Petra Pounds Ping Pong Patriarchy

By Bill McLaughlin - Cub Reporter, Table Tennis Dayton

Dayton, OH - Under the pregnant gray skies over Dayton, Petra Sestakova of Illinois by way of the Czech Republic, rained forth shot-making prowess and power not seen in these here parts since Bonnie and Clyde clashed with the coppers in Middletown.

The fiery Petra, all five foot nothing of energy, showed her male counterparts what aggressive table tennis was all about as she destroyed the competition on her way to a hard earned $200 and first place finish in the Dayton Giant Round-Robin Open - "The Battle for the C Notes II" on Saturday, April 2.

Petra, rated 2326 coming in to the tournament, wiped out every opponent that dared to face her from across the table, and she finished with a perfect 9-0 record in the top Group A. Nick Snider of the Cincinatti TTC finished second and Mark Artman of Indiana came in third.

Dayton Does Pong

The Dayton Giant Round-Robin has been one of the mid-west's most popular tournaments, and in particular the latest incarnation, "The Battle for the C Notes" brings both crisp clean cash prizes and a sense of nostalgia for "G-Men", bootlegging and tommy guns. A mere five months earlier, the first "C Note" iteration was held at the very same Lohrey Center, with $100 bills the ultimate prize for many of the area's most avaricious table tennis players. With dollar signs in their eyes, the ultimate winner was "King" Chandramouli Shankaren. Shankaren, presumably still recovering from the excesses that $200 brought him lo those months ago was nowhere to be found this time around, but would he really have fared any better than all the others that faced the penultimate Petra? Petrabably not.

The Dayton Giant Robin separates the applicants into six groups of 9 or 10 players each, depending on the total amount of players. The players spend the rest of the day duking it out with each member of the group, so by the time the last match is in the books, each player has been reduced to a shuffling zombie, staggering precariously in search of fresh meat. The 1st place winner receives $100, with the 2nd and 3rd place finishers receiving $35 and $15 Butterfly Gift Certificates. In the case of the "big boys/girls" in Group A, 1st place receives $200, 2nd place $100 and a $50 Gift Certificate and 3rd $100. The C Notes are numerous.

Prepare To Be Petradicated

Group A had perennial regional powerhouse players such as Rob Powell of Columbus, Nick Snider, Mark Artman, and seven others including the top-rated Sestakova. As to be expected with 2000 or near rated players, the table tennis was diverse and exciting.

The Sestakova/Artman match featured the power-hitting Petra vs. the defensive-minded, composite racket flipping Artman, whose lobs and chops from off the table produced some dazzling points and gave the fiery Petra fits to the extent that after missing a shot, she would orbit her area while muttering under her breath, before refocusing for the next point.

Petra "The Czech Czich" Sestakova gives Nick Snider a thunderous forehand drive on her way to the equivalent of 4669.80 Korunas

The games were close, with Petra winning at -11 in the first two, before Artman got on board at -5, but Petra closed out the match for a 3-1 victory. In her skunking of the group, Petra only dropped 4 out of 28 games including one game to the wily, long-pip blocker Tadao Inui of Columbus, the lowest rated player in the group.

However it was the second highest ranked player in the group, Nick Snider, who gave Petra the most difficulties. After winning the first game at a close -9, Snider equaled the task with a -9 win of his own. The third match featured huge counter-hits and smashes from both players, especially the diminuitive Petra. Utterly fearless, she would often backhand counter-smash a ripping loop drive, down the line for a winner. Always in position and knowing whether a straight loop, loop drive or smash is the most effective shot at the moment, it's no wonder Petra dominates the field. The third game went into deuce game, with both players exchanging winners, but Petra finally took the game at -13. Whether slightly relaxing after both the physical and mental strain required for the lengthy third game, or whether Snider simply bared down with his back to the wall, Petra lost the fourth game at -8 forcing a fifth and final game for all the marbles. The petite Petra flexed her ping-pong muscles, lunging into each shot with the force of a speeding Mini Cooper, overwhelmed Snider at -6, taking home the $200 first place prize money and of course the glory of being #1.

Groups Up For Grabs

Group B featured 10 players ranging from 1882 to 1708. Ravi Dabburi of Ohio took home his own C Note with a scorching 8-1 record, while Mark Weber and Jin Lu finished second and third respectively. Jeremiah Kolb, one of three Kolbs entered had an excellent showing at 6-3, just finishing out of the money. Dayton TTC regular Mani Anantharaman finished at 3-6 with his last three matches being victories.

Group C had players ranging from 1668 to 1540. The Dayton TTC regular Ron Joseph dominated his group and finished with a 7-1 record, losing only to Russ Forthofer (4-4). Second place finisher Soren Tannehill equaled Joseph with a 7-1 record, however lost to Joseph in their matchup, hence the placing for the two players. Steve Zwilling went home happy with a third place gift certificate, finishing at 6-2.

Another member of the Kolb clan, Ronnie Kolb, took home the first place prize in Group D, a group with players ranging from the top ranked Kolb at 1538 to 1410. Kolb's record of 6-1 bested DTTC regular Scott Harris' second place finish with his record of 5-2. Cincinatti TTC regular Burak Cevik took home third place. DTTCer and tournament addict George Moses slugged it out but fell short of the money.

Another Cincinnati TTC regular, Bob Smith III powered his way to a 7-1 record equaling that of Greg Thompson's 7-1 tally in Group E. The two duked it out for group supremacy in a match for number one, with the quick-serving, forehand driving Smith matching point for point with the cagey, long-pip playing Thompson. A five game barn-burner, Smith finally prevailed, and gleefully surgically attached himself to a crisp $100 bill. Club mate "Grumpy" Joe Masminster, he of the Dr. Neubauer Super Block backhand, perplexed his frustrated foes and scored a 5-3 third place finish. DTTC members John Grimley and John Whitaker applied their best efforts in their very first tournament.

In the Deja Vu Dept., Philip Kolb, the third member of the Kolb dynasty, goose-egged his group with an 8-0 perfecto. Ron Inman and N. Vrindavanom finished second and third respectively.

Whither Petra?

With the rain pouring outside, and the dust settling inside, the lingering memory of the dynamic warrior Petra Sestakova remains with all of us who witnessed her courage under fire, and grace under pressure. This blonde bombshell - bombing one ping pong ball after another - proved to the world that one need not be a steroid-ridden, vein-popping, gonad-shrinking, pampered baby of an athlete to dominate a field of infidels. Though her foes towered over her in stature, it was they who lay helpless on the battlefield, crying weakly for "medic!" while she strode forth into the sunset, with racket in one hand, 200 samolians in the other, and a satisfied smile on her pretty face. Dayton lay in ruins - next, the world.