FREMONT AT PALO ALTO-SATURDAY, NOVEMBER 18, 2006

By Shashin Shodhan

Both the Fremont Flash and Palo Alto Assassins are looking for their first wins in league play.  Both Fremont and Palo Alto have been unable to present their top three players in any of the league matches.  Sara Fu has not been playing for Palo Alto who was expected to be a major contributor in their quest for a third consecutive league title.  Fremont's #2 Shuja Jafar has not been practicing as of late and has not played in any of the league matches.  Fremont's #3 Tuan Anh Nguyen has only played in one of the first three matches.  The positive for Fremont has been that their other players, including 15-year old Ankur Patel, have gotten stronger competition and experience.  Shodhan just switched to the Michael Maze blade with Bryce rubber as he is now sponsored by Butterfly and so his shots are going much harder than normal in this team match, leading to more unforced errors.  He has had only one practice with the new equipment but hopes it does not affect the outcome of matches.

Vickrum Chodri (Fremont) vs Auria Malek (Palo Alto)

This is Chodri's first league match and has two rising stars in 10-year old daughter Aditi Chodri and 7-year old son Kunal Chodri.  He catches an Auria Malek who seems more in exhibition mode this match and nearly pulls off the upset of the league season.  Malek is careless but wins the opener 11-6.  Malek starts backing away from the table in the second game and Chodri is rock-solid in his blocking.  Fremont is cheering for an upset as Chodri goes up 10-8 in the second.  At 12-12, Malek gets a net and at 13-12, Chodri gets a net.  Malek escapes with a 15-13 and wins the third 11-8 to put Palo Alto up 1-0 in this match.

Shashin Shodhan (Fremont) vs Dave Samuelson (Palo Alto)

Samuelson opens the first game with very steady blocking and Shodhan is playing overly aggressive and Samuelson goes up 1-0.  Shodhan plays more controlled combined with strong loop winners in the second and third games and wins them comfortably.  Shodhan starts having trouble returning Samuelson's serves in the fourth and the match goes to the decider.  Shodhan jumps to a 4-0 lead and wins 11-7 in the decider.

Nash Darukhanawalla (Fremont) vs Lily Zhang (Palo Alto)

Zhang is the #2-ranked 10-year old in the country and will be #1 when teammate Ariel Hsing turns 11 soon.  She has unbelievably quick feet and is faster than the boys her age.  Zhang plays wide-out to Darukhanawalla's forehand and Darukhanawalla is primarily playing defense throughout this match when his strength is his forehand loop.  Darukhanawalla has a hard time being effective moving the ball around as Zhang is so quick on her feet.  Zhang is attacking from the beginning of this match until its end and wins easily even though Darukhanawalla is rated 100 points higher than Zhang.

Shashin Shodhan/Ankur Patel (Fremont) vs Auria Malek/Dave Samuelson (Palo Alto)

Fremont's wins the table game in the opener but Palo Alto is the more consistent in the second game.  At 1-1, Malek is playing much better and Shodhan is also with his serve and returns.  Patel is playing much better than in his first doubles match in league play where Shodhan and him were crushed by Mountain View.  The level of play stays high in the fourth game and the match goes to the fifth and final game.  Fremont is up 9-7 but Patel struggles with two serve returns and then serves two long serves that Malek rips for winners.  A sign of nerves?...very possibly but also a good learning experience for young Patel.

Shashin Shodhan (Fremont) vs Auria Malek (Palo Alto)

Malek looked up to Shodhan when they were both in the Palo Alto junior program when Shodhan was in his teens and Malek a single-digit age.  Now Malek has reached a high level himself and there is not really a mentoring role anymore but they often find each other as competitors in tournaments.  They have played each other countless times since Malek has grown up and reached a higher level and they often play close.  Shodhan plays primarily to Malek's backhand in the opener but Malek escapes with a 11-9 win.  Some great points are scattered throughout this match and Shodhan leads 10-6, 10-8, and 10-8 in the next three games and wins them all but at 11-9, 12-10, and 11-9.  Palo Alto's lead is cut to 3-2.

Nash Darukhanwalla (Fremont) vs Dave Samuelson (Palo Alto)

Darukhanawalla plays much better in this match than he did against Zhang but finds himself losing points when the scores were even.  Perhaps, this is a sign of nerves as Samuelson wins the crucial points and gives Palo Alto a 4-2 win with a 3-0 win over Darukhanawalla. Fremont drops to 0-3 and Palo Alto is now 1-2.