(by Steve Hopkins, photo USATT)
Teams events bring a special comradery and a particular kind of pressure. Its not just about your own performance – its also a matter of juggling your teammates’ hopes and expectations. This week, a hundred teams converged on Myrtle Beach for the US Open Teams Championships and it was the Texas Rockets who closed out the Division 1 playoff with a 3-0 sweep in the Final.
The final four squads were the Texas Rockets led by Ma Jinbao, Jialiang Liu, and Sheng Xi, the Romanian TTC led by Alexandru Cazacu, Mohamed Shouman, and Carlos Hernandez, OCTTA led by Seungmin Cho, Koyo Kanamitsu, and Mathieu De Saintilan, and Princeton Revolution led by Enzo Angles, Kou Lei, and Xiang Jing Zhang. Not a single player referenced in that list above has a rating under 2550 and five of them are over 2700. Fans and players alike were treated to high level table tennis from start to finish – especially true in the Semifinals and Finals on Monday.
The top seeded Texas Rockets won their Semifinal match over Romanian TTC 3-0. Three matches – three wins. Ma Jinbao set the tone early with a 3-1 win over Cazacu. Jialiang Liu was dominant in his 3-0 win over Shouman to give the Rockets a 2-0 lead. And Sheng Xi topped Carlos Hernandez 3-1 to close the door.
The second Semifinal was tighter. The Princeton Revolution won the first match with Seungmin Cho defeating Enzo Angles 3-1. With Angles almost 200 points higher by rating, this match was promising for the Princeton squad – as their higher rated players had not yet played. However, it was the OCTTA team that won the remaining matches. Kou Lei led the way by winning twice. Kou Lei topped Koyo Kanamitsu 3-2, then Xiang Jing Zhang defeated De Saintilan 3-1, and finally Kou Lei logged his second victory over Cho 3-0. OCTTA wins 3-1 to advance to the Final.
In the Final, all three matches were close – but all three matches went to the Texas Rockets. Ma Jinbao’s opener against Enzo Angles was the one match with real drama in it — a five-game battle that could have gone either way. Han Angles pulled off that win, it might have created a longer match and more opportunities, but it was Ma Jinbao that won – and he set a tone that continued through the remaining matches. Jialiang Liu defeated Kou Lei 3-1. Xi Sheng put the finishing touches on the tie moments later, defeating Zhang Xiang Jing 3-1 to seal the title.
The Texas Rockets did exactly what you’d expect from the tournament’s top seed. They dominated early, set a tone, and then closed out the final match against the second best team.
OCTTA’s second team won Division 2 with their 5-1 win over MDTTC Youngsters. Triple T won Division 3 in a tight 5-4 battle over Broward TTC2. MN PingVengers had a 5-4 win over KCTT1 to take Division 4. TianFu won Division 5 with a 5-1 win over Westchester Wizards. LYTT Paddle Panthers won Division 6 with a 5-3 win over ICTTF. Yanaga’s topped CTTTC Old School 5-2 to win Division 7. And Division 8 went to CITTA RC who won that division’s round robin 6-0 with Infinite Loop finishing second.
Visit ButterflyOnline.com for the latest table tennis news and results.
