)

Yu Shao …………………. (2-2)

Razvan Cretu …………. (2-2)

Yinghua Cheng ………. (2-2)

John Leach …………….. (1-3)

Sean Lonergan ……….. (1-3)

Adam Hugh ……………. (1-3)

Tahl Leibovitz …………. (0-4)

The three qualifiers from Thursday’s action (Cretu, Leach, and Leibovitz) have not fared too well, combining to go 3-9. The men’s draw was littered with seven set matches which led to some intense action, but the intrigue may have piqued before one serve was made. Top seed Ilija Lupulesku dropped out of the tournament before the start of play. He was replaced by John Leach who was a finalist in the qualifier draw. The men will play four matches each tomorrow at 9 A.M., 11 A.M., 2 P.M. and 4 P.M.

Match to watch: Mark Hazinski (4-0) against Eric Owens (3-1) – 11 A.M. at Table 5.

The two represent a clash of styles battle for supremacy at the top of the standings.

Women’s standings through Friday (1/11)

Yao Huang …………. (3-0)

Nan Li ………………… (3-0)

Jasna Reed ………… (2-0)

Jacqueline Lee …… (2-1)

Whitney Ping …….. (1-1)

Ariel Hsing …………. (1-2)

Olena Sowers …….. (0-2)

Judy Hugh ………….. (0-3)

Barbara Wei ………. (0-3)

There seems to be some serious separation in competition between the best and worst players in the field as there are three unbeatens and three that have yet to win a match. Tomorrow’s matches should be intense as all the unbeatens will face another unbeaten opponent by the end of the day. Women’s action will commence at 1 P.M. and 3 P.M.

Match to watch: Jasna Reed (2-0) against Yao Huang (3-0) – 1 P.M. at Table 1.

The top two seeds square off in a battle that may very well decide the tournament.

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David Zhuang Photo By: Evan Rosen/The Triangle

David Zhuang (3-1) and Eric Owens (3-1) certainly had the match of the session as each rally was its own mini-battle, and the fans knew it. The match was the last one to finish today, and it held all the fans in suspense until Owens squeaked by in seven sets (11-8) (11-7) (8-11) (5-11) (13-11) (8-11) (11-6).

Mark Hazinski (4-0) continued to steamroll the field as he dominated John Leach (1-3) in straight sets (11-8) (11-4) (12-10) (11-9).

Khoa Nguyen (3-1) outlasted the top remaining seed Yinghua Cheng (2-2) in seven games (11-9) (11-9) (6-11) (6-11) (11-9) (5-11) (11-6). Cheng’s day finished on a tough note as he lost his last two matches in seven sets.

Philadelphia resident Razvan Cretu (2-2) has lost eight of his last nine sets as he was swept by Adam Hugh (11-8) (11-9) (13-11) (11-7). That was Hugh’s first victory in the tournament.

Han Xiao (2-2) easily handled Tahl Leibovitz (0-4) after Xiao was able to finally win the first game (17-15) (11-7) (11-8) (11-9).

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Jasna Reed Photo By: Evan Rosen/The Triangle

Competitive rallys entertained the fans throughout the third round of the women’s matches. Every winner had to really earn their stripes against their respective opponents.

Top-seed Jasna Reed (2-0) held off Olena Sowers in four straight sets by an 11-8 score in every game.

12 year-old Ariel Hsing (1-2) finally broke through to win her first match over Barbara Wei (0-3) in five sets (13-15) (11-8) (11-8) (11-3) (11-5).

Yao Huang (3-0) kept Judy Hugh (0-3) at bay despite a late run by Hugh (11-9) (11-5) (3-11) (11-9) (14-12).

In the battle of unbeatens, Nan Li (3-0) won easily in her battle with Jacqueline Lee (2-1) in five sets (11-7) (7-11) (11-2) (13-11) (11-6).

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Photo By: Molly McGoey/The Triangle

For the spectators at the Daskalakis Athletic Center, they are getting quite the show as three of the six third-round matches went to a seventh set.

In possibly the most thrilling match of the day, Sean Lonergan (1-2) pulled off a seven-set win over Tahl Leibovitz (0-3), after trailing three sets to one.

In the final set, the score was tied 9-9 before Leibovitz was called for a questionable fault, which caused some fans to question the referee’s officiating.

In another excited match, David Zhuang (3-0) avoided the upset and came from behind to erase a 3-1 set deficit to beat Adam Hugh (0-3) in seven sets (12-14) (11-8) (10-12) (10-12) (11-9) (11-7) (11-5).

“He didn’t beat me, I beat myself,” Hugh, one of the fan favorites said.

Han Xiao (1-2) upset Yinghua Chen (2-1) in seven sets (11-8) (8-11) (8-11) (13-11) (11-7) (6-11) (11-4) to pick up his first win of the round-robin tournament.

After the first four sets were all within three points, the average point differential by the winner in the last three sets was over five.

Eric Owens (2-1) had little trouble in defeating John Leach (1-2) in straight sets (11-6) (11-2) (11-6) (12-10).

In the most anticipated match of the round and a battle of undefeateds, Mark Hazinski (3-0) beat Khoa Nguyen (2-1) in six sets (11-6) (10-12) (9-11) (14-12) (11-4) (11-9).

Yu Shao (1-2) beat the Philly fan favorite, Razvan Cretu (2-1), in just five sets (11-4) (11-7) (11-6) (3-11) (11-6), ending Cretu’s winning streak at six, dating back to yesterday’s qualifying tournament.

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Jacqueline Lee Photo By: Evan Rosen/The Triangle

There was a lot of pure domination displayed in the 1:00 pm women’s matches, including impressive wins by Jacqueline Lee and Yao Huang who won both of their matches in straight sets.

Jasna Reed (1-0) defeated Barbara Wei (0-2) in six sets (11-8) (11-6) (12-14) (8-11) (11-5) (11-7).

Yao Huang (2-0) looked simply brilliant in knocking off Ariel Hsing (0-2) in just four sets (13-11) (11-2) (11-7) (11-4).

After losing her first set, Nan Li (2-0) won the most exciting set of the second round, to win 14-12 in her second set. She then win on to win the next three sets in defeating Whitney Ping (1-1) in five sets (11-13) (14-12) (11-3) (11-8) (11-9).

Jacqueline Lee (2-0) capped of a solid performance in defeating Judy Hugh (0-2) in straight sets (11-9) (11-3) (11-2) (11-7) to be one of just three women to remain undefeated.

Olena Sowers (0-1) had a bye in the second round and will face Jasna Reed at 3 P.M.

The four matches at 3 P.M. are the last women’s of the day.

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Yinghua Cheng Photo By: Evan Rosen/The Triangle

At 11:00 A.M. the men were back in action for their second matches.

John Leach (1-1) evened his record with a win over Tahl Leibovitz (0-2) in straight sets (11-7) (11-6) (11-6) (11-6).

Razvan Cretu (2-0) remained undefeated with a victory in straight sets over Sean Lonergan (0-2) (11-6) (11-6) (11-9) (11-2).

Yinghua Cheng (2-0) beat Yu Shao (0-2) in a seven-set thriller to stay unbeaten (11-7) (11-8) (9-11) (5-11) (11-4) (8-11) (11-9).

Shao was up 9-7 in the final set, but Cheng converted on four straight points to win.

David Zhuang (2-0) defeated Han Xiao (0-2) in five sets (11-7) (11-9) (11-9) (6-11) (11-5).

Mark Hazinski (2-0) withstood a late rally from Adam Hugh (0-2) to win in six sets (11-2) (11-4) (11-7) (9-11) (8-11) (11-9).

Hugh had to dig himself out of an early hole after losing the first three sets but he won the next two sets and got within 8-7 in the fifth after firing a winner during a furious rally. Hazinski would win three of the next five points to win the deciding set 11-9.

“The first two games killed me,” Hugh said.

Khoa Nguyen (2-0) was a straight set winner over Eric Owens (1-1) (11-5) (11-8) (11-7) (11-1).

Five players remain undefeated.

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Photo By: Evan Rosen/The Triangle

There is a lot of star power as the begin this Friday morning, Jan. 11 at 9:00 A.M.

Many have been a part of the National team or made the Olympic team in previous years.

From Friday, Jan. 11 to Sunday, Jan. 13 the 12 remaining competitors will face each other in 11 matches, one match against each competitor.

The closest match of the first hour occurred on Table 2 where No. 4 seed Mark Hazinski (Mishawaka, Ind.) needed the full seven sets to defeat No. 9 seed Yu Shao (White Plains, NY) (11-5) (6-11) (11-7) (7-11) (4-11) (11-7) (11-9).

No. 6 seed Khoa Nguyen (San Jose, Calif.) scored a five set victory over No. 7 seed Adam Hugh (Warren, NJ) (11-9) (10-12) (11-8) (11-8) (11-7).

Hugh was disappointed in his performance.

“I didn’t play well,” Hugh said. “I’ve beaten Khoa before.”

Yesterday’s first qualifier and Philadelphia native Razvan Cretu defeated John Leach in straight sets (11-6) (11-6) (11-9) (11-2).
Leach was defeated by Tahl Leibovitz in the second qualifying match, but was given an exception due to a player withdrawl.

In other matches No. 2 seed Yingua Cheng (Boyds, Md.) bested qualifier Tahl Leibovitz (Ozone Park, NY) in five sets (11-8) (7-11) (12-10) (11-4) (11-1), No. 3 seed David Zhuang (West Windsor, NJ) defeated No. 10 seed Sean Lonergan (Germantown, Md.) in straight sets (11-5) (11-3) (11-6) (11-8), and No. 5 seed Eric Owens (Oakbrook Terrace, Ill.) beat No. 8 seed Han Xiao (Germantown, Md.) in yet another seven set thriller (11-2) (11-2) (7-11) (12-10) (5-11) (11-6) (11-9).

The women are up next. Their first matches will begin at 10:00 A.M.

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At 11:00 A.M. the men were back in action for their second matches.

John Leach (1-1) evened his record with a win over Tahl Leibovitz (0-2) in straight sets (11-7) (11-6) (11-6) (11-6).

Razvan Cretu (2-0) remained undefeated with a victory in straight sets over Sean Lonergan (0-2) (11-6) (11-6) (11-9) (11-2).
Yinghua Cheng (2-0) beat Yu Shao (0-2) in a seven-set thriller to stay unbeaten (11-7) (11-8) (9-11) (5-11) (11-4) (8-11) (11-9).

Shao was up 9-7 in the final set, but Cheng converted on four straight points to win.

David Zhuang (2-0) defeated Han Xiao (0-2) in five sets (11-7) (11-9) (11-9) (6-11) (11-5).

Mark Hazinski (2-0) withstood a late rally from Adam Hugh (0-2) to win in six sets (11-2) (11-4) (11-7) (9-11) (8-11) (11-9).

Hugh had to dig himself out of an early hole after losing the first three sets but he won the next two sets and got within 8-7 in the fifth after firing a winner during a furious rally. Hazinski would win three of the next five points to win the deciding set 11-9.

“The first two games killed me,” Hugh said.

Khoa Nguyen (2-0) was a straight set winner over Eric Owens (1-1) (11-5) (11-8) (11-7) (11-1).

Five players remain undefeated.

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At 10:00 A.M. the women began their round-robin tournament.

Winning their opening matches were No. 2 seed Yao Huang (San Gabriel, Calif.) in straight sets over No. 9 seed Barbara Wei (Gaithersburg, Md.) (11-5) (11-8) (11-2) (11-4), No. 3 seed Nan Li (San Jose, Calif.) in five sets over No. 8 seed Olena Sowers (Athens, Ohio) (11-7) (10-12) (11-3) (11-3) (11-4).

No. 4 seed Jacqueline Lee (San Francisco, Calif.) won in straight sets over No. 7 seed Ariel Hsing (San Jose, Calif.) (11-4) (11-5) (11-8) (11-7) and No. 6 seed Whitney Ping (Beaverton, Ore.), who upset No. 5 seed Judy Hugh (Warren, NJ) in six sets (11-9) (11-4) (9-11) (13-11) (9-11) (11-6).

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There is a lot of star power as the begin this Friday morning, Jan. 11 at 9:00 A.M.

Many have been a part of the National team or made the Olympic team in previous years.

From Friday, Jan. 11 to Sunday, Jan. 13 the 12 remaining competitors will face each other in 11 matches, one match against each competitor.

The closest match of the first hour occurred on Table 2 where No. 4 seed Mark Hazinski (Mishawaka, Ind.) needed the full seven sets to defeat No. 9 seed Yu Shao (White Plains, NY) (11-5) (6-11) (11-7) (7-11) (4-11) (11-7) (11-9).

No. 6 seed Khoa Nguyen (San Jose, Calif.) scored a five set victory over No. 7 seed Adam Hugh (Warren, NJ) (11-9) (10-12) (11-8) (11-8) (11-7).

Hugh was disappointed in his performance.

“I didn’t play well,” Hugh said. “I’ve beaten Khoa before.”

Yesterday’s first qualifier and Philadelphia native Razvan Cretu defeated John Leach in straight sets (11-6) (11-6) (11-9) (11-2).

Leach, who was defeated by Tahl Leibovitz in the second qualifying match, but was given an exception due to a player withdrawl.

In other matches No. 2 seed Yingua Cheng (Boyds, Md.) bested qualifier Tahl Leibovitz (Ozone Park, NY) in five sets (11-8) (7-11) (12-10) (11-4) (11-1), No. 3 seed David Zhuang (West Windsor, NJ) defeated No. 10 seed Sean Lonergan (Germantown, Md.) in straight sets (11-5) (11-3) (11-6) (11-8), and No. 5 seed Eric Owens (Oakbrook Terrace, Ill.) beat No. 8 seed Han Xiao (Germantown, Md.) in yet another seven set thriller (11-2) (11-2) (7-11) (12-10) (5-11) (11-6) (11-9).

The women are up next. Their first matches will begin at 10 AM.

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