Springfield, Missouri Two Star Open
Saturday, June 22, 2002
Ozarks Table Tennis Club

Well, our USATT sanctioned Two Star Table Tennis Tournament is now H.I.S.T.O.R.Y ! ! That said, first things first.

Contents:
Results
Ringside Blow by Blow Narrative

Ringside, Blow by Blow Narrative, by William Lewis
Our local, our original, our, man among men, Dave Zapatka–the progenitor of table tennis in Springfield from as far back as the early 1970's----showed us he has not lost his form or finesse for table tennis ! ! In the Under-1550 Dave Zapatka entertained the 100 plus fans with extraordinary broad brushed loops. Too, Zapatka painted a picture of what pure form and silhouette looks like. David pieced together a montage of lightning quick strokes--which, when put together, equals anything France's Louvre might offer ! ! Masterfully, Dave emptied the opponents' efforts, splashing their settled colors like a jet engine wind blast on an oil canvass–all splayed out and not very pretty. The only real scare came from Creed Allen, of Nixa, MO. Creed almost pulled off the impossible, the unthinkable, by forcing David to the 5th game in the 3rd round. However, from there on out, David's only serious challenger came from Rob Sharp, the Butterfly dealer from Kansas City, who hawked his wares in the breeze way. Though Rob tried valiantly to repaint the landscape as an out-of-towner Heaven bent on winning, he came up a little bit short of inking his name to the winner's circle, by losing in game 4 of the 5th round. It seems that after each match Dave Zapatka left a superimposed image of himself in each players defeated mind, echoes of himself probably, from ear to ear.

To be sure, there were more memorable matches. It seems that many of the great matches pitted the highest seeds in the lower brackets ! ! Kurt Cain, from Yellville, Arkansas, and Randy Medley from Ash Grove, Missouri, duked it out for first place in the Under-1000. First, Cain drove Medley into the loser's bracket in 4 games. Then, Randy Medley gained the momentum and pulled out a stunning Herculean effort in 5 games before finally besting Rex Liu from Battlefield, MO. This key win afforded Randy Medley the opportunity to play Cain in the championship round. Randy Medley would not be denied. Randy went ahead and steam-rolled Cain in 2 straight matches—winning each match in 3 straight games ! ! Vindication for having been relegated to the loser's bracket—you'll have to ask Randy about that ! ! In another key match- up, the Under-1250 produced two prominent Springfield locals, Larry Mayfield and Paul Liu, in a battle with everything--including reversing earth's rotation ! ! This time it was Larry Mayfield who tossed Paul Liu into the loser's bracket. Even so, Paul Liu beat back Terry Pentecost from Lawrence, Kansas, in 3 straight games. This win allowed Liu to replay Mayfield for the championship. Methodically, Paul Liu distanced himself in a solid 5 game performance. But, because of the double elimination format, the grueling second match would have to be played. Again, this pitted Mayfield against Liu. In something resembling scenes from the movie Rocky Paul Liu won in the final 5th game, at match point. Either player could have won—yet, it was Paul who did, at least when it mattered most. As the final curtain fell, the title song from the soundtrack Rocky could be heard as Paul lifted his arms in the air, this, from his hard earned triumph ! !

Other key matches pitted the Old Man And The Sea Vic Meredith, from Searcy, Arkansas, who, no one can have anything but compliments. When 70 year-old Vic Meredith wasn't smoking his pipe on the outside steps (which was non-stop) he was smoking the competition on the gymnasium's wooden floors ! ! In Meredith's Over 50 event Vic demolished everyone, that is before he came to the Abilene, Kansas sensation and science teacher extraordinaire, George Taplin. Taplin gave it all he had before finally bowing out in the 5th game of the 4th match 11 to 9. And—that's not shabby ! ! In the Women's Open Singles Xiu Ye, from Little Rock, Arkansas, did something I didn't think possible–she beat Maria Giraldo, the Columbia, South American star ! ! Maria gave it all she had, before losing in the 4th game of the title match. Maria will be around to play again and again, and, the looks she gave, tell a story of beauty in motion. If there is a female who plays like Maria Giraldo and, lives in Springfield, she's yet to show up ! !

It was a no-brainer in the Open Singles. Goran Panic, the Yugoslavian national and world ranked player, showed his mettle by beating Rick Seiler, Missouri's number 4 ranked player. Goran, standing most of his of 5 foot 8 inches consistently pummeled the tall yet demonstrably good 6 foot 4 inch 2101 –rated Rick Seiler by delivering smooth counter hit after counter hit, allowing Rick Seiler only a 1 game win out of 7 games played, and this, in 2 matches ! ! Goran not only picked apart Rick Seiler, but he also took the marquee event's prized purse money while simultaneously upholding his world ranking. Together, Goran and Seiler took first place in the Open Doubles. Goran's quiet soft spoken demeanor and, his unabashed smile spoke well of him as he made the trip back to St. Louis with Seiler and son in tow.

Matches between Steve Downing, of Jefferson City, Samer Chaar of Tulsa, Oklahoma, Jon Paretsky of Lawrence, Kansas, Don Beckstrom of Wichita, Kansas and Jim Meredith from Searcy, Arkansas provided viewing pleasure galore, especially in the Under-1850 and Under 2150. Their matches are what all aspiring players hope and dream for—extreme quickness, the flare of near greatness and powerful offensive hits ! !

There were many more stellar matches and events in the the Over 40 Singles, the Open Doubles and the Under--3000 Doubles. Everyone got to witness something that Springfield has never seen—highly contested battles in a mid-level tournament with several players flirting with national rankings and, even a world ranking. Springfield, to date, has never had a tournament like this ! ! I was privileged to serve as your Tournament Director and, most proud of the total efforts of committee members Dave Zapatka, Joe Fong, Toby Kiser, Larry Mayfield and Dale Boswell. However, I am most proud of my wife, Jean Marie. Without Jean's constant encouragement my efforts would have been in vain. Many others also put forth their time and efforts to help make the tournament a success. The tournament was something to be remembered for a very, long, time.

As many of you are aware, Jefferson City, Missouri, hosted a 4 Star USATT sanctioned tournament back on September 11, 1995. At that time national and a few world table tennis players came in to play. The tournament hugely impacted Jefferson City. The fame from that tournament still lingers. For those who think of things which CAN be done, and, for those who think of the POSSIBLE....you may wish to plan. We can only use those who dream. Set your goals high. EXPECT to exceed them ! ! And, though you may not reach your goal—the trying is what makes the difference ! !

A comprehensive after tournament financial review will be conducted at the regular Sunday afternoon playing session. A ledger of liabilities and credits has been drawn up. All board members should be present at that session. Too, any member wishing to view the totals should expect to arrive early.

Below please find the tabulated results of the 2002 Springfield Open Table Tennis Tournament.

Until next time and with more news from the Ozarks Table Tennis Club this is Bill Lewis wishing you successful outings in table tennis. E-mail EpcotMagic@aol.com Phone 417-890-8092

RESULTS: