Six MLTT Teams have Athletes Repping at 2023 Pan Am Championships
Fight Lily, Fight! The Bay Area Blasters’ Lily Zhang (World #27) will represent the USA at the upcoming Pan American Table Tennis Championships in Havana, Cuba. She is one of ten athletes from the MLTT who will be there.
September 8, 2023 The Pan American Table Tennis Championships are a BFD. First held in 2017, it’s now an annual tournament of the best players from North, Central and South America plus the Caribbean with Olympics qualification implications. There are ten players from six different MLTT teams who have qualified for their respective countries’ national team who are playing at the Pan Am Championships on 9/10 - 9/17 in Havana, Cuba. That’s pretty damn special! Let’s take a look at the ten MLTT players, six men and four women, who are currently in Havana preparing to battle it out for western hemispheric glory in team, singles and doubles events.
Texas Smash’s Golden Girl Amy Wang
is so cool she makes James Bond 007 look like he’s a male Karen freaking out and demanding to talk to your manager RIGHT NOW!
The TEXAS SMASH takes top honors among all teams with three (3) players at the Pan Am Championships, all three of them representing the USA. Top pick Amy Wang is the reigning Women’s Doubles gold medalist (with Portland Paddler Rachel Sung), and 2022 silver medalist in the Women’s Teams event as well. Nandan Naresh and Darryl Tsao, the young guns of the Texas bullpen, are both on the US men’s team and will look to take some of that Texas swagger down to Havana with them.
Princeton’s Jishan Liang
This man has a howitzer of a lefty forehand, which is a huge factor in doubles as well.
The PRINCETON REVOLUTION is second with two players, Jishan Liang on the US team and Edward Ly on Team Canada. Jishan won a silver medal in 2022 in the men’s team event (losing in the finals to Hugo Calderano’s Brazil team). Our sources tell us that while Coach Habesohn is super proud of Jishan/Ed, it still presents him with a challenge at the quickly approaching Daytona Beach event, as he’ll be going into battle without his #2 and #5 guys (the Western Conference teams are not affected, as the Pan Am Championships conclude before their first weekend of play, 9/22-9/24 in Santa Clara, CA).
Portland’s Tyrese Knight
is one of only three defensive players in the MLTT. His underspin, away from the table game is an absolute joy to watch. He will be representing his home country of Barbados.
Tied for second also with two representatives, the PORTLAND PADDLERS send the aforementioned 2022 women’s doubles champ Rachel Sung, along with the Pride of Barbados, Tyrese Knight. Tyrese will undoubtedly delight fans as he does every time he plays, with his elegant and athletic defensive style. Rachel was a double medalist last year, adding a silver in women’s teams to her doubles gold. With their strong lineup this year, no doubt their current goal is nothing short of golden.
Bay Area’s Lily Zhang
is no stranger to NorCal, having grown up on the campus of Stanford, then later attending Cal-Berkeley. That’s right, folks…she’s smarter than you, too.
Three teams send one representative to Cuba. First off, the BAY AREA BLASTERS’ Lily Zhang is perhaps the most decorated member of the US contingent, with her 2022 silver medal in women’s singles (she only lost to Fabiola Diaz’s big sis Adriana in the finals), along with her women’s team silver.
She puts the NASTY
in DYNASTY
Seattle’s Fabiola Diaz is the youngest sibling in Puerto Rico’s Diaz Dynasty, three sisters who are table tennis royalty on the Island of Enchantment.
Fabiola Diaz of the SEATTLE SPINNERS makes her first Pan Am Championships appearance, as The Diaz Dynasty make up 3/4ths of the Puerto Rican team, with older sisters Adriana and Melanie. GO FABIOLA! We can’t wait to see how she does!
Florida’s Daniel Gonzalez
will be sorely missed at the opening weekend of East Division regular season play at Daytona Beach…both as a player by his team, and as an ambassador for the league.
Last but certainly not least, the FLORIDA CROCS send MLTT player ambassador Daniel Gonzalez to represent Team Puerto Rico. Like Princeton, Coach Frank Arias faces a challenging situation with the absence of his #2 guy at the season opening Daytona Beach weekend. Presumably GOAT Whisperer Mishel Levinski will take Daniel’s place and look to slay giants…we all know he’s fully capable!
Please note the sweet MLTT unis worn by Rachel and Amy during the recent World University Games, in which they won the bronze in Women’s Doubles. The US team was sponsored by MLTT and Princeton BioMeditech Corporation. This was the first time that the US ever medaled at this event, as chronicled by team captain and Princeton Revolution member Angela Guan.
Another great aspect of the impending Pan Am Table Tennis Championships is the fun cross-team doubles pairings we get to see, specifically within the US team. We are just crazy about table tennis doubles! For example, the Princeton/Texas combo of Jishan Liang and Naresh Nandan in men’s doubles. How about the Texas/Portland pair Amy Wang and Rachel Sung, stepping up to defend their 2022 gold medal? And this one might be our favorite, a Revolutionary+Blasters combo of Jishan Jiang and Lily Zhang, a totally sick righty-lefty pairing in mixed doubles.
There’s a definite feeling of pride and patriotism that the league is being represented by ten such fine athletes. Good luck to all of them! The Pan Am Championships can be watched on free streaming here, and also check back with majorponghead.com after 9/17 for results…we’ll obviously be posting about the performances of MLTT players, although it might come after a few articles reporting on the Daytona Beach first weekend of play.
