September Newgy Akron Ohio
Giant Round Robin Table Tennis Tournament
 
 
     On September 26-27, the Newgy Akron Open took center stage at Walsh University’s Alumni Arena.  The new facility hosted the northeast Ohio’s largest event with 133 registered players with excellent conditions including 800 lux lighting, wood floor, and 28’ ceilings.  Friday events kicked off with the warm-up events:  Open doubles, family doubles, handicap, and junior recreational.  The elite Lindenwood University team dominated Friday play with taking first in Handicap and top 4 in Open Doubles.
     Saturday featured round robin groups of 8 players with the top 4 advancing from each group.  In the Open Giant RR quarterfinals 2600-level Xue Feng Jia chopped and looped his way to a 3-0 victory over Lindenwood’s top player Alex Legaria next up Jiaqi Zheng rated 2548 took down Santiago Seville 3-0.  Khoa followed suit with a 3-0 win over Gabriel Skolnick.  Micaiah Skolnick nearly broke the trend with a 8-5 lead in the fifth over Samson Dubina.  Micaiah was stopped short with an 11-9 loss.
     In the Open semifinals US #1 ranked Olympic eligible female player Jiaqi Zheng took down 2x Olympian Khoa Nguyen 3-1 to advance to the finals.  In the other semifinals, former Chinese Superleague player Xue Feng Jia using excellent spin variation and consistency took down Ohio’s #1 player Samson Dubina 3-0.  With the experienced Xue Feng Jia easily cruising through 10 straight matches, it looked as if he would take the title and $1000 first place cash.  However, Jiaqi Zheng played a smart game and Xue Feng Jia was not able to adjust to her pips attacks and drop shots.  Congrats to Jiaqi Zheng for winning her first Newgy Akron Open title.  Best wishes to her as she prepares to represent the US at the 2016 Olympics!
     We would like to thank our dedicated tournament sponsors:  Newgy, Studio 330 Wedding Professionals, Union Institute & University, Wil-Cut Engineered Abrasive Solutions, Clear Choice Custom Lasik Center, Paddle Palace, Nittaku, CLJ Studios, Simplex Creative, PainZone, and Butterfly.  We would also like to thank our friendly tournament staff:   Greg Thompson, Pierce Scott, Randy Burnett, Joyce Burnett, Larry Loutzenheiser, Harsh Khandelwal, Gabe Stauffer, Cathy Steele, Sam Dubina, Nancy Dubina, Marissa Dubina, Heather Dubina, Rachel Detwiler, Ron Martin, Craig Krum, and Orlando McEwan.
 
Tournament video
http://www.teamusa.org/USA-Table-Tennis/Features/2014/September/22/Newgy-Akron-Open
 
Tournament Photos
http://cljstudiosphotography.smugmug.com/Events/Table-Tennis-Tournaments/September-Akron-Newgy-Open/ 
 
 
Here are the tournament results!
Open Giant RR
1st Jiaqi Zheng
2nd Xue Feng Jia
3rd-4th Khoa Nguyen/Samson Dubina
 
Under 2400 Giant RR
1st Alex Legaria
2nd Felipe Morita
3rd-4th Gabriel Skolnick/Santiago Sevilla
 
Under 2000 Giant RR
1st Anthony Lewis
2nd David Pech
3rd-4th Shreyans Bafna/Zuo Li
 
Under 1600 Giant RR
1st Ashwin Turakhia
2nd Zach Spies
3rd-4th Adam Hemker/Bobo Shi
 
Under 1200 Giant RR
1st Ishaq Kothari
2nd Anwen Harris
3rd Nathen Eldridge/Jeff Pitrof
 
Open Doubles RR
1st Gabriel Skolnick/Felipe Morita
2nd Micaiah Skolnick/Ahmed Hendawi
 
Family Doubles RR
1st Anwen Harris/Zane Harris
2nd Sarah Sommers/David Sommers
 
Handicap RR
1st Zach Spies
2nd Alex Averin
 
Junior RR
1st Daniel Daum
2nd Andrew Schneider