Seventh Annual Utah Valley Open

by John P. Pratt

Other Utah Valley Tournament Results

The Seventh Annual Utah Valley Open in Pleasant Grove, Utah


The Seventh Annual Utah Valley Open Table Tennis Tournament was held on Saturday, April 21, 2007, sponsored jointly by Pleasant Grove City Recreation and the Timpanogos Table Tennis Club. We are very grateful to Pleasant Grove City for provided the gym free of charge, and for paying half of the cost of the awards medals. We are also grateful to Bluehost Inc. (fantastic Web Hosting Company) for donating two high quality tables to the club in time for the event.

This year was the first year that the tournament was nationally sanctioned. That means that all entrants in any singles event will receive a national rating. Because that would take longer, and because only six rather than seven tables were used (to allow more space for doubles), the Mixed Doubles event was dropped. In all, fourteen events were completed in just one day, from 9:00 a.m. to 6:30 p.m. Events with more than five entries used the new Rapid Ranker format (explained below), which replaces the Double Elimination format used previously for Doubles and the Round Robin used for Division Singles. The Rapid Ranker allows all players to play at least three matches in each event, ranks all contestants, has no scheduling bottlenecks, and yet usually requires no more matches than the Double Elimination. There is an example explaining how it works in the results of last year's tournament, but you will get the idea by just looking at the results from the Under-14 event below. Events with five or fewer entrants used the Round Robin format. Matches were the best 3 out of 5 games.

Olympic style medals were again given for Gold, Silver and Bronze. The medals will be engraved after the tournament with the names of those desiring it. Pictures of winners are included below, and each photo can be enlarged by clicking on it.

Preliminary ranking in the events was done either by 1) national rating, 2) results of earlier matches today, 3) results from last year's matches, or 4) estimating by watching players in a practice round. After a preliminary ranking of all entrants was completed, the Division Singles was divided into Open, A, B, and C divisions of nine players each, by having players near the bottom of one division play those at the top of the next lower division. If the lower player prevailed, then they swapped places in the divisions. The original entry list for all events, including Singles, modification after the age division events, and the final cut into divisions for Singles are all listed on line. The national rating of each player, if any, is given in parentheses after their name. Ratings are such that higher ratings are better, and usually the difference of 100 points means the higher player will usually win. Because of time constraints, the Expedite Option was invoked, so that each pair only played once per event.

One minor disaster was that we discovered there had been a building scheduling problem and we could not stay past 6:30 p.m. In order to be able to finish, only the upper four entrants played the last two rounds of the Singles and Doubles. Some players had a bye in either round 1 or 2, so they only played one match and were eliminated. This was unfortunate and in the future no more than 8 will be allowed to enter so there will be no byes and everyone will get at least two matches guaranteed.

Under 14

L-R: Austin, Jason and Colin
  1. Jason Jung (unrated)
  2. Austin Gridley (700)
  3. Colin Misbach (unrated)
  4. Jacob Gridley (unrated)
  5. Michael Heaton (unrated)
  6. Zach Heaton (unrated)
Round 1vs Round 2vs Round 3vs Round 4vs Final Rank
1. Austin (W-3)5 1. Austin (W-3)3 1. Austinbye 1. Austin (L-4)2 1. Jason
2. Jason (W-3)4 2. Jason (W-4)5 2. Jason (W-3)3 2. Jason (W-4)1 2. Austin
3. Jacob (W-3)6 3. Jacob (L-3)1 3. Jacob (L-3)2 3. Jacob (L-5)4 3. Colin
4. Michael (L-3)2 4. Michael (W-3)6 4. Michael (L-3)5 4. Colin (W-5)3 4. Jacob
5. Colin (L-3)1 5. Colin (L-4)2 5. Colin (W-3)4 5. Michael (R2)6 5. Michael
6. Zach (L-3)3 6. Zach (L-3)4 6. Zachbye 6. Zach (R2)5 6. Zach


This event was a good example of how well the Rapid Ranker works for 6 entrants. Each contestant is pre-ranked from 1 to 6. Each competes against the player with rank listed under "vs". For example, Austin played Colin first, and won in three games. When the player of lower rank wins, he trades places with the higher player. You can see that Colin, who was initially ranked fifth swapped places with #4 and finally #3 to win the bronze medal. The "R2" listed in Round 4 means the match was not played because those two already met in Round 2. Thus, the Rapid Ranker used only ten matches (rather than 15 needed for Round Robin). The ranking is well determined because Jason beat Austin (R4), who beat Colin (R1), who beat Jacob (R4) and Michael (R3), who beat Zach (R2). On the other hand, it is also superior to the Double Elimination, because in the same number of matches it also determined third place accurately. Colin was not eliminated after his first two losses, but the Rapid Ranker determined that he deserved the Bronze.

Under 18

L-R: Donovan, Jilin & Benjamin
  1. Jilin Guo (unrated)
  2. Benjamin Wing (526)
  3. Donovan Cabana (unrated)
Name A B C W-L Rank
A. Benjamin XXX L-4 W-3 1-1 2
B. Jilin W-4 XXX W-3 2-0 1
C. Donovan L-4 L-3 XXX 0-2 3


Women's Singles

L-R: Meg, Carol & Adrienne
  1. Batchimeg (Meg) Tsedenbal (1589)
  2. Carol Davis (1446)
  3. Adrienne Davis (291)
Name A B C W-L Rank
A. Meg XXX W-3 W-3 2-0 1
B. Carol L-3 XXX W-5 1-1 2
C. Adrienne L-3 L-5 XXX 0-2 3


Age 40-49

L-R: Tim, Chris & Sami
  1. Chris Clemens (unrated)
  2. Tim Jung (unrated)
  3. Sami Kergaye (unrated)
  4. Ray Arthur (unrated)
  5. David To (unrated)
Name A B C D E W-L Rank
A. Chris XXX W-5 L-5 W-4 W-3 3-1 1
B. Sami L-5 XXX W-4 L-4 W-3 2-2 3
C. Ray W-5 L-4 XXX L-5 W-3 2-2 4
D. Tim L-4 W-4 W-5 XXX W-3 3-1 2
E. David L-3 L-3 L-3 L-3 XXX 0-3 5


Note that the competition was very close with a tie in matches for both the gold and bronze medals. Ray Arthur was the only one who defeated Chris Clemens, and Chris went on to get the bronze medal in the Open.

Age 50-59

L-R: Carol, George & Byron
  1. Byron Davis (1873)
  2. George Majors (1733)
  3. Carol Davis (1446)
  4. Carlos Chu-Jon (unrated)
  5. Lonnie Lockhart (unrated)
Name A B C D E W-L Rank
A. Byron XXX W-5 W-3 W-3 W-3 4-0 1
B. George L-5 XXX W-3 W-5 W-3 3-1 2
C. Carol L-3 L-3 XXX W-4 W-3 2-2 3
D. Carlos L-3 L-5 L-4 XXX W-3 1-3 4
E. Lonnie L-3 L-3 L-3 L-3 XXX 0-4 5


Age 60-69

L-R: Craig, John & Tom
  1. John Pratt (1526)
  2. Tom Hale (1471)
  3. Craig Zimmerman (1518)
  4. David Bernhardt (762)
  5. Howard Wing (unrated)
Name A B C D E W-L Rank
A. John XXX W-3 W-3 W-3 W-3 4-0 1
B. Craig L-3 XXX L-3 W-4 W-3 2-2 3
C. Tom L-3 W-3 XXX W-3 W-3 3-1 2
D. David L-3 L-4 L-3 XXX W-3 1-3 4
E. Howard L-3 L-3 L-3 L-3 XXX 0-4 5


Age 70+

L-R: Merrill, Grant & David
  1. Grant Misbach (1498)
  2. Merrill Newren (1185)
  3. David Scott (unrated)
  4. Yasuko Arata (unrated)
Name A B C D W-L Rank
A. Grant XXX W-3 W-3 W-3 3-0 1
B. Merrill L-3 XXX W-3 W-3 2-1 2
C. Yasuko L-3 L-3 XXX L-3 0-3 4
D. David L-3 L-3 W-3 XXX 1-2 3


Age 80+

Merrill Newren, age 82 this year
  1. Merrill Newren (1185)
Merrill is age 82, so this year we added an "80+" division and awared him the Gold Medal. Even at rating 1185 he was in the top fifty active players in the country over 80. After this tournament, his rating will improve more than 100 points, so he's still on the way up and an inspiration for all of us to keep going!


Open Doubles

L-R: Dale & George, David and Tom, Mike and Bruce
  1. David Calquin and Tom Hale
  2. Mike Squires and Bruce Majors (3231)
  3. George and Dale Majors (3299)
  4. Byron & Carol Davis (3319)
  5. Batchimeg (Meg) Tsedenbal & Matt Heaton (3154)
  6. Chris Clemens & Sami Kergaye
  7. Varghese Pallathu & Ray Arthur
  8. Craig Zimmerman & Tim Jung
Round 1vs Round 2vs Round 3vs Round 4vs Final Rank
1. Byron & Carol3 1. Mike & Bruce8 1. Mike & Bruce4 1. Mike & Bruce2 1. David & Tom
2. George & Dale4 2. David & Tom7 2. David & Tom3 2. David & Tom1 2. Mike & Bruce
3. Mike & Bruce1 3. Byron & Carol6 3. Byron & Carol2 3. Byron & Carol4 3. George & Dale
4. David & Tom2 4. George & Dale5 4. George & Dale1 4. George & Dale3 4. Byron & Carol
5. Meg & Matt7 5. Meg & Matt4 5. Meg & Matt8 Cancelled 5. Meg & Matt
6. Chris & Sami8 6. Chris & Sami3 6. Chris & Sami7 6. Chris & Sami
7. Ray & Varghese5 7. Ray & Varghese2 7. Ray & Varghese6 7. Ray & Varghese
8. Craig & Tim6 8. Craig & Tim1 8. Craig & Tim5 8. Craig & Tim


"A" Doubles

L-R: Justin & Lonnie, Merrill & Carlos, Grant & Matt
  1. Carlos Chu-Jon & Merrill Newren
  2. Grant & Matt Misbach (2864)
  3. Justin Smith & Lonnie Lockhart
  4. Gordon & Austin Gridley (1689)
  5. David Bernhardt & Yasuko Arata
  6. Darnell & Donovan Cabana
  7. Adrienne Davis & T.J. Waters
  8. Bryce Parkinson & Matt Pugmire
Round 1vs Round 2vs Round 3vs Round 4vs Final Rank
1. Grant & Matt3 1. Carlos & Merrill8 1. Carlos & Merrill4 1. Carlos & Merrill2 1. Carlos & Merrill
2. Lonnie & Justin4 2. Lonnie & Justin7 2. Lonnie & Justin3 2. Grant & Matt1 2. Grant & Matt
3. Carlos & Merrill1 3. Grant & Matt6 3. Grant & Matt2 3. Lonnie & Justin4 3. Lonnie & Justin
4. Bryce & Matt2 4. Bryce & Matt5 4. Gordon & Austin1 4. Gordon & Austin3 4. Gordon & Austin
5. Gordon & Austin7 5. Gordon & Austin4 5. Bryce & Matt8 5. David & Yasuko6 5. David & Yasuko
6. David & Yasuko8 6. Adrienne & T.J.3 6. Adrienne & T.J.7 6. Darnell & Donovan5 6. Darnell & Donovan
7. Darnell & Donovan5 7. Darnell & Donovan2 7. Darnell & Donovan6 7. Adrienne & T.J.8 7. Adrienne & T.J.
8. Adrienne & T.J.6 8. David & Yasuko1 8. David & Yasuko5 8. Bryce & Matt7 8. Bryce & Matt


Open

L-R: Meg, David & Chris
  1. David Calquin (unrated)
  2. Batchimeg (Meg) Tsedenbal (1589)
  3. Chris Clemens (unrated)
  4. George Majors (1733)
  5. Byron Davis (1873)
  6. Dan Handy (1577)
  7. Matt Heaton (1568)
  8. Bruce Majors (1410)
  9. Mike Squires (1821)
Round 1vs Round 2vs Round 3vs Round 4vs Final Rank
1. Byron (L-5)3 1. Mike (W-4)9 1. David (R1)4 1. David2 1. David
2. George (L-3)4 2. David (W-3)7 2. Meg (W-4)3 2. Meg1 2. Meg
3. Mike (W-5)1 3. Byron (L-3)6 3. Chris (L-4)2 3. Chris (R2)4 3. Chris
4. David (W-3)2 4. George (L-4)5 4. George (R1)1 4. George (R2)3 4. George
5. Bruce (L-5)9 5. Chris (W-4)4 Cancelled 5. Byron
6. Meg (W-4)8 6. Meg (W-3)3 6. Dan
7. Danbye 7. Dan (L-3)2 7. Matt
8. Matt (L-4)6 8. Mattbye 8. Bruce
9. Chris (W-5)5 9. Bruce (L-4)1 9. Mike (forfeit)


In order to qualify for the Open, Meg Tsedenbal beat Varghese Pallathu (W-5), Dan Handy defeated Ray Arthur (W-3), Matt Heaton beat Sami Kergaye (W-3), and Chris Clemens defeated Dale Majors (W-4). The other five entrants were prequalified either by rating or known ability. Varghese nearly defeated Meg and she went on to place second in the Open. Varghese won the A Division, so both had a great tournament.

This event had the last rounds cancelled because it was discovered that many square dancers would be arriving at 6:30 p.m. and we thought we had the gym until 8 p.m. That was especially unfortunate for Matt and Dan, both of whom had a bye and so only got to play one match. The lesson learned was that we should only have allowed eight to enter (as was advertised in the tournament information) so everyone would at least have had two matches, the same as in a Double Elimination event. It was also decided to go to a Round Robin of four format in the future for the Division Singles, and perhaps eliminate one of the Doubles events.

Another unfortunate occurrence was that Mike, who had been in the top position, had to forfeit due to injury. Here the strength of the Rapid Ranker was useful, in that all players are ranked after each round. In someone forfeits, he goes to the bottom and all other players advance. The listing for Round three (and final positions) shows the effects of that shift.

Class "A" Singles

L-R: Ray, Varghese and Dale
  1. Varghese Pallathu (1386)
  2. Dale Majors (1566)
  3. Ray Arthur (unrated)
  4. Tom Hale (1471)
  5. Sami Kergaye (unrated)
  6. Carlos Chu-Jon (unrated)
  7. Justin Smith (unrated)
  8. Lonnie Lockhart (unrated)
  9. Kelvin Lau (unrated)
Round 1vs Round 2vs Round 3vs Round 4vs Final Rank
1. Dale (W-4)3 1. Dale (W-3)9 1. Dale (W-4)4 1. Dale (L-5)2 1. Varghese
2. Sami (L-3)4 2. Varghese (W-5)7 2. Varghese (W-3)3 2. Varghese (W-5)1 2. Dale
3. Ray (L-4)1 3. Ray (W-5)6 3. Ray (L-3)2 3. Ray (W-3)4 3. Ray
4. Varghese (W-3)2 4. Sami (L-4)5 4. Tom (L-4)1 4. Tom (L-3)3 4. Tom
5. Tom (W-3)9 5. Tom (W-4)4 Cancelled 5. Sami
6. Lonnie (L-3)8 6. Carlos (L-5)3 6. Carlos
7. Justinbye 7. Justin (L-5)2 7. Justin
8. Carlos (W-3)6 8. Lonniebye 8. Lonnie
9. Kelvin (L-3)5 9. Kelvin (L-3)1 9. Kelvin


In order to qualify for the A Division, Lonnie Lockhart beat Craig Zimmerman (W-4), Justin Smith defeated Carol Davis (W-5), Carlos Chu-Jon beat Gordon Gridley (W-5), and Kelvin Lau defeated Matt Misbach (W-5). As shown by the game count, all of those matches were close, and all were won by the challengers who had been seeded in the B Division.

Class "B" Singles

L-R: Matt, Carol & Gordon
  1. Carol Davis (1446)
  2. Gordon Gridley (989)
  3. Matt Misbach (1376)
  4. Merrell Newren (1185)
  5. Scott Wiersdorf (unrated)
  6. Craig Zimmerman (1518)
  7. Tim Garlick (unrated)
  8. Jilin Guo (unrated)
  9. Bryce Parkinson (unrated)
Round 1vs Round 2vs Round 3vs Round 4vs Final Rank
1. Craig (L-4)3 1. Gordon (W-3)9 1. Gordon (W-4)4 1. Gordon (L-5)2 1. Carol
2. Carol (W-3)4 2. Carol (W-3)7 2. Carol (W-3)3 2. Carol (W-5)1 2. Gordon
3. Gordon (W-4)1 3. Craig (L-3)6 3. Merrill (L-3)2 3. Merrill (L-4)4 3. Matt
4. Matt (L-3)2 4. Matt (W-4)5 4. Matt (L-4)1 4. Matt (W-4)3 4. Merrill
5. Scott (W-5)9 5. Scott (L-4)4 Cancelled 5. Scott
6. Merrill (W-5)8 6. Merrill (W-3)3 6. Craig
7. Timbye 7. Tim (L-3)2 7. Tim
8. Jilin (L-5)6 8. Jilinbye 8. Jilin
9. Bryce (L-5)5 9. Bryce (L-3)1 9. Bryce


In order to qualify for the B Division, Merrill Newren beat Darnell Cabana (W-3), Bryce Parkinson defeated Austin Gridley (W-4), and Jilin Guo beat Matt Pugmire (W-3).

Class "C" Singles

L-R: Donovan, Benjamin & David
  1. Benjamin Wing (526)
  2. David To (unrated)
  3. Donovan Cabana (unrated)
  4. Matt Pugmire (unrated)
  5. Austin Gridley (700)
  6. Darnell Cabana (unrated)
  7. Jacob Gridley
Round 1vs Round 2vs Round 3vs Round 4vs Final Rank
1. Matt (W-5)3 1. Mattbye 1. Matt (L-5)4 1. Benjamin (W-4)2 1. Benjamin
2. Austin (L-3)4 2. David (W-3)7 2. David (W-3)3 2. David (L-4)1 2. David
3. Darnell (L-5)1 3. Darnell (L-3)6 3. Donovan (L-3)2 3. Donovan (W-4)4 3. Donovan
4. David (W-3)2 4. Austin (L-3)5 4. Benjamin (W-5)1 4. Matt (L-4)3 4. Matt
5. Benjamin (W-3)7 5. Benjamin (W-3)4 Cancelled 5. Austin
6. Donovanbye 6. Donovan (W-3)3 6. Darnell
7. Jacob (L-3)5 7. Jacob (L-3)2 7. Jacob


Adrienne Davis and T.J. Waters had to forfeit before the event began, so it had only seven entrants. But Adrienne was able to have a preliminary match in which Benjamin Wing defeated her (W-4).