By Edwin Sam ’13, Sports Editor.

Big time games are about big time decisions. Ping-pong is a sport of quick decisions, precise shots, and controlling emotions. The momentum of a game can switch in one second if these three things do not go in your favor. As Michael Barton ’13 and Patrick Wildman ’14 learned, in a game with so much at stake, emotions run high and the game can quickly turn around when you aren’t in the right mindset.

With a 7-1 lead, bad decision making plagued Barton and Wildman as they faced seniors Robbie Pierce ’11 and Cody Pomeranz ’11. Barton said before the game, that his simple mentality was to keep the ball in play without taking many risks. His strategy worked early in the match as the two underclassmen jumped ahead to an early lead. Their style of play took a complete U-turn as they became more aggressive in order to end the match quickly.

Unfortunately for Barton and Wildman, Pierce and Pomeranz took advantage of their bad trade-offs. Pierce said after the thrilling match, “After warming up, they had an advantage. I was surprised by their confidence. Cody and I saw the fear in their eyes, and we took advantage of their mental weakness.” Even Wildman admitted that he and his partner “folded under the pressure.” In an interview before the game, Pomeranz showed the importance of one’s mental state. “Controlling your emotions isn’t the thing to do. You must let the emotions explode with no restraint.”  Late in the match, Cody had a magical combination of power and precision that may have been the key to their victory. Pierce said before the match that his greatest fear was losing. He showed this determination in the second half of the match, and it fueled their stunning comeback.

On a table that is slightly under regulation size, Wildman and Barton tried to end the match with smashes. With a 7-1 lead, they lost many points due to their unforced errors. Barton missed a key serve and Wildman hit many smashes over the table in the clutch moments of the game. The smashes of Pomeranz and Pierce were successfully hitting the table in dangerous positions. Their opponents had difficulty returning them. Despite such a large deficit, the insuperable experience of the seniors led them to win ten straight points to dramatically win the match 11-7.

Each team takes ping-pong very seriously, and their confidence was very high. To nobody’s surprise, all four players in the final were tennis players. Both teams agreed that playing tennis helps you play table tennis. Wildman said, “[Table tennis is] the exact same thing [as tennis] but smaller. It’s all about angles and proportions.” Pierce believes that tennis players are better at ping-pong because they tend to be more interested and have better coordination and spin. At most major tennis facilities there is a ping-pong table, so tennis players get exposure to both sports.

Because emotions were running high, there was an abundance of trash talking in the pre-game interviews. Even Wildman’s personal trainer, Blake Thomas ’14, said he was confident that Patrick and Michael would win. Pierce felt that it was his obligation to beat the underclassmen. “Being a senior, it is my duty to beat Michael Barton and Patrick Wildman’s quest for glory.” Ahead of the match, Michael Barton thought that his team’s advantage was their precision. “In an alternate shot match, Patrick and I have better angles, placement, teamwork, and better work ethic.” Their precision is what hurt them late in the match. Barton also had one last remark to salvage the defeat. “When tennis season comes around, we will get the last laugh.”

The crowd helped turn around the match for the seniors. In the beginning of the match, the crowd was fairly quiet. This was an advantage to the two underclassmen because they could focus on placement. As the match went on, the seniors in the crowd rallied behind their fellow classmates. Barton noted that the crowd pressured him with noise after he made a bad shot. This was the perfect example of how, in any sport, an avid student section can help a team win the game.

Photo courtesy of Ilana Habib