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Feature Photo
Elite Junior Singles Medalists (from left) Austin Preiss, Adam Preiss and Brian Taylor.
by Larry Rose, Tournament Director
The 2002 Rocky Mountain State Games Table Tennis event was held at Cadet Gymnasium at the US Air Force Academy. Prior to the event, Colorado Governor Bill Owens was the featured speaker at the kickoff celebration.
The August 3-4 event included both Recreational and Elite (USATT membership required) divisions.
The Recreational Men's singles event included Jeff Johnson of Manitou Springs, who had started the day by running in the Triathlon. Jeff later sent an email to co-commissioner Bob Tretheway, saying "I was a bit sore the next day. Don't think I ever played that much table tennis before." (I wonder what condition the rest of the competitors would be in if they'd started the day with a triathlon!)
Another participant was US Air Force Academy Assistant Athletic Director Alan McKellar. Alan told us that he'd learned to play table tennis in Grand Rapids, MI. You guessed it - he was one of Dell Sweeris's students, and at age 10, he played doubles with John Tannehill. Luckily for the tournament staff (and the competition), Alan's been out of practice awhile - he finished second in a 3-way tie in his preliminary round robin group.
Following the recreational events, the Elite events started. Father/son team David and Brian Taylor captured the Senior and Junior gold medals. Joining Brian on the medal stand were Adam and Austin Preiss of Manitou Springs. Prior to the tournament, Adam and Austin were featured in an article in the Colorado Springs Gazette Telegraph, and Brian and David Taylor were featured in an article in their neighborhood's weekly newspaper.
Elite events continued on Sunday, starting with Open Doubles, where David and Brian continued their winning ways, capturing the Bronze. Bo Lianza and Kevin Young defeated the team of the state's top player, Francisco Mendez and his wife Sandra Altamirano.
Elite Open Doubles Medalists (from left) Brian and David Taylor, Kevin Young and Bo Lianza, Francisco Mendez and Sandra Altamirano.
Brian Taylor kept up his winning ways and captured the U-1600 Gold. Allen McDermott and his hardbat cruised to the U-1900 Gold. Allen lost in the quarterfinals of Open Singles to Charles Solomon, who had a great day - upsetting #3 seed Jiri Mracek and McDermott before falling to Bo Lianza in the semis. Derek Stanley lost to Francisco Mendez in the other semi. Lianza kept close to Mendez in the first two games of the final, including a 10-9 lead in the first, but Francisco's combination of great serves, control, and strong spin led him to the Gold Medal in Open Singles.
Thanks to the tournament staff and volunteers: Co-Commissioners Bob Tretheway and Debbie Moya, Tournament Referee Peter Chamberlain, and the support of Norm Silver, David Huggins and Dana Jeffries. We're happy that the State Games have returned to Colorado, and are looking forward to next year.