Rhode Island TT Fall Open

November 5, 2018

Rhode Island TT Fall Open
(by Steve Hopkins)

The RITTA Fall Open was held on November 4th at the Rhode Island Club in Manville. The one-star USATT-sanctioned tournament included six events — all singles events based upon rating.

Henry Kopczacki won the 1100, David Afando won the 1350, Yulang Wang won the 1600, Charles Cavicchio won the 1850, Steve Hopkins won the 2100, and Charles Deng won the Open.

Deng, who attends Brown University in Providence, was a much-acclaimed cadet and junior in the USA. These days he is focused on academics, but has found time to play for the Brown University team in NCTTA events.

Deng advanced from the round robin with 3-0/3-2/3-1 wins over the competitors. He then defeated Rich DeWitt 3-0 in the semifinals and defeated Murali Mani in the finals. Mani advanced from his round robin with 3-1/3-0/3-0 wins over the competitors and defeated Steve Hopkins 3-0 in the semifinals before falling to Deng.

RITTA also honored the 2018 RI Hall of Fame class at the tournament. The inductees were Joe Polselli, Marta Lachcik, and Steve Hopkins.

The Rhode Island Club has a history that extends back before World War II. Its a small club, but past champions of tournaments have included Miles and Reisman and Sakai and Braithwaite, and there was even a Seemiller over Seemiller final in the 80s. RITTA is happy to welcome three Hall of Famers to our ranks, and to add Charles Deng to our illustrious list of tournament champions. The next Open tournament at RITTA will be in late January.