Tournament Sunday

No, not the NCAA, but the Newgy Robo-Pong St. Joseph Valley Open Table Tennis Tournament in South Bend (wow, that's a mouthful). For this tournament, I entered three events, the under 1500, under 1625, and under 1750. My USA Table Tennis rating going in was 1352, so I was hoping to boost that number. It happened and it didn't happen.

In the under 1625, I was a match point away from advancing further but couldn't close the deal. I led 10-9 in the deciding 5th game, but couldn't end it. So, that was it.

In the under 1500, I lost to a kid with a ranking of 998. That will cause a huge plunge in my rating. However, the kid then lost 3-0 to another guy that I played. Had I beaten this guy 3-0 I would have advanced in this event. However, I only beat him 3-1. So, once again, so close.

In the under 1750, I figured I was just along for the ride. But then things got interesting. I beat a guy with a 1,500+ ranking. Then, in a match my brother Steve called one of the sloppiest he's seen, I took out a guy with a 1,600 plus ranking (he was right, it was a garbage win, but it was still a win). I then finished out by beating a guy with a ranking just above mine, which allowed me to advance into the quarterfinals, which I lost in 3 straight to a 1,600+ player by scores of 11-9, 11-7 and 16-14. So, I was very pleased. This should help regain some of the points I lost to that punk kid from the under 1500 (who actually was a very good player with a good attitude).

Steve, meanwhile, started off early by taking out a guy with a ranking 200+ higher than him, then held his own by not losing to anyone lower. So he should see a healthy spike in his rating.

But, I am WORN OUT! That was quite a workout today. I will sleep well tonight.