1 Star USATT Tournament Oct 8/06 by John Pahl
If you didn't know there was a tournament October 8th in Charlotte, you're not
the only one. It seems usatt dropped the ball as well as our paperwork resulting
in no promotional advertising on the usatt website. Still, we had a good showing.
A total of 34 entrants played in 7 events. First event started at 10:00 am sharp,
the last stragglers leaving near 10:00 pm.
With the 2006 US Open still fresh in many of our minds, the issue of umpiring,
specifically pertaining to the service rule enforcement was addressed. During
opening orientation, Referee John Pahl explained expected requirements:
attempt to serve legally tossing the ball in the air without imparting spin so your
opponent can see the entire motion. The key was to focus on intent. Either you
are making an effort to serve legally, or you are serving illegally for the
purpose of gaining an unfair advantage. If you toss the ball 12cm instead of 16,
it is not an infraction that will draw a complaint from opponent or umpire.
If you toss the ball 4-5 cm (pretty much right out your hand) because that's the
only way you can accomplish your top/side serve which is giving your opponent fits,
you can expect to get called on it. Umpiring purists will argue in favor of strict
rules, either your serve is legal or it isn't. The other 99.9% of us disagree with
the direction this strict stance is taking the sport. Prize money & trophies are
nice, but most of us play for the sheer fun & competition, (maybe even rating
points) not to satisfy an overbearing umpire or comply with international
competition guidelines. Needless to say, we had no service rule problems all day.
Umpires no one needed were Tom Miller, Edem Komlanvi & John Pahl.
Jesse Pahl handled the computer duties & drawsheets.
Thanks go to Paddle Palace for supplying the 3 star premium Nitaku balls, &
Butterfly for making us a good deal on the 7 Centerfold 25 Sky blue tables (we love)
purchased at the US Open.
We thank all those for attending, especially our 2000+ friends who have little to gain
but make it a more exciting & competetive event for all. Look for us again in January.
We'll be looking for all the mysterious no shows, you know who you are.
U1300 RR 1st/$20 2nd/$10
Group 1:
Joe Rigdon caught a break as Lefty Notestein opted out of the u1300's after
qualifying for the U1600 finals. This left Joe with 2 wins over Elias Gomez
jr & Khoa Vu to advance to the finals. Gomez came in 2nd with a win over Vu.
Group 2:
Bill Engelbreth came out on top with wins over Chris Saade, Gary Covington
& Christian Amidi. Saade came in 2nd, Covington 3rd & Amidi 4th.
Final:
Bill Engelbreth (1179) Won his first career tournament event with a
7,-8,8,-9, 7 win over veteran Joe Rigdon (1093). Rigdon kept in the match
with good serves & a strong backhand, focusing on steady play & keeping
the ball on the table, daring Engelbreth to attack. Engelbreth kept his
cool pressing the action, only losing points when trying for too much.
Hard work & practice does pay off.
U1600 RR 1st/$40 2nd/$20
Group1:
Unrated Moruph Osuolale, originally from Nigeria, may have been estimated a
little low based on his performance here & the rest of the day. He breezed
through his group (& the finals) without dropping a game. 1364 Daniel Espejel
came in 2nd with wins over 1368 Ryan Cook, 1093 Joe Rigdon & 428 Gary Covington,
the rest falling in order.
Group 2:
Lefty Notestein, 1299 left handed alter-ego of right handed 1714 Daniel Notestein,
(yes he has 2 usatt ID's), won his group but just barely after a 3 way tie for
1st place had him advance over 1434 Medhaven Potdar & unrated Salil Surendran.
Surendran came in 2nd, Potdar 3rd, Bill Engelbreth 4th & Elias Gomez jr 5th.
Group 3:
John Pahl (1534) came in 1st with wins over David England (1440), Chris Saade
(1126) Christian Amidi (434) and unrated Richard Zollinger. Saade updet England
-5,-6,11,5,7. Zollinger came in 4th with Amidi 5th.
Finals:
Osuolale won over Pahl 8,11,10 & Notestein 8,4,5. He is smart & tough. He wears
down his opponents with consistency, angles & patience. $40 to Osuolale.
Notestein won over Pahl -4, 6,8,9 for $20.
U1900 RR 1st/$60 2nd/$30
Group 1:
Amir Amidi cruised through his group without droppoing a game. Eric Bailey (1615)
wom over Tim Hoagland (1617) & unrated Richard Zollinger to claim 2nd. Hoagland
won over Zollinger as well to take 3rd.
Group 2:
Top seed in his group 1819 Ira Goodman was upset by 1659 Sam Faminiba (5,9,9),
& unrated Moruph Osuolale (-3,7,12,7). Osuolale also won over Faminiba (10,10,8).
Osuolale 1st, Faminiba 2nd, Goodman 3rd & Bill Engelbreth 4th.
Group 3:
Unrated Salil Surendran (who finished 3rd in his U1600 group) had a much better
showing here winning over 1794 Elias Gomez sr (10,-5,7,6) & 1673 Yuri Godin
(8,7,-10,3) & 1364 Daniel Espejel (7,-11,3,-8,3). Good serves & spinny loops are
his trademark. Gomez came in 2nd, Godin 3rd leaving Espejel with 4th.
Group 4:
1722 Adedayo Mokuolu dropped some games but won over 1722 Dennis Lee (-9,12,9,8),
1534 John Pahl (7,7,-8,10) & 1368 Ryan Cook (5,5,2). Good serves & a killer
forehand helped Moluolu advance in this & other events. The rest fell in order.
Group 5:
First major upset of the day with bottom seed but underestimated no more 1434
Medhaven Potdar winning over 1770 Van Vu (-7,7,7,10), 1724 Tom Miller (-8,10,10,-4,9)
& 1440 Dave England (9,6,-15,5). Everything came together in this opening round
for the all round all out attacker. Vu came in second, Miller 3rd & England 4th.
Semi Finals:
The battle of the unrated put had Moruph Osuolale win 7,7,-8,6 over Salil Surendran.
Adedayo Mokuolu won in straight games 7,7,8 over Medhaven Potdar.
Amir Amidi received a bye to the final RR.
Final RR
Top seed of the event 1830 Amir Amidi put an end to Osuolale's run (-9,-6,7,5,7) &
Mokuolu (7,-8,8,9). His left handed Seemiller style with pips on 1 side gives hitters
fits with his constant blocking while aggressive loops keep everyone else honest.
$60 to Amidi.
Mokuolu went on to take 2nd place & $30 -8,-10,10,8,7 over Osuolale.
Open RR 1st/$100 2nd/$50
Group 1:
Nigel Christopher played his first table tennis since comuing in 3rd at the 4 star Cary
Cup in march winning by 1,9,8,4,5,4,4,7,1. Van Vu won over Dennis Lee (-5,3,11,7)
& Daniel Espejel (10,11,10). Lee won over Espejel (7,6,-8,6).
Group 2:
Next big upset of the day saw 2nd tournament seed 2123 Pablo Perez lose to
fellow club member 1724 Tom Miller 7,2,-8,5. To be fair, Miller has been
playing left handed most of the time the last few years to earn the 1724 rating
due to an injury. In reality he is a strong 1900+ right handed Seemiller style
hitter/blocker, & reverted to righty here. This style is proving to be advantageous
for Miller, Amidi & Connelly. Miller won over Yuri Godin & Ryan Cook as well.
Perez came in 2nd, Godin 3rd & Cook 4th.
Group 3:
Set 'em up & knock 'em down. Last May Tim Connelly (another Seemiller stylist
with pips 1 side) dominated the day winning everything he could carry home.
Today he (2017) was upset 10,-9,9,9 by (1791) Adedayo Mokuolu, who also won
(but barely) -8,-10,10,8,7 over 1704 Bilal Soylu & 1440 Dave England.
Connelly came in 2nd, Soylu 3rd & England 4th.
Group 4:
1980 DJ Settle won his group without dropping a game while the rest fell
in order with Elias Gomez Sr 2nd, Tim Hoagland 3rd & John Pahl 4th.
Group 5:
Chris OBrian (1916) prevailed over probably the most competetive group,
9,9,-9,9,9,9,9,10,10,-9,7. Unrated Moruph Osuolale came in 2nd over 1799
Edem Komlanve & 1659 Sam Faminiba. Komlanve 3rd, Faminiba 4th. Komlanve
has been 1900 & Faminiba 1800, making it tougher than the current ratings
suggested.
Group 6:
Amir Amidi won the group but not without a fight, 3-2, 3-2 3-1. The next 3
positions were determined by a 3 way tie breaker: they were all 1 win & 2 losses,
they were all 3 & 3 in games, (that mattered), eventually it went down to points per
game. Salil Surendran came in 2nd, Ira Goodman 3rd & Eric Bailey 4th.
Let this be a lesson: every point matters!
Semi-Finals:
3 matches would determine the final 3 man RR.
1st up was 2376 Nigel Christopher vs 1830 Amir Amidi. Again, ratings are
temporary & not always an accurate indication of what to expect or predict a
sure thing. (Amidi was 2005 earlier this year). Still, almost 400 points is a
big gap. Unless you match up a looper & a blocker. Unless that looper is
semi retired & hasn't practiced at all. Unless this is the underdogs dream
match & he's primed for it. Fast forward to the 3rd game. Amidi is ahead
2-0 in games, excited, but focused. Christpher is stoic, nothing. 3rd game
to Christopher 11-2. He is mixing up the loops now, hard, soft, who knows
until it's too late. Amidi deals with it better in the 4th, losing 11-7.
The 5th is pretty much the same, 11-8. Amidi is in it all the way, but 400
points is too much today.
DJ Settle advanced to the final RR when Adedayo Mokuolu defaulted, opting
to save the last of his energy for the Single Elimination final.
Chris OBrian won over Tom Miller 8,8,-9,9 to determine the last of the finalists.
Final 3 Man RR:
Chris OBrian brought his optimistic high energy never say die attitude to
challenge Nigel Christopher. While those elements are important, he needed
more to take on former Caribbean & National champion. You don't get to be
2500+ without picking up a few tricks along the way. Christopher controlled
play often without resorting to his power loops, catching OBrian in the wrong
corner lunging & stabbing at simple returns out of reach. Many points were
lost misreading serves as well. Every once in a while an untouched loop drove
home the point 4,5,4 Christopher.
DJ Settle stepped up next to take a beating. He has been 2069 recently but came
in today at 1980. DJ exhibited a leaner frame than in the past, but certainly
lost no power with the weight loss. He really has great power from both sides,
& when he's on he is unstoppable in his class. The question is can he move up?
Like Amidi earlier Settle won the first 2 games. (Maybe they had a little chat?)
He junped on every opportunity & was on! He read serves well, tried to be the
first to attack, even relooped a couple. Game 3 to Christopher 11-5. Game 4 to
Christopher 11-8. Game 5 to Christopher 11-5. It had to be exhillerating &
disheartening at the same time. They both had the skills, one just had more
experience & depth of weaponry. 1st place & $100 to Nigel Christopher.
Even though he rarely makes an appearance, Christophers presence in Charlotte
does not go unappreciated. His technically perfect & graceful powerful style
inspires & leaves an impact when he does participate.
Chris OBrian & DJ Settle now played for 2nd plave & $50. Not the first time for
these two: 9,9,-9,-9,9. Hard to say why one won & one lost. This time OBrian
took home the money & points.
It's a shame we didn't get to see some anticipated matchups: Christopher vs Perez,
Christopher vs Connelly & Perez vs Connelly didn't happen due to early round upsets.
Christopher's looping vs Connelly's blocking would have been a great mix of styles.
Perez' wins at the World teams in Germany this year had him confident for the challenge.
These top seeds were expected to be in the final RR but Tom Miller & Adedayo Mokuolu
had different ideas, even though they were derailed on the way to the finals as well.
Open Single Elimination 1st/$60
The 4th Event of the day started @ 6:00 pm. $60 winner take all for 1st place.
Round 1:
Matches of note: Eric Bailey challenged Bilal Soylu but fell short 6,-8,8,9;
slammin' Sam Faminiba (1659) prevailed over Yuri Godin (1673) -10,2,11,12.
Round 2:
1980 DJ Settle was upset by Dr. Mokuolu 9,-9,10,12, Sam Faminiba gave Van Vu a
hard time -10,9,-9,6,7. 1724 Tom Miller over 1819 Ira Goodman 3,-9,-9,6,9.
Round 3:
This semi final round saw Mokuolu win over Vu -4,-7,5,8,10. (Don't you hate winning
the 1st 2 & losing the next 3), compared to Connelly run through Miller 1,6,8.
Final:
Physician heal thyself! Dr. Adedayo Mokuolu needed a magic pill to give himself
some extra energy to get through the last match, but had to call it quits after
4 games due to cramping. To his credit it was his 13th match of the day. Connelly
got his revenge here after losing to Mokuolu in the 1st round of the Open RR.
1st place & $60 to Tim Connelly.
U3700 Doubles 1st/$60
The 3 teams of Tim Connelly/Ryan Cook, Tom Miller/John Pahl & Chris OBrian/Bilal
Soylu ended up in the final RR with OBrian/Soylu coming in 1st & Miller/Pahl 2nd.
Father/Son Doubles
This impromptu event with nothing to gain but family pride ended with top seeds
1830 Amir Amidi & 434 Christian Amidi vs 1770 Van Vu & 354 Khoa Vu.
A 5 game battle ended with the Vu family winning.
Make no mistake here, these guys were hitting real shots & the fathers could
barely keep up. Hopefully we can expand this event in the future.
Handicap Single Elimination 1st/$40
This last event of the day gave the never say die/don't have enough sense to call
it quits hardcore players a last chance at fame & fortune.
Our version of the hadicap match was designed to even the odds within the 11
point format. The lower rated player starts each 3/5 game match with points based
on diffrence in ratings: 2 for the first hundred & 1 more every hundred after that
to a maximum of 6. Names were drawn from a hat to pair the 1st round.
Players ranged from 1093 to 2017. As it turned out 60+ yrs young 1093 Joe Rigdon
had to face 2017 Tim Connelly. 6 points were not enough to land Rigdon a game,
so we may have to tweak the format to a maximum of 8 points.
2nd match of the 1st round had 1534 John Pahl vs 1368 Ryan Cook. Pahl won in 4
games with Cook stating 3-0 each game. Bilal Soylu started every game 3-0 against
Chris OBrian & won in 5. Tom Miller advanced with a bye.
Pahl won over Connelly in 4 games with the same 6-0 start Rigdon enjoyed.
Soylu & Miller played a straight up match with Miller winning in 4.
The final match had Miller win over Pahl in 4 games. 3-0 starts were enough to
keep it competetive, but Miller had more gas in the tank.
Overall the format worked, we probably need another tournament with more matches
to get more stats to process. From personal experience I can tell you the biggest
advantage is confidence. 1534 starting out 6-0 against a 2017 is advantageous but
not excessive. Pahl lost the 1st game against Connelly, but came out swinging the
next 3. Even though only 5 points were needed by Pahl, Connelly scored few points
being tentative. Straight up the 2000 player can play safe & let the 1500 player make
mistakes. Not so in the handicap format.
Aggression wins points & this is the lesson to be learned in this kind of match.
The player starting behind as well as the player starting ahead need to both play
like every point is the last & take that attitude to regular competition.
This format is also useful in regular practice. This format creates a more
competetive atmosphere between 2 players of vastly different ratings as well as
reducing playing time. The higher rated player often takes the easy route of
playing soft allowing the less experienced player to lose by errors. The higher
rated players also resort to this tactic to save their energy for more competetive
matches. While this is common & a fact of life, hopefully some will use this
format to create a mutually competetive playing environment.
