Maryland Players Win 23 Medals at US Open Table Tennis Championships

Las Vegas, NV – Maryland players won 23 medals, including 9 gold and 7 silver, at the 2015 U.S. Open Table Tennis Championships, held July 6-11 at the Las Vegas Convention Center, with the major finals played at Caesars Palace. Unlike the USA Nationals, where USA citizenship is required, the U.S. Open is open to all players. Players from 32 countries participated.

Crystal Wang, 13, of Boyds, MD, who just finished sixth grade in the magnet program at Roberto Clemente Middle School, won three major titles, including finishing first in both the Junior (under 18) and Cadet (under 15) girls’ team trials. As a member of both teams, she will represent USA in competitions all over the world over the next year. She also won Cadet Girls’ Singles (under 15) and made the quarterfinals of Under 21 Women’s Singles.

Charlene Liu, 62, of Clarksville, MD, won both Over 50 Women’s Singles and Over 60 Women’s Singles, adding to a vast collection of titles. She also teamed with husband Changping Duan, 65, to make the semifinals of Over 60 Mixed Doubles.

Another husband and wife duo, David and Donna Sakai, both 67 and from Bowie, MD, won a number of medals, adding to their large collections. (Both are members of the USA Table Tennis Hall of Fame.) David made the finals of Over 65 Men’s Singles, and teamed with Dell Sweeris of Grand Rapids, MI, to win Over 65 Men’s Doubles and make the finals of Over 60 Men’s Doubles. Donna made the final of Over 60 Women’s Singles (in an all-Maryland final with Charlene Liu), and the semifinals of Over 65 Women’s Singles. She teamed with Connie Sweeris of Grand Rapids, MI (husband of Dell) to make the finals of Over 60 and Over 65 Women’s Doubles. Dave and Donna also made the semifinals of Over 60 Mixed Doubles.

Nearly all of the Maryland players train at the Maryland Table Tennis Center in Gaithersburg, MD. Charlene Liu and Changping Duan train both there and at the Washington DC Table Tennis Center. A complete listing of Maryland medalists is below. For further info or to get in contact with any of the players, contact Coach Larry Hodges, larry@larrytt.com.

• Crystal Wang, 13, Boyds, MD: Junior Girls’ Team Trials Champion, Cadet Girls’ Team Trials Champion, Cadet Girls’ Singles Champion, Under 21 Women’s Singles Quarterfinalist, Junior Girls’ Teams Finalist
• Ryan Dabbs, 12, Rockville, MD: (Under 3700) Doubles Champion
• William Huang, 12, Beltsville, MD: (Under 3700) Doubles Champion
• Charlene Liu, 62, Clarksville, MD: Over 50 and Over 60 Women’s Singles Champion, Over 60 Mixed Doubles Semifinalist
• David Sakai, 67, Bowie, MD: Over 65 Men’s Doubles Champion, Over 65 Men’s Singles Finalist, Over 60 Men’s Doubles Finalist, Over 60 Mixed Doubles Semifinalist
• Donna Sakai, 67, Bowie, MD: Over 60 Women’s Singles Finalist, Over 65 Women’s Singles Semifinalist, Over 60 Women’s Doubles Finalist, Over 65 Women’s Doubles Finalist, Over 60 Mixed Doubles Semifinalist
• Changping Duan, 65, Clarksville, MD: Over 60 Mixed Doubles Semifinalist
• Si Cheong, 65, Baltimore, MD: Over 65 Women’s Singles Finalist
• Navin Kumar, 41, Gaithersburg, MD: Paralympic Division 8-10 Singles Sixth Place
• Nathan Hsu, 19, Rockville, MD: (Under 2600) Quarterfinalist
• Ruichao Chen, 17, Germantown, MD: Under 21 Men’s Singles Semifinalist, Under 18 Boys’ Singles Quarterfinalist
• Roy Ke, 16, Gaithersburg, MD: Under 18 Boys’ Team Trials Quarterfinalist
• Darwin Ma, 15, North Potomac, MD: Division C Singles Champion
• Amy Lu, 14, North Potomac, MD: (Under 2100) Women’s Singles Finalist
• Derek Nie, 14, North Potomac, MD: Cadet Boys’ Team Trials Quarterfinalist
• Klaus Wood, 13, Ellicott City, MD: Cadet Boys’ Team Trials Quarterfinalist
• Lisa Lin, 10, Clarkesville, MD: Under 11 Girls’ Singles Quarterfinalist