Maine Table Tennis players and fans enjoyed the warm hospitality of the Greater Portland YMCA for this year's tournament. The new venue brought new enthusiasm and energy for many of the players. It also brought a change in scheduling that meant an early start for those participating in some of the events. A concerted effort was made to maximize the number of matches and, with the exception of Doubles, all events were Round Robin format. This gave players plenty of opportunity to play without fear of quick elimination. Early feedback of the facility has been very positive. The lighting, acoustics, seating and floor were all improvements according to many of the players.

In the "A" Open division Sonu Bhatia had a relatively easy road to his third State title with a 21 and 4 games played record. Sonu's road to repeating in the Doubles event with partner Lou Soo came to a dramatic and disappointing conclusion as Kip Jordan served for the victory from a 9-9 fifth game tie to snatch the title with partner Sean Farley. Kip, one of the more seasoned players of the group, demonstrated that his prior life skills as a professional athlete are still with him! Kip also held off all challengers in the Over Forty group to take the title.

This year's Junior division showed a surprising level of solid play. The youngsters ability to volley, loop and smash turned the heads of many of the spectators. In the end it was Josh Warren that claimed the title for the Under 18 group.

2002 State Champ Sonu Bhatia with Kip Jordan and Sean Farley
B Division winners Rick Shea, Sven Bogaert and James Hebert.
Over 40 Winners Howard Reben, Kip Jordan and Sean Farley
Under 18 Winners Josh Warren, Tike MacColl and Will Underkuffler
Art Lekousi demonstrates how he keeps his eye on the ball and ready for the backhand smash. To the disappointment of many Art withdrew from the tournament after coming close to advancing to the "A" Open finals. Art has been plagued by hip and leg pains that prevented his usual strong showing in State Championships.
Early action in the tournament.