PALO ALTO AT OAKLAND-TUESDAY, NOVEMBER 21, 2006

By Kingston Gee and Shashin Shodhan

Palo Alto has yet to field 2 of their big 3 in James Guo, Auria Malek, and Sara Fu in any of their matches thus far.  Only Auria Malek was present in this match as Palo Alto fielded Dave Samuelson and 10-year old phenom Ariel Hsing along with Malek.  Oakland Lincoln, however, has consistently fielded their strongest players and this match was no different with all four of their top players, Freddie Gabriel, Jackie Lee, Kock Loe, and Avishy Schmidt, in action.

Ariel Hsing (Palo Alto) vs Avishy Schmidt (Oakland)

ARIEL HSING HAS BEEN WORKING ON CLOSE-TO-THE-TABLE FOREHAND LOOPING. (Photo by Kingston Gee)

Ariel Hsing has been working on looping with her forehand close to the table with her coach Sara Fu.  This is a debatable issue as Hsing has great timing on her forehand hit and smash and perhaps pips could be the way for her to give quick dead balls to the opponent.  However, when the top Chinese women play, everything is turning into a spin and blocking with no topspin seems to be going away.  Avishy Schmidt may be a level above Hsing and proves so in the first two games with 11-4, 11-5 wins.  In the third, Hsing leads 9-5 and with the help of two missed serves by Hsing, Schmidt recovers and wins 3-0.

Auria Malek (Palo Alto) vs Freddie Gabriel (Oakland)

AURIA MALEK MUST IMPROVE HIS SERVE AND RETURNS IN ORDER TO BEAT FREDDIE GABRIEL. (Photo by Kingston Gee)

Auria Malek should be able to beat Freddie Gabriel at least a few times if they play many times but seems to always come out at the losing end every time they play.  Perhaps, this is because Malek's serve and return are the weak parts of his game and Gabriel's serves are his strength.  If Malek continues to lose the serve and return against Gabriel, he will likely continue to be at the losing end.  This match ends up being no different.  Malek ends up going to deuce in the fourth but once again, at the losing end.

FREDDIE GABRIEL DEFEATS AURIA MALEK ONCE AGAIN. (Photo by Kingston Gee)

Dave Samuelson (Palo Alto) vs Kock Loe (Oakland)

Samuelson tends to back away from the table too easily and with Loe having rock-solid blocking, it would be rough for Samuelson to power through Loe.  Loe blocks with the backhand and likes to smash with the forehand.  Samuelson's forehand is better than his backhand and Loe must try to pin Samuelson on the backhand side with hopes that this would cause Samuelson to back away.  Loe comes out on top 3-0 but the games are close and Oakland now is up 3-0.

KOCK LOE PROVES TO BE TOO STEADY FOR DAVE SAMUELSON. (Photo by Kingston Gee)

Auria Malek/Dave Samuelson (Palo Alto) vs Avishy Schmidt/Jackie Lee (Oakland)

Malek and Samuelson have a decent amount of experience playing together as they played together in the spring season for Mountain View and often found themselves partnering with each other.  On the other hand, Schmidt and Lee are partnered together for the first time.  Malek and Samuelson go up 2-1 and have match point in the fourth game but end up losing 13-11.  Perhaps, this takes the momentum away from them and they lose easily in the fifth game.  Oakland wins 4-0. 

AVISHY SCHMIDT POSTS A SINGLES AND DOUBLES WIN TO HELP HIS OAKLAND LIONS DEFEAT PALO ALTO 4-0. (Photo by Kingston Gee)

The Oakland Lions post another convincing win and seem to be the team to beat.  Along with Fremont, Palo Alto is struggling to field their strongest lineup in the matches and will have a hard time making the playoffs if this continues.  However, the season is far from over and perhaps they could make a run for the playoffs in the second half of the season.  If not, they will not defend their status as 2-time league champions.