OAKLAND AT PALO ALTO-SATURDAY, JANUARY 13, 2007

By League Members

This match featured the anticipated showdown between Freddie Gabriel of Oakland against James Guo of Palo Alto.  Along with Guo, Palo Alto presented a young lineup of high schooler Colleen Lee and 10-year old phenom Lily Zhang. Zhang has managed to win a singles match this season which was something Palo Alto's other phenom Ariel Hsing was not able to do last season when she was 10 years old.  Oakland presented senior stars Avishy Schmidt and Kock Loe to the table along with Freddie Gabriel.

Avishy Schmidt (Oakland) vs James Guo (Palo Alto)

Although most players seem to have bad matches, Guo has been consistent in his playing level since his move to our area.  Many of the league's top players such as Khoa Nguyen, Freddie Gabriel, Shashin Shodhan, Auria Malek, and others have had bad losses but James Guo has stayed away from lapses in his game.  Avishy Schmidt has done well against top players and he seeks to catch Guo in a "bad" match.  Guo wins the first 11-5 and although Schmidt keeps it close in the next two games, Schmidt says Guo's serve and forehand were too much.  Guo plays the critical points better and escapes with 11-8 and 11-9 wins in the second and third games.

Freddie Gabriel (Oakland) vs Colleen Lee (Palo Alto)

The 500 point rating difference between the two players is too much for Colleen Lee to overcome. Lee has problems receiving Gabriel's tricky serves and she is not able to hit pass Gabriel.  Gabriel ends the match with a forehand flip wide crosscourt that elicits the comment of "Wow! What a 2400-level shot!" from a spectator.

FREDDIE GABRIEL CRUISES TO A 3-0 WIN OVER PALO ALTO'S COLLEEN LEE. (Photo by Kingston Gee)

Kock Loe (Oakland) vs Lily Zhang (Palo Alto)

Loe has amazingly reached his level despite starting to play table-tennis after age 40!  Zhang has amazingly reached her level despite being only 10 years old!  This was an interesting match-up between the quick, older hands of Loe and the quick, younger feet of Zhang.  Zhang, however, loses convincingly 3-0, but Loe's days are numbered.  When Zhang reaches new heights and accomplishes more and more as she gets older, Loe will be able to say, "I beat Lily Zhang 3-0!"

IT IS ONLY A MATTER OF TIME BEFORE THE OUTCOME OF LILY ZHANG'S MATCHES WITH KOCK LOE WILL BE REVERSED. (Photo by Kingston Gee)

Freddie Gabriel/Kock Loe (Oakland) vs Colleen Lee/Lily Zhang (Palo Alto)

This was an interesting choice by Palo Alto to not place James Guo in the doubles.  This would give more experience, however, to the young duo of Lee and Zhang.  However, the experience and playing level of Gabriel and Loe is too much for the young Palo Alto combo to overcome.  Zhang and Lee do get to deuce in the first game but lose this match 3-0.

COLLEEN LEE HAS THE DOUBLES ADVANTAGE OF BEING LEFT-HANDED. (Photo by Kingston Gee)

Freddie Gabriel (Oakland) vs James Guo (Palo Alto)

Gabriel has yet to lose a league match this season and Guo has yet to lose a league match in league play spanning two seasons.  Both have defeated Barney Reed by the narrowest of margins and Gabriel's only losses in the previous league season were to Guo.  Gabriel lost both times they played and lost to Guo in the all-star game as well.  This match was no different as Gabriel falls 3-1 to Guo again which has consistently been the game score when the two have played.  Guo does not have trouble reading Gabriel's spinny serves and his strategy of "everything forehand" has worked against Gabriel.

JAMES GUO IS 4-0 AGAINST FREDDIE GABRIEL. (Photo by Kingston Gee)

Kock Loe (Oakland) vs Colleen Lee (Palo Alto)

Kock Loe's hard hitting style was too much for Colleen in the beginning and Kock Loe easily takes the first game 11-2. Colleen Lee settles down after that and puts up tougher resistance to Kock Loe to earn a more respectable score for the second game.  Then Lee goes on the offensive in the third and fourth games, chasing after loose balls and smashes herself to victory.  However, in the fifth game, Loe changes up his serves and Lee is not able to adjust and thus loses the game and the match.

KOCK LOE CLOSES OUT THE WIN FOR OAKLAND OVER PALO ALTO. (Photo by Kingston Gee)