(by Steve Hopkins)
TeamUSA had measurable successes throughout the Olympics. The Women’s Team fell short in their match against Germany. However, the loss is not the full story.
Rachel Sung and Amy Wang lost in three straight to Germany’s Wan and Shan. In a surprise, 18 year old Annett Kaufmann topped USA’s Lily Zhang 3-0 to give Germany a 2-0 advantage. TeamUSA then fought back, with Amy Wang defeating Xiaona Shan 3-1 and Lily Zhang topping Yuan Wan 3-1. This then set up a final match between Kaufmann and Rachel Sung, a match the Kaufmann won 3-1. By the numbers, TeamUSA did exactly what it needed to do – they defeated the two top ranked singles players on the German team, giving them two chances to seal victory (the doubles match and the match again Germany’s third). Unfortunately, for TeamUSA, Kaufman caught fire at just the right time and she won both of her Singles matches. In fact, Kaufman may have been the biggest story for Germany – as she went on to win both singles matches against India, and was the only win in Germany’s 1-3 loss to Germany. Kaufman proved to be Germany’s strongest player in the Team Event.
For TeamUSA, they had an appearance in the Round of 16, and narrowly lost to a team that ultimately played in the medal round. Our Women’s Team may not yet be contending for medals, but a narrow loss to the fourth-place finisher is a step in the right direction.
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