CONCORD AT SAN FRANCISCO-SATURDAY, FEBRUARY 10, 2007

By Philip Lim and Shashin Shodhan

Philip Lim (Concord) vs Thomas Yeh (San Francisco)

Philip would normally go in as a heavy favorite but has not had much practice since the Nationals in mid-December.  Also, he is recovering from the flu so is not at 100% health.  Thomas plays with the unconventional long pips rubber on the backhand.  Thomas' long pips do end up catching Philip off-guard in the opening game leading Thomas to victory.  Philip's serves are the main reason he wins the second game.  Thomas uses heavy backspin serves to win game 3 as Philip netted a good number of them.  Philip plays consistently in the fourth game and controls the play and the match goes onto the deciding fifth game.  It ends up being a nail-biter with Philip winning 12-10 to put Concord up 1-0.

Trevor Runyan (Concord) vs Sally Su (San Francisco)

In this match, Trevor has too much power from both wings and whenever Sally pushes long, she usually loses the points.  She used the short balls in the second game to pull out a 12-10 win.  However, Trevor is a level above Sally and wins the first, third, and fourth games at 11-8, 11-2, and 11-8, respectively.

Mike Dewynter (Concord) vs Tomas Fuentes-Afflick (San Francisco)

Mike uses anti-spin on the backhand and often plays away from the table chopping.  Tomas is one of the top young prospects in the Bay Area and is steadily improving his game.  Mike's backhand flips with his anti give Tomas problems as he loses the first two games at 11-6 and 11-4.  Tomas then starts playing more to the middle and hits softer attacks.  Mike also starts missing his backhand flips.  Tomas shows great poise for a young player and wins the final 3 games at 11-8, 11-8, and 11-6.  San Francisco gets its first win of the afternoon.

Trevor Runyan/Philip Lim (Concord) vs Sally Su/Tomas Fuentes-Afflick (San Francisco)

Concord controls this doubles match from start to finish outside of a "hiccup" in the third game with a 11-9 loss.  Trevor has too much power for the San Francisco juniors and hits spectacular shots to end points.  Concord wins the doubles match 11-9, 11-5, 9-11, 11-4.  Concord is now up 3-1.

Trevor Runyan (Concord) vs Thomas Yeh (San Francisco)

Concord's "T" is a heavy favorite over San Francisco's "T" in this singles match.  Thomas does have long pips which Trevor never practices against but would the unfamiliarity of long pips be enough to overcome the higher-level game of Trevor.  Thomas does win a game which is a creditable performance against the strength of Trevor's game but Trevor closes out this singles match and team match with a 4-game victory.

Concord wins 4-1.