Autumn Classic Opening Night

Opening night came upon us faster and with more fury than ever before.  The crowd was huge, involved, and hungry for the hard hitting match ups they’ve come to expect from Championship Table Tennis at the Colburn School.  The matches did not disappoint; ten athletes took center stage in what became five of the best opening round duels in recent memory.

Leading off the night was the fresh face of 21st seed Thomas Huntington playing in his first ever tournament against 8th seed Ilia Ulianitsky.  Ulianitsky has made real improvement over the past few tournaments and has clawed his way through the competition as he began as the 16th seed just last spring.  Tournament organizer Allan Steele has his ear to the CTTA off-season circuit and knew how much Ulianitsky had improved, hence his high ranking.  Would he be able to advance through the newbie Huntington?  After an early set hiccup, which Huntington took easily, Ulianitsky dominated to take the match 3-1, persevering through two tough final games.

Last tourney we saw the biggest upset in CTTA history as the 19th seed John Winstead took down the two-time tournament runner up 4th seed Radu Paponiu.  After plummeting all the way down to the 12th seed, Paponiu looked to bounce back in this tourney against 10th seed Mark Teplitsky.  When the match began, Paponiu looked sluggish and off, which makes this sportswriter wonder how intensive his conditioning program is during the off season.  Either way, Teplitsky, with a tight, clean game, won three easy games from Paponiu to advance for the first time.  Perhaps the former runner up looked off, but let’s not take anything away from Teplitsky, who played last tournament as the last seed, only to be taken apart by Grand Champion Christopher Zack in the first round.  This sportswriter looks forward to how far Teplitsky can advance.

Making his CTTA tournament debut, newcomer young gun 5th seed Kevin “Cash” Lin took on the hardworking veteran 16th seed Ben Lash “LaRue” in our next match up.  Lin, reminiscent of Johnny Cash dressed all in black, came out strong, yet couldn’t hold off the crowd favorite LaRue in an opening set deuce win.  Cash bounced back, however, and put Lash on his heels in set two as he really showcased his speed and game control.  Tied 1-1, the two exchanged points in a pivotal set three, but Cash would not be upset as he took sets three and four and the match.

The fourth match of opening night featured the three-time former champion 2nd seed Jeremy Berry against the hopeful 19th seed Hugh Palmer.  Although Palmer looked quicker and more in control than in tournaments past, Berry had no problem putting him away in three easy sets.  The question is, of course, how much Berry has been working in the off season.  Will he have a chance against reigning champion Christopher Zack?  Will he be able to survive through the huge group of contenders who have been playing tirelessly in the past few months?  As we say, time will tell.

Our final match pitted our undisputed champ Christopher Zack across the table from 18th seed Jacob Wilder.  What can we say?  After an 11-0 first set win, Zack never looked back as he stomped Wilder 3-0.

There it is.  Zack is the man to beat.  The one with the giant bulls-eye.  Can anyone take him down?  Can anyone end his streak?  In two straight semesters, Zack has a perfect match run and has only dropped one set.

Ever.

Wow.

Our next night of action is November 19th at 8PM on the 5th floor.  Yes, there will be food.

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