Feature Image
The Colorado Springs Open
by Larry Rose
The Colorado Springs Open is back after a one-year hiatus. Saturday's events included the Mountain Region Junior Championships, won by Luke Hays of Wyoming. Sanjiv Thakor and Richard McAfee were each double winners - Thakor in U-1850 and Over 30s and McAfee in Over 40s and Over 50s.
On Sunday morning, McAfee made it three wins in a row by partnering with U-2000 winner Nobuyuki Shiogai to beat Thakor and Charlie Solomon in Open Doubles. Richard was aiming for a 4th victory in Open Singles. In the semifinal, McAfee was hard-pressed by Aili Elliott, who had a 4-1 lead in the best-of-9 match. Richard knew that he had to do something different, so he changed his tactics and managed a fine comback winning 5-4. Yes, Richard, we'll remember that next time you don't want to play best-of-9! The other semifinal featured two penhold loopers: Mi Li of Colorado Springs and Lingli Liu of Boulder. Mi Li prevailed, but not without a struggle. McAfee and Li had met a few months ago at the Aurora Trainwreck, with McAfee coming out ahead, but this time Mi Li's fast loops, and much improved shot selection were too much for McAfee, who had to settle for second place.
Open Singles: Final: Mi Li (CO) def. Richard McAfee (CO) 7,-7,-10,8,7,9,9; SF: Li def. Lingli Liu (CO) 8,7,7,5,-6,14; McAfee def. Aili Elliott (CO) 8,-9,-8,-6,-11,4,9,7,4.
Open Doubles: Final: Richard McAfee/Nobuyuki Shiogai def. Sanjiv Thakor/Charlie Solomon 7,5,8; SF: McAfee/Shiogai def. Lingli Liu/Lu Gao 7,4,7; Thakor/Solomon def. Mi Li/Tisoy Aligaen -4,6,-8,9,8.
U-3000 Doubles: 1. Zhigang Bian/Luke Hays 2-0; 2. Keith Stewart/Jon Redman 1-1; 3. Adam Preiss/Tanner Greimann 0-2.
U-2000 (A Singles): Final: Nobuyuki Shiogai (CO) def. Ron Lusk (CO) 8,8,5,9; SF: Shiogai def. David Hays (WY) 8,-4,7,5,-7,5; Lusk def Derek Stanley (CO) 8,9,-7,-7,7,-5,3.
U-1850 (B Singles): Final: Sanjiv Thakor (CO) def. Alfred Adjei (CO) 7,11,-9,7; SF: Thakor dev. Marvin Sommers (NM) 7,12,-10,6; Adjei def. Ken Lieu (CO) -7,8,-7,14,8.
C Singles: Final: Richard Howell (CO) def. Michael King (CO) 11,9,-11,-8,8; SF: Howell def. Zhigang Bian (CO) -3,2,6,6; King def. Nick Seledchik (CO) 8,-5,7,-9,11.
D Singles: Final: Luke Hays (WY) def. Danilo Noble (CO) -8,9,-9,6,9; SF: Noble def. Allen Huffman (CO) -9,8,8,10; Hays def. Gokal Shah (CO) -3,14,8,-3,8.
E Singles: Final: Lee Rodriguez (CO) def. Victor Smith (NM) 5,-9,-10,5,7; SF: Smith def. Jon Redman (CO) -9,4,-8,7,7; Rodriguez def. Jerry Dimacali (CO) 6,-12,8,5.
U-1200 RR Singles: David Beaubien (CO) def. Marian Chen (NM) -11,3,6,7; SF: Chen def. Matt Ingwalson 5,5,4; Beaubien def. Jerry Dimacali (CO) 4,-7,8,3.
Combined Junior Regional Championships. 1. Luke Hays (WY) 4-0; 2. David Beaubien (CO) 3-1; 3. Adam Preiss (CO) 2-2.
Over 30 Singles: Final: Sanjiv Thakor (CO) def. Derek Stanley (CO) -9,7,-6,7,5; SF: Stanley def. Ken Lieu (CO) 3,-9,7,9; Thakor def. Ken Lewis (NM) 8,-13,6,9.
Over 40 Singles: Final: Richard McAfee (CO) def. David Huggins (CO) 7,5,-8,8; SF: McAfee def. Marvin Sommers (NM) 5,5,6; Huggins def. Ken Lewis (NM) 6,-8,-9,3,7.
Over 50 Singles: Final: Richard McAfee (CO) def. Richard Howell (CO) 9,2,3; McAfee def. Marvin Sommers (NM) 8,7,3; Howell def. Lee Rodriguez (CO) 1,2,2.
2006 Paul Cracraft Memorial Sportsmanship Award: Jon Redman (CO).
Many thanks to the helpful staff of the Hillside Community Center, as well as to the officials and staff: Bob Tretheway and Charleste King. Thanks also to those who helped with setup and teardown, notably Richard Howell, Ken Lieu, Mike Tarter and Dana Jeffries.
Return to the Colorado Springs Open homepage.