CONCORD AT OAKLAND-TUESDAY, NOVEMBER 14, 2006

By League Members

Both teams come into this match at 1-0 with the Concord Cheetahs defeating the Palo Alto Assassins and the Oakland Lions defeating the Fremont Flash.  These two teams are expected to make the playoffs when they begin in February.  Both teams present strong lineups with Oakland having Freddie Gabriel, Jackie Lee, and Kock Loe and Concord having their top three in Trevor Runyan, Philip Lim, and James Therriault.

Trevor Runyan (Concord) vs Freddie Gabriel (Oakland)

Gabriel keeps the serve returns short and tight where Runyan is unable to get a strong attack in.  Gabriel's serves keep Runyan guessing and so Gabriel dominates the serve and receive part of this game.  Gabriel is able to get a strong third ball attack throughout this match.  Gabriel wins the first two games at 11-4 and 11-7 but the third game is much closer.  Runyan saves one match point and wins the third in deuce so is now down 2-1 in games.  Gabriel opens the fourth game playing passively but wins them with good blocking.  Then Gabriel starts playing aggressive and wins the fourth game in dominant fashion again 11-4.

FREDDIE GABRIEL OPENS THE LEAGUE MATCH WITH A COMFORTABLE WIN OVER TREVOR RUNYAN. (Photo by Kingston Gee)

James Therriault (Concord) vs Jackie Lee (Oakland)

It has been a pleasant surprise to league founder Shashin Shodhan to see James Therriault very active in league play despite him having to travel far away to play in the matches.  He is arguably the most entertaining player to watch in the league, in California, and in the US.  Jackie Lee is not used to the lob and chop style of Therriault and Therriault takes advantage of this and wins the first two games comfortably.  Lee is more patient in the third and her backhand loop and kill leads her to a 11-5 win.  There is an incredibly long point at 1-1 in the fourth game won by Lee and perhaps this gives her a boost and she sends the match to the fifth and final game.  Therriault is up 5-4 at the switch and wins 11-7 largely due to his mixture of dead and heavy chops.  This match was very entertaining but at this point, Lee is not too happy that the league counts for rating because of seedings for Nationals and Trials.  However, when she finds out that the ratings will be given for processing after the season (and thus after Nationals and Trials) ends, she is a bit more accepting.  However, the top players in general seem to be opposed to having league play count for ratings as is the case in Europe where league play does not affect their rankings.

JACKIE LEE IS UNABLE TO POWER THROUGH JAMES THERRIAULT. (Photo by Kingston Gee)

Philip Lim (Concord) vs Kock Loe (Oakland)

AVISHY SCHMIDT PROVIDES THE STRATEGY FOR KOCK LOE. (Photo by Kingston Gee)

Philip Lim goes up 6-2 in the opener and ends up winning in deuce.  The second game goes to deuce as well but this time with Kock Loe winning due to his more consistent play.  Lim plays more conservatively in the third game and Loe makes more shots on the table that forces Lim to miss more.  Lim is still forcing shots in the fourth game leading Loe to end the match with a 3-1 win. 

PHILIP LIM IS UNABLE TO WIN THE BATTLE OF PENHOLDERS AGAINST KOCK LOE. (Photo by Kingston Gee)

Trevor Runyan/Philip Lim (Concord) vs Freddie Gabriel/Avishy Schmidt (Oakland)

TREVOR RUNYAN OPENS UP THE DOUBLES MATCH ON FIRE BUT IS UNABLE TO MAINTAIN A HIGH LEVEL OF PLAY. (Photo by Kingston Gee)

Lim and Runyan start off red-hot and playing very consistently.  Runyan's backhand loops catch Scmidt off-guard and Concord takes the first game.  Concord plays too aggressive in the second game and Gabriel stays closer to the table with Schmidt making his backhands to lead Oakland to a 1-1 tie in this crucial doubles match.  In the third and fourth games, Oakland builds up leads of 7-1 and 6-2, respectively, as Concord is not making their attacks in play.  Oakland now leads 3-1 in this best of seven team match.

James Therriault (Concord) vs Freddie Gabriel (Oakland)

The opener goes Oakland's way as Gabriel gives a mix of inside-out and hook loops.  However, after this game, the two players play very even.  Therriault has three game points in the second at 10-9, 11-10, and 12-11 as his spin variations on backhand chops give Gabriel problems.  However, Gabriel escapes with a deuce win on his first game point.  In the third game, Therriault leads 9-7 but two good serves from Gabriel tie it at 9-9.  Therriault gets his first game point at 11-10 but Gabriel saves that game point as well.  At match point 12-11 for Gabriel, he fakes a chop to bring Therriault in and smashes it away to give the Lions a 4-1 win and send them to 2-0.

JAMES THERRIAULT NEARLY HAS THE BEST TABLE-TENNIS DAY OF HIS LIFE AS HE DEFEATS JACKIE LEE AND IS A COUPLE POINTS FROM BEING UP 2-1 ON FREDDIE GABRIEL. (Photo by Kingston Gee)