Maccabi Games Detroit

Table Tennis,
Tough Competition

STEVE WHITELEY

Special to The Jewish News

T

he pace was fast Aug.
20 at the Rosenberg
Recreation Complex of
the Detroit JCC, as approx-
imately 50 players from
around the world entered
the first day of competition
at the North American Mac-
cabi Youth Games table
tennis championships.
Many cities brought small
contingents. Baltimore had

Detroit won six
medals on the first
day of
competition.

a lone participant, Elliott
Blank, who teamed with a
player from Kansas on the
first day of doubles competi-
tion. Forced to play in the
tougher of the two 15-16
doubles brackets, Blank and
partner struggled.
"We would have done
better in the easier bracket,"
Blank said, who hopes to
finish better in the singles
event. Both the gold and
silver medals were won by
teams from Blank's four-
team bracket. The bronze
medal team came from the
other four-team bracket.
The competition was stiff
throughout all the events,
according to Table Tennis
chairperson Hedy Mantel.
Los Angeles coach Neil
Kuluva, who brought four
table tennis players to the
Games, said the player to
watch through the tourna-
ment is David Rosenzweig,
15, of Riverdale, N.J.
"The best girl in the com-
petition," Kuluva added,

"might be Michelle Freid-
man from L.A."
The other player who will
probably do well, according
to Kuluva, is a player from
Maccabi-USSR team. Daniil
Rabinas of Lithuania, team-
ed with a player from Los
Angeles to win a silver
medal in the 15-16 year-old
boys doubles competition,
and will probably place in
the 15-16 singles event.
Detroit fielded the largest
team, bringing 12 athletes to
the ping pong tables. The
numbers paid off, however,
as six of the 12 won medals
on the first day of doubles
competition.
In girls doubles, Detroit
team members Jennifer
Krystall, 16, and Allison
Walkon, 13, won a silver
medal. Rebecca Grant, 16,
and Emily Seligson, 15, also
from Detroit won the bronze.
The gold medal went to
Michelle Lifshitz, 15, of Pitt-
sburgh, and Michelle
Friedman, 14, of Los
Angeles.
Samy Benolo, 15, of
Venezuela, paired with
David Rosenzweig to win the
boys 15-16 doubles event.
Daniil Rabinas and Ronen
Varsha, 16, of Los Angeles
finished second. And the
Detroit team of Gabe
Gelman, 16, and Jason
Yourofski, 15, took the
bronze.
In the boys 13-14 doubles,
Zach Sussman, 13, and Alex
Miller, 14, both from Los
Angeles won the gold
medals. Billy Lieberman, 14,
of Hamilton, Ont., and
Daniel Avram, 14, of
Venezuela won the silvers.
Steven Ryabinky, 14, of
Toledo/Canton and Neal
Bailen, 13, of Louisville end-
ed up third. ❑

Linda Goldstein, 16,
competes in the 100-yard
backstroke. Seth Hitsky
readies from the
platform to dive into the
pool.

Detroit Swimmer
,Grabs Early Gold

STEVE WHITELEY

Special to The Jewish News

T

he competition was
-good, even if the
organization was not,
as Maccabi swimmers began
their quests for medals Aug.
20 at West Bloomfield High
School.
Several contingents,
among them Toronto, Los
Angeles, Detroit and
Chicago placed a fair
number of athletes into the
championship finals, and
they also flooded the
preliminary round, adding
large numbers of heats to
many events.
"Some teams brought a lot
of swimmers," Baltimore
swimmer Jody Wax said.
"We just brought swimmers
who we thought could do
well."
Three swimmers from
Detroit swam well enough in
the morning's preliminary
heats to qualify for the
afternoon finals. Two others
qualified for the afternoon
consolation heat.
Jody Shapiro swam hard
and finished sixth with a
time of 5:30.53 in the girls
13-14 400-yard individual
medley (IM). In the same
event, 13-year-old Jenny
Domino placed fourth in the
consolation race.
Vickie Stern, 15, swam to
a sixth place finish in the
championship round of the
girls 15-16 100-freestyle

THE DETROIT JEWISH NEWS

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