Saturday, January 12th, 2008

Nan Li Photo By: Evan Rosen/The Triangle

As day two of the Olympic Trials comes to a close, there are four women who are just three matches away from advancing to the North American Trials in Vancouver, Canada from April 4 - April 6.

Crystal Yao has dismantled her opponents, going 6-0 and winning 24 of her 26 games. She looks to go undefeated when she faces Jacqueline Lee (4-1) and Whitney Ping (3-2) to conclude her round robin-schedule.

Three women are tied for second, meaning Ping needs to finish off strong in order to make the final cut:
1. Yao Huang (6-0)
2. Jasna Reed (4-1)
3. Nan Li (4-1)
4. Jacqueline Lee (4-1)
5. Whitney Ping (3-2)
6. Judy Hugh (2-4)
7. Ariel Hsing (1-5)
8. Olena Sowers (0-5)
9. Barbara Wei (0-5)

Photo By: Molly McGoey/The Triangle

Tomorrow is the last day of Team USA table tennis trials here at Drexel. If you have been sleeping on this event for the last three days I recommend you make your way to the DAC to check it out.

I was definitely skeptical about this being an exciting event, but was proved wrong as soon as I stepped foot into the DAC. The gym was packed with six tables of some of the best table tennis you will ever see. There was so much action, with as many as six games going on at a time, that it was hard to keep up.

The two standouts of the tournament so far are David Zhuang (7-1) on the men’s side and Yao Huang (6-0) on the women’s side.

Although the playoffs are on, it would be worth your while to at least stop by during halftime and check out these potential olympians.

Here are the standings heading into the final day of competition.

Men

1. David Zhuang (7-1)

2. Yinghua Cheng (6-2)

2. Eric Owens (6-2)

2. Han Xiao (6-2)

5. Mark Hazinski (5-3)

5. Khoa Nguyen (5-3)

5. Yu Shao (5-3)

8. Razvan Cretu (3-5)

9. Adam Hugh (2-6)

9. Sean Lonergan (2-6)

12. Tahl Leibovitz (0-8)

David Zhuang Photo By: Evan Rosen/The Triangle
David Zhuang (7-1) established himself as the number one seed heading into the last day of competition with a six game victory over Mark Hazinski (11-7)(8-11)(11-8)(7-11)(11-5)(11-9), who feel to 5-3.

After the match, Zhuang ran over and gave his coach a high five before slamming his racket down in celebration. He then pumped his fist and screamed to the crowd, which seemed to like his flare for the game.

Eric Owens was defeated by Yinghua Cheng (11-7)(11-9)(8-11)(6-11)(8-11)(5-11), in another match featuring two of the trials’ top players. Both men are tied for second place with 6-2 records.

Khoa Nguyen (5-3) regained his winning ways with a victory over local favorite Razvan Cretu (12-10)(11-4)(9-11)(13-11)(15-13). Cretu is in 8th place with a 3-5 record.

Yu Shao (5-3) swept John Leach, who is 1-7, with scores of (11-8)(11-9)(18-16)(11-8).

Han Xiao (6-2) is tied with Eric Owens for second place heading into the last day. He defeated Sean Lonergan (2-6) in a very tough match that went the distance (8-11)(11-8)(11-1)(11-9)(9-11)(8-11)(11-8).

Tahl Leibovitz remains winless after Adam Hugh, 2-6 overall, routed him (11-4)(11-4)(11-6)(11-9).

With one day remaining, David Zhuang, Eric Owens, Yinghua Cheng, and Han Xiao are in the best positions for the top four spots.

Yao Huang Photo By: Evan Rosen/The Triangle

For someone who had never beaten her opponent before, Yao Huang (6-0) mastered the top -ranked Jasna Reed (4-1) in incredible fashion, winning in just five games (13-11) (11-7) (8-11) (11-9) (11-8).

“I’ve never beaten [Jasna] before,” Huang said. “I’ve had the lead before, but I always lost and didn’t have any confidence.”

Reed had a chance to tie the match at two sets a piece, but blew a 9-7 lead and gave up four straight points. Reed couldn’t collect herself as she lost the fifth and final game.

Huang not only has an undefeated record, but she has won a stunning 24 of her 26 games, including just one loss yesterday.

“Yesterday, I didn’t play good,” the modest Huang said. “But today I know I did good.”

Despite that being the match of the tournament, much of the focus was put toward the match between Ariel Hsing and Whitney Ping. On several occasions, the crowd roared in applause when the 12-year-old Hsing won points. Unfortunately, Hsing couldn’t avoid getting swept (11-5) (11-9) (11-1) (15-13).

Olena Sowers (0-5) was unable to pick up a win in the sixth round, falling to Judy Hugh (2-4) in straight sets (12-10) (11-5) (11-9) (11-6).

In the other match, Jacqueline Lee (4-1) earned a much need victory to remain above the four-person cut for the North American Trials, as she defeated Barbara Wei (0-5) in straight sets (11-6) (12-10) (11-4) (11-6).

In three of the first games of the sixth-round matches, the sets went into overtime.

Sowers and Wei have yet to win.

Reed, Li and Lee are tied for second with 4-1 records.

David Zhuang Photo By: Evan Rosen/The Triangle

David Zhuang lived up to his reputation as a showboater during the 3:00 PM round of matches.

Zhuang (6-1) made light work of Philadelphian Razvan Cretu (3-4), earning a sweep (11-8)(11-9)(11-7)(11-9).

Tied for first in the standings with Zhuang is Eric Owens (6-1), who is becoming a crowd favorite. In perhaps the most thrilling match of the round, Owens defeated Sean Lonergan in six games (11-7)(11-8)(8-11)(7-11)(11-9)(11-4).

In other action, Yinghua Cheng improved to 5-2 with his victory over John Leach (8-11)(11-5)(11-3)(11-8)(11-5), who is near the bottom of the standings with a 1-6 overall record.

Mark Hazinski defeated Tahl Leibovitz (0-7) in five games (14-12)(8-11)(11-7)(11-9)(11-9) to boost his overall record to 5-2.

Khoa Nguyen (4-3) lost his fourth match in a row to Yu Shao (4-3) in four games (11-7)(11-8)(11-3)(11-7).

Han Xiao (5-2) frustrated Adam Hugh (1-6) on his way to a victory in five games (12-10)(11-5)(11-3)(11-13)(11-7).

Cheng, Hazinski, and Xiao are tied for third with 5-2 records, as the competition for the last two spots heats up.

Attendance for the 3:00 PM round was 1,550.

The Sold Out Crowd Photo By: Evan Rosen/The Triangle

At 8 AM, there were about 100 people in Drexel’s Daskalakis Athletic Center. For the 1:00 PM women’s matches, that number has probably reached over 1,000. At 1:41 PM, an announcement was made that tickets were sold out.

With all but one women’s match finished early, all eyes turned toward the Ariel Hsing and Jasna Reed match table. This one was exciting, going to a seventh and final set. Reed trailed 4-2, before scoring seven straight points to take a 9-4 lead.

Ariel Hsing Photo By: Evan Rosen/The Triangle

Reed (4-0) won the set over the Hsing (1-4) by a score of 11-5 to take the overall match (11-6) (8-11) (11-9) (11-2) (8-11) (9-11) (11-5).

Meanwhile, Yao Huang (5-0) picked up her fourth sweep (11-2) (11-6) (11-3) (11-8) by beating the previously undefeated Nan Li (4-1).

The sets up the most anticipated match of the tournament between Reed and Yao Huang (5-0), the only two remaining undefeated players.

Barbara Wei (0-4) remained winless against Judy Hugh (1-4), losing in five sets (11-8) (8-11) (3-11) (4-11) (10-12).

In the other match in the fifth round, Whitney Ping evened her record to 2-2 by defeating Olena Sowers (0-4). Ping is currently in fifth place, just one game behind Jacqueline Lee, for the fourth and final qualifying spot for the North American Trials.

David Zhuang Photo By: Evan Rosen/The Triangle

David Zhuang and Eric Owens have battled their way to the top of the standings with only five matches left to play.

Both players improved to 5-1 after their victories at 11 A.M.

Zhuang defeated Khoa Nguyen (4-2) in six games (11-13) (11-7) (15-13) (11-9) (8-11) (11-5) and Owens bested Mark Hanzinski (4-2) in five games (11-7) (11-6) (5-11) (11-7) (13-11).

Yingua Cheng (4-2) beat Adam Hugh (1-5) in five games (11-8) (11-5) (11-8) (8-11) (11-8) to stay just a match behind in the standings.

Han Xiao also improved to 4-2 after dispatching of Razvan Cretu in five games (11-8) (11-9) (13-11) (10-12) (11-5).

Yu Shao is 3-3 after his straight game win over Tahl Leibovitz (11-8) (11-9) (11-4) (11-6). Leibovitz is still seeking his first win (0-6).

Finally, Sean Lonergan (2-4) beat Mike Leach (1-5) in six games (7-11) (12-10) (8-11) (11-5) (11-4) (11-8).

Yao Huang Photo By: Evan Rosen/The Triangle
So far through the tournament, no player has been more dominant than California’s Yao Huang. Out of the 17 sets she has played thus far, she has lost only one of those.Huang continued her impressive play in defeating Olena Sowers in straight sets (11-8) (11-7) (11-3) (11-6) to improve to 4-0. Sowers dropped to 0-3.

Nan Li (4-0), also out of California, continued her undefeated streak in her fourth-round match, winning against Ariel Hsing (11-3) (11-4) (9-11) (11-6) (11-4), who dropped to a 1-3 record.
Jasna Reed (4-0), the third undefeated women in the round-robin tournament, won in a competitive six sets (10-11) (11-9) (6-11) (11-6) (11-9) (13-11) against Judy Hugh (0-4).
In the last set, Reed screamed in enthusiasm when she won a big point, but apologized to the fans.

“It just comes out when you win, sometimes,” Reed said. “I don’t want people to get the wrong idea that I’m doing it for publicity. I don’t make a sound after every point.”

Jacqueline Lee (3-1) won a crucial match in five sets (11-9) (11-4) (7-11) (11-4) (14-12) over Whitney Ping (1-2). With the win, Lee remains in fourth place, just at the cutoff spot for the North American Trials in Vancouver, Canada April 4 - April 6.

The biggest match of the tournament is coming up at 1 PM against Huang and Li, both of whom are undefeated.

Mark Hazinski Photo By: Evan Rosen/The Triangle

There are no longer any unbeaten players on the men’s side.

Mark Hazinski (4-1), who entered his match against Han Xiao (3-2) as the only undefeated player left in the field, lost in five games (11-3) (11-5) (11-7) (7-11) (11-5).

By Stephanie Takach

The Olympic Table Tennis Trials have taken over Drexel University for the weekend. As I was eating lunch today, I saw two players and their coach enjoying their lunch and wanted to get a closer look.

Razvan Cretu has been a table tennis athlete since he was our years old. He grew up in Romania and began playing after his parents notice that he had a lot of excess energy. When Cretu was 14 years old he went to Greece and Sweden to continue his table tennis career before moving to the US in 1992.

Cretu explained that table tennis is much bigger in Asia and Europe than in the US.

“That’s where the money is,” he said.

A typical week for Cretu involves six days, eight hours a day preparing for competitions. He spends three hours in the gym and four hours practicing with a partner or a robot. He made the U.S. National Team in 1997 and 1998.

Aside from table tennis, Cretu likes to play tennis, basketball and football.

Tahl Leibovitz has been playing table tennis for 15 years and has already qualified for the Para-Olympic Team, a disabled table tennis team.

He began playing table tennis after he learned that it would help his reflects for martial arts. He plays matches 2-3 times a week for practice.

In the trials, the top four contenders will face the top four contenders from Canada for a spot in the Olympics. The top five will make the U.S. National team.