2024 US Junior National Team Trials – Part 1 Begin in West Monroe
by Vlad Farcas
Day one of the 2024 U.S. Junior National Team Trials at West Monroe Sports & Events. West Monroe, Louisiana. March 26-30, 2024.
Between March 26 and March 30, 2024, the US Junior Team Trials - Part 1 is taking place at the West Monroe Sports and Events Center in West Monroe, LA, host of the U.S. Olympic Team Trials – Table Tennis just last week. Over 165 athletes from across the nation are competing to gain points towards making the National Junior Team across five age categories for both boys and girls: U19, U17, U15, U13, and U11.
The first day saw the start of the U19 and U13 Boys and Girls events. Notable participants in the U19 category included Nandan Naresh, Emily Tan, Kayla Goodwin and Amber Liu, established names who recently participated as part of the US Delegation at the 2024 World Team Championships in Busan, Korea.
While the opening day saw no major upsets in the U19 category, it was 12-year-old Irene Yeoh who truly captured the spotlight. Yeoh's remarkable performance saw her not only progress to the next stage in the U13 girls' category but also secure a spot in the U19 girls' Stage 2 competition. With an impressive record of 12 wins and only 1 defeat on the first day, Yeoh showed that age is just a number in table tennis. With this performance, Yeoh hinted at her potential to become a top player in the US.
In the U13 girls' qualification stage, Zichun Shen, rated 1974, defied expectations by clinching top spot in Group 3, overcoming the higher-rated Angela He, currently rated at 2101. In the U13 boys' division, Kevin Hanna, the bottom seed of the round-robin, pulled off a stunning upset by defeating the top seed of the U13 boys' event, Kyler Chen, rated 2366 and advancing to stage 2 of the competition.
For enthusiasts eager to follow the action, all results are available for tracking on OmniPong.com, with live streaming of four tables is available on the USATT YouTube Channel.