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Recent NewsDECEMBER 20112011 Circuit RaceThe 2011 Circuit race went down to the wire, with 9-time winner Julian Waters falling just short of a record-extending 10th title. Phil VanDusen won his 2nd Circuit title, barely holding off a late comeback charge by Julian, taking first by a minimal margin of one Circuit point. Going into the last Giant Round Robin of the year (Open Event), Julian trailed Phil by 5 Circuit points. The field of 5 players was tightly bunched, with the top seed, Michael Goedde rated 1931 and the bottom seed, Peter Zombori, rated 1737 going in. The contestants elected to play a double round robin, complicating matters further with the possibility of individual match tiebreaks. Almost anything could happen! An event finish with Julian in 1st and Phil in 4th or 5th would give Julian first place event money, first place Circuit Money, and his 10th title, a scenario that was quite plausible with Phil playing with a mildly strained quad (which it turned out did not impair his play). In the end, all the match results went exactly by rating, with the exception being a 3-1 upset of Michael Goedde by Reggie Willis. However, Michael Goedde took the critical rematch with a game score of 3-0 to win the individual match-up on games and take undisputed first in the event. In addition to taking first-place Circuit money ($1000), Phil also took the first MDTTA "Iron Man" trophy ever awarded by playing more than 300 MDTTA matches (singles+doubles) in 2011. This is not to be confused with the National "Iron Man" award, which has been won in past years by Julian, Phil, and Mike Branch. Julian, earning a very respectable 2nd prize of $500, was hurt in his comeback attempt by two event cancellations late in the season due to low attendance. This is a circumstance that is very unlikely to happen in 2012 with all of the guaranteed prize money for events and Circuit prize money that has been announced (see Home page). For the same reasons, it seems likely that there will be many contenders for first in next year's race. Reggie Willis, playing singles consistently and well through the entire year (but generally skipping doubles events), earned 3rd (and $200 prize money) in the Circuit by a safe margin. NationalsThe Men's Finals of the National Championships was contested between two Marylanders, Peter Li and Han Xiao. Han played in the MDTTA Circuit when he was younger. Peter's brother Michael has also competed in MDTTA tournaments. Current MDTTA tournament goers also had notable successes:
If anyone would like to report any other notable results by MDTTA players, please notify the webmaster Congratulations to all of the players named above. John Harris (1941-2011)We are very sorry to report the death of long-time MDTTA player, John Harris of Ellicott City, from cancer. Those who knew him are aware that he was an enthusiastic table tennis player, who was a regular in the Circuit in recent years and a great supporter of our club, going back to the mid-1990s before we moved to Eldersburg. In 2010, he played more rated table tennis matches than anyone else in the country, except for one other person. He likely would have reached 300 rated matches and 3rd place in the Circuit had he not missed December 2010 because of illness. He was a nice guy with a great sense of humor and we'll all miss him a lot. APRIL 2011MDTTA announced cash prizes of $1000, $500, and $200 for the top three finishers in the 2011 Circuit, to be completed on December 10, 2011. Current standings were added to the website on a new page. JANUARY 2011:Yvonne kicked off the 2011 Circuit by bringing in a large trophy that honors the Circuit winners since 1999. MDTTA organized a short table tennis demo for York Sports Night featuring top Juniors and some strong Seniors from Maryland and Pennsylvania table tennis. The event drew publicity for MDTTA and strong local news coverage in York. DECEMBER 2010:The Circuit wrapped up with a familiar name at the top. Coming from behind, Julian Waters won his 9th Circuit in 11 years, taking the $750 first prize for his efforts. Reggie Willis finished 2nd, winning $300, and Phil VanDusen edged out John Harris for the 3rd place cash prize of $100 on the very last event of the year. Several competitors missed chances for cash prizes or higher finishes by not competing in a number of tournaments towards the end of the year. Those who compete against Julian understand his record of success. He has strong attacking play against all styles of play and no weakness that anyone rated under 2000 can exploit consistently. No wonder that he has been called "Waldner of the Under 2000s" by respectful competitors. In additional to all the Circuits to his name, Julian holds a lot of national titles in rating-limited and age group events. His most recent is the U-3700 Doubles title at the 2010 Nationals that he shared with young Derek Nie. Going into the 2011 Circuit, Julian, as usual, will be the man to beat if he competes in enough tournaments. JULY 2010:Tournament regulars Reginald Willis and Michael Todd battled for the lead in the 2010 Circuit as the contest moved past the halfway point. The contest seems to be wide open this year as 10-time Circuit winner Julian Waters and 2007 winner Phil VanDusen have reduced their play from previous years. The top 10 from the Circuit standings will be listed on the web site soon. * Updated information about MDTTA Summer Camps was posted to the web site. JUNE 2010:Patrice Harris of Fox 45 in Baltimore visited the Eldersburg club with her cameraman to record an episode for her "Up to the Challenge" series. It aired on Fox Morning News a couple weeks later. Yvonne Kronlage, MDTTA president, gave a great overview of the #2 sport in the world and showed Patrice the proper grip and the basic strokes. Long-time club volunteers Chris Puls and Phil VanDusen joined the cast to play a short singles match and a short doubles match with Patrice. Yvonne, Chris, and Phil all gave Patrice a grade for her efforts at the end of the segment. Enjoy this publicity piece for our sport and our club! WBFF Fox 45 Patrice Harris with Yvonne Kronlage (broadcast June 2010) One inaccuracy in the commentary - the shot that we demoed for Patrice was a loop, not a smash. MARCH 2010:The club was honored to have Delaware Governor Jack Markell compete in the monthly Giant Round Robin. The Governor is a great table tennis enthusiast and he proved to be a sportsman, a gentleman, and a tough competitor as well! Had it not been for fast-improving Jaunty Sanmukhani, the Governor and his son Michael would have completely dominated the U-1300 field. Michael gained more than 200 rating points for his effort. The Open section was won by longtime tournament regular (and former club junior coach) Steve Hochman with his athletic off-the-table game, while fast-serving Mike Huang finished second. The U-1700 section was won by tournament regular Mike Todd (all that hard work with Boris is paying off!) and tournament veteran Thomas Huff (West Virginia) took second. FEBRUARY 2010:The February Circuit tournament was emphatically cancelled by Mother Nature, who dumped more than 30 inches of snow in the area starting the day before the tournament. Just to prove she meant business, she followed up with another foot a few days later. OCTOBER 2009:On October 24, MdTTA hosted a fundraiser for St. Jude Children's Research Hospital -- one of the world's premier pediatric cancer research centers. A good time was had by all volunteers and participants who pitched in for this very worthy charity. The following events were included: SEPTEMBER 2009:* Tournament results were added for recent Circuit and Giant Round Robin tournaments. AUGUST 2009:MDTTA ran a Table Tennis/Chess day camp during the hot, humid week of August 17-21, but the campers stayed comfortable while getting their sport and exercise in the club's spacious, air-conditioned room. A record 12 persons signed up for the camp, showing that the support base is strong enough to hold much bigger camps (perhaps 20+ ?) in Eldersburg next summer. In addition to training and individual chess and table tennis competitions, the campers enjoyed favorite games such as Jungle Pong, Brazilian Teams, Around-the-World, and some lively games of touch tag! The touch tag showed that a quick group of 10 and 11 year-olds can run the legs off an aging camp director. In the afternoons, Ed Record (former U.S. Open Mens semifinalist) hit with the boys and showed a number of them how to improve their chop stroke. The camp table tennis competition was thrown wide open by the absence of two-time defending summer camp champion Patrick Komiske, who was recovering from a wisdom tooth extraction. Patrick was able to attend on the last day and showed that he would have been very tough to beat. As it was, just about everyone in the field had a strong chance to win a trophy. Fourteen-year-old Chris Davis started well by winning close matches over Adam Lin, hard-hitting Aditya Srinivasan, and tournament-tough competitor Jonathan Kronlage, who has won a number of trophies at MDTTA Junior and Novice events. However, fourteen-year-old Adam Lin, sharp from a week of table tennis in Gaithersburg, won the rest of his matches to take the 1st-place trophy with a head-to-head tie-break over Paul Komiske, who secured his third 2nd-place trophy in a camp competition! Wesley Dantzler, participating in his first MDTTA camp, showed well by taking 3rd with only two losses. Atticus Cooke, also attending his first MDTTA camp, took 4th on tiebreak over Chris Davis. The chess competition was affected by the absence of Kevin Lin (winner of the 2007 Summer Camp Chess Competition, no relation to Adam), who got sick on the first day of camp and was unable to return. Versatile Chris Davis took advantage of the opportunity and won all of his games to take the first place trophy over Aditya Srinivasan, who plays tournament chess and has won a library competition. Atticus Cooke took 3rd, the only camp participant to win trophies in both competitions. The MDTTA Joola club and camps place a high value on sportsmanship, conduct, and helping others to improve. A major factor in China's great history of success in international table tennis is their strong encouragement of cooperation and team play. This is why the camp awarded trophies for sportsmanship, mentoring, and improvement. These trophies recognize qualities that are more important than winning. Trophies were won by the following campers: JUNE 2009:* Information about the MDTTA Three Man Teams tournament was posted to the web site along with a downloadable flyer. MAY 2009:* Information about MDTTA Summer Camps was posted to the web site. |
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