The best junior table tennis player in Charlotte in 2006 is Elias Gomez jr,
& the best junior female is Alma Beciragic.
In our first youth tournament, 25 entrants representing 10 different schools
competed in 5 different events to decide who was the best.
Thanks to our sponsors: Paddle Palace, Butterfly, Charlotte Park & Rec.
Charlotte Table Tennis Club members John Pahl & Tom Miller ran the event.
All matches were best 3 out of 5, games were to 11 points.
Most players entering 2 age events & doubles played at least 7 matches.
With 12 trophies to hand out, @ half the players could expect to win proof of their skill.
7 players ended up sharing the 12 trophies, with 3 players dominating the day.
The overall winner won in 3 events, as did the runner up.
The top girl won in 2 events.
Not to say they didn't have a lot of competition along the way, to the contrary:
There were some very good players with varied styles.
Choice of weapons included inverted rubber, hardbat, sandpaper & even bare wood.
All participants were well behaved, winning with courtesy & losing with grace.
Even though there were some disappointments after fierce battles, a handshake
usually followed the match.
We hope to offer another tournament in the spring, hoping all these players will
return as well as reaching more young people interested in competition.
Under 14
The final 3 in this event were Khoa Vu (David Cox), Christian Amidi (SW Mid)
& Philo Mina (Providence). 9 year old Khoa Vu took 1st place, 12 year old
Christian Amidi came in 2nd with 13 year old Philo Mina 3rd. Both Vu & Amidi
won over Mina, so their match would determine the event winner.
It took 5 games, but eventually Khoa Vu won over Christian Amidi 9,-7,-8,6,9
to become Charlottes best junior under 14.
Under 16
Preliminary round robin groups:
Christian Amidi (SW Mid) advanced over Tom Y (W Meck) & Will Potts (Myers).
Christian Rautenstrauch (Prov Day) advanced over Andrew Masten (Myers) & Khoa Vu (Cox).
Travis Jamison (Myers) advanced over Spencer Willis (Myers) & Eileen Encarnacion (W Meck).
Elias Gomez (Crestdale) advanced over Eddie McGrath (East Meck) & Alma Beciragic (Myers).
BT Bennight (East Meck) advanced over Ryan Mass (Butler) & Philo Mina (Providence).
A semi final would decide the last 3 players:
Rautenstrach won over Amidi but barely 10,10,8. This was truly a David/Goliath match with
the 6' Rautenstrauch towering over 4' Amidi. Both played well.
Jamison won over Bennight 8,-7,-8,9,9. Bennight played well, hitting winners often.
Jamison played hardbat & blocked very well, hitting when the opportunity came.
They had a great match with many long rallies. The final point of the game had Bennight
attacking with Jamison blocking; after about 5 good hits the ball bounced back off
Jamisons racket high in the air with back spin, causing it to hit on Bennights side of the
table just over the net, & bounce back on Jamison's side before Bennight could touch it.
Great point, great match, but Jamison gets the win.
Elias Gomez advanced with a bye (being the only player with a usatt national rating &
considered top seed).
Final 3 man round robin:
Both Rautenstrauch & Gomez defeated Jamison so their match would determine 1st &
2nd place. 13 year old Elias Gomez jr opted out of the Under 14 event to play U16 & U18
for a chance to become Charlottes junior champion. His strategy paid off.
Both played well & it took Gomez 5 games to win this event 12,-9,9,-8,7.
Under 18
Preliminary round robin groups:
BT Bennight (East Meck) advanced over Alex Koslick (Providence) & Alma Beciragic (Myers).
Eddie McGrath (East Meck) advanced over Ryan Mass (Butler) & Hosman Martinez (West Meck).
Chris Rautenstauch (Prov Day) advanced over Ethan Wohl (Providence) & Tom Y (West Meck).
Elias Gomez (Crestdale) advanced over John Goldmark (Providence) & Yotoro Itai (West Meck).
Semi Finals:
Elias Gomez (Crestdale) won over BT Bennight (East Meck) 4,4,4.
Chris Rautenstrauch (Prov Day) won over Eddie McGrath 7,8,-9,9.
Finals:
Elias Gomez won over Christian Rautenstrauch again, but this time in straight games:
8,9,7. No question as to the top 2 junior players in Charlotte.
Everyone played well but these 2 dominated all day.
Girls Open
Final round robin:
Alma Beciragic (Myers) won over Amy Gomez ( ) & Eileen Encarnacion (West Meck) to
become 2006 Girls Champion. Gomez won over Encarnacion to take 2nd place.
Beciragic played with good technique & patience, aggressive forehands when
opportunity presented, & kept the ball in play on the backhand side resulting in
a good showing in the other events as well
Doubles
The Doubles seemed to be the most anticipated & fun event of the day.
Some teams were from the same school & had practiced together for the tournament,
while others were paired up the day of the tournament to create more competition.
Preliminary round robin:
Gomez (Crestdale) & Rautenstrauch (Prov Day) teamed up & won their group with wins
over Ethan Wohl & John Goldmark (Providence), Morgan McCloy & Pressley Blackley (Prov),
& Khoa Vu (Cox) & Christian Amidi (SW Mid).
In the end Alex Koslick (Providence) & Alma Beciragic (Myers) would advance over
BT Bennight & Eddie McGrath (East Meck), Yotoro Itai & Tom Y (West Meck)
& Jillian Kenny & Sarah Dayton (Providence).
Finals:
Elias Gomez & Chris Rautenstrauch won the doubles event over Alma Beciragic &
Alex Koslick 8,7,-9,9. Both teams recieved trophies.
Bennight/McGrath won over Wohl/Goldmark for 3rd & 4th.
Itai/Y won over Vu/Amidi for 5th & 6th.
The final doubles match was the most important. This would decide 7th & 8th.
7th isn't much too brag about, but it's 1 better than 8th.
No one want to be the absolute worst team.
It was down to Jillian Kenny/Sarah Dayton (Providence)
vs Morgan McCloy/Pressley Blackley (Providence).
It was a long & hard fought battle, & in the end Providence prevailed.
Both teams played with colorful pips out hardbat type rackets,
preferring placement & angles over power shots.
After 5 games McCloy/Blackley were crowned "not the worst team".
Banners flew, trumpets roared, chaos ensued.
When the cheering died down, both teams seemed happy with their effort,
if not the result.
A rematch seems inevitable.
Thanks to all who attended, & we look forward to a bigger & better tournament next time.
If you would like to attend, forward your email & start practicing.
John Pahl: charlottettc@carolina.rr.com
