EAST DIVISION KICKS OFF 2024 WITH BIG BRAWL IN BROWARD
(image courtesy of MLTT’s Ryan Day)
MLTT kicks off the official 2nd half of the season as the East Division teams meet in a crucial clash at Broward County Table Tennis, January 5-7. Who will emerge victorious from the clouds of phosphorescent neondust explosions to make the $100,000 playoffs?
January 2, 2024. After what seemed an eternity, glorious MLTT action returns to our otherwise meaningless lives on January 5th as the East Division teams renew both camaraderie and hostilities at the spacious Broward Country Table Tennis Club in Davie, Florida. Be sure to get your tickets to see all the action live here, or else watch all the events unfold on the MLTT Youtube channel here.
We are literally in the middle of packing our bags for Florida, as we’ve just been given the green light to attend the event in person…so this preview article is gonna be short and sweet and to the point.
Current East Division standings after all 4 teams feasted on West Division teams (most of them with less-than-optimal rosters) in Rock Hill
The standings tell the story. Prior to Broward, all teams stand at the 57.114% point of the season (4/7ths of the way through). That means there is approximately 42.857% of the season to go. For the 3rd and 4th place teams Princeton Revolution and Chicago Wind, their goal is to work their way up into playoff position, by not only outdistancing each other but also by leapfrogging the Crocs. For the Florida Crocs, they’re looking both up and down. Frank Arias’ squad still has every intention in the world to catch Carolina for the #1 spot in the east, but at the same time they need to keep the Revs and the Winds at bay. And finally the Carolina Gold Rush will seek to run away with the lead, like a marathon runner whose pace completely demoralizes the opposition at the 15th mile such that the rest of the race is just about 2nd place.
Princeton Revolution and Chicago Wind need to avoid all pitfalls to swing over the chompin’ jaws of the Crocs…and join the Gold Rush in playoff position. A picture is worth a thousand words!
ROSTERS (men are listed in order of USATT rating, which determines which position they may play in the singles matches)
Carolina Gold Rush: Enzo Angles, Romain Lorentz, Kai Zhang, Bastien Dupont, Jeremy Hazin, Hong Lin
Comment: Carolina’s team motto should be “The best ability is availability.” Do the Gold Rush ever take their foot off the gas pedal?
Florida Crocs: Daniel Gorak, Marc Duran, Ojo Onaolapo, Benjamin Brossier, Mishel Levinski, Matilda Ekholm
Comment: If Florida has true aspirations to take back the top spot from Carolina, it’s go time…they’re the only team to have beaten the Gold Rush earlier this season, can they do so again?
Princeton Revolution: Jishan Liang, Mathieu de Saintilan, Ievgen Pryschepa, Alexander Chen, Nishant Lebaka, Angela Guan
Comment: the soap opera that has been Princeton’s season (with regard to participation) continues as Princeton fields its 5th different lineup in as many events…and this time it could be fatal with #1 Jinxin Wang and MLTT #3 ranked Koyo Kanamitsu both MIA.
Chicago Wind: Damien Provost, Alex Cazacu, Daniele Pinto, Dan Liu, Timothy Wang, Emily Tan
Comment: Where have you gone, Sasha Khanin? The Windy City turns its lonely eyes to you, boo hoo hoo! Chicago comes off a successful Rock Hill campaign looking to keep the momentum in their favor and move on up!
We leave you with a quote from none other than Mimi Bosika, MLTT’s beloved VP of Competition: “I think it will be interesting to see what kind of form players are in, since some of them took breaks from practicing during the holidays.”
Keep pongin’, pongheads!
