MATCH HIGHLIGHTS Hsien Tzu Cheng vs Chen Sun MLTT Week 13 Hollywood FL

Shia, I believe it was, who was a free agent for Carolina Goldrush that weekend. So, this is a new match-up here. And Matt, I think we're going to be really treated to some high-level play. Both players have a lot of weapons. Very consistent. And the further we're getting into each rally, the more power you're going to see that either one will bring to finish the point. Definitely hurt Carolina to have Chen Song not available for their last match. Yeah, there are definitely some differences in lineup this time that could swing the result. Chen last time, aside from the three points she was able to get in the singles, she also was 3-2 in points in her favor in the Golden Game. Look at these two teams by comparison. Princeton, slight edge on points scored. 70-74 wins and losses in singles to Carolina 64-80. And then in doubles, there's only one point of separation. 20-16 for Princeton and 19-17 for Carolina. Interestingly enough, they're both 6-6 in Golden Games. But the Carolina Gold Rush have a 6-6 record and Princeton have a 5-7 record in wins. And one thing that all teams have learned here in Season 3 is that it's OK to go into the Golden Game trail and you just have to be leading coming out of it because those six points are so valuable. And I think if you look at where the paddlers are, they've lived in the Golden Game zone. And that's really made a difference in giving them some breathing space going into their final two matches. Top long ball there from Chen. Ball tied up at six points each. Chen's 3-3 in singles, 4-7, 4.1-7 loss in Golden Game. 83rd on the power rankings. Chen Sun, number 8. 17-7 in singles and 26-22 in Golden Game. She has a 70.8% win rate in singles. That efficiency is how you move up in the power rankings. You don't have to have played a minimum number. It's just you win more than you lose both in singles and especially in the Golden Game where, as we've seen with Coach Eric Owens, you never know if the females will be up against each other or if they'll mix them for mixed singles matches. They're on the power rankings at number 8. And of course you see Lily Zhang there as well. Jens Lundqvist at number 1. And he's been missing a number of matches which keeps his percentages high. I think he will be there in Charlotte coming up. Yes, I believe so. That is Portland. Portland maybe have two more rounds. Yeah, I think he'll be in potentially Charlotte and Ryder. First game there going to Chen Sun. He all smiles for the Carolina Gold Rush as they add another point to the board. Two more games to come here in this women's singles matchup. I don't know what to expect. Well, right now Chen Sun is getting things done for the Gold Rush with a wonderful third ball attack. Nice start and short pips on the forehand. Able to make those flat driving shots. She has a nice balance in her game where she's able to roll through the backhand more. Great kind of Hong Lin 2.0. Exactly, exactly. In the end, the Carolina Gold Rush kind of moved sideways. They don't necessarily say they got an upgrade, but they definitely kept the level, kept the style. Yeah, kept the pulse in the same. So then you balance the young against the experience that Hong Lin had who was the MVP in Season 1. Along with Enzo Longoise, her teammate. The only thing they missed out was Championship Weekend which they took care of in Season 2. They'd love to get back to the playoffs here in Season 3. Enzo's been playing exceptionally well in the last set of matches. Taking care of the injuries that he was dealing with in Season 2. Chen really has a very stable game. Nice, nice steady forehand and backhand opening. Pretty stable in the rally. I would say Chen Sun has a little bit more power in the counter. Playing with that reverse handhold grip over the ball a bit more. Yeah, I think Matt, as you mentioned often about the variation that Chen Sun can give by going from pips on one side to the inverted on the backhand, especially right there. Taking it quick off the bounce. Flatness of when she's playing her forehand smash really causes you as an opponent to almost play two players. One where the ball's coming at you on top of you. You have to take shorter backswings. But then when she starts to spin off the bounce, it's back to a topspin player. So presenting a lot of different looks and very effective. But I do like Chen's game when she's on the offense. She's on the defense. It seems a little bit, I'm not going to say flat, but predictable. Yeah, I think on the backhand side, it's going to be a little bit more passive. You know that, ah, that's beautiful. Being a little bit more engaged with coaching in the last year or two, probably. Or practice partners. A nice pattern right here. We're turning the corner, keeping her forehand down. Making sure she didn't spin the ball up or drove through it. Almost seems like if she could, on her backhand, do what Eugene Wong. Add some extra topspin. Could change the rhythm of the ball. But yeah. A couple of flat winners from Chen. Two points in a row. And that's the beauty of being a tips-out hitter. The points finish quickly. You don't have to look at that. That is just perfect technique. Playing off the quick forehand and a quick backhand. I'm going for that traditional backhand playing off the front side of the racket. Oh, she had that on her paddle. She's now down game point. Which again, Carolina is trying just to stack points right now. Even if the golden game doesn't go well, they're adding tally. Yep. And they just added another one. 11-7. Chen Sun taking game two. And she will be back looking for the sweep in game three. See if she can pull it off or not. Charlotte, North Carolina coming up next weekend. Followed by Wright University in New Jersey. And the championship finals which these teams are fighting for their place in. Only four teams. Two from the east and two from the west will make it. Chicago already at this stage have locked in their position. While the rest of the team coaches are stressing and strategizing. I'm sure Eric Owens has his feet up somewhere just watching. Yeah, I was going to say he's just enjoying these matches right now. Taking notes. Knowing that there's still a lot of, with the scheduling, a lot of the coaches are trying to make sure their A teams get enough matches in. Because if you don't play a certain amount, you're not even eligible for championship weekend. So that's one element the coaches are dealing with. As well as, again, getting as many points as possible. Oh, nice serve. You can't argue with that. She practiced that with the edge. Matt, this is one of those games for the gold rush where you don't have this many opportunities. If you can sweep to go up 5-1, it's going to take a Herculean effort for the Princeton Revolution to get back in. That they're not trailing by potentially the maximum in the golden game. We've seen anything happen in the golden game where teams trailing 0-5 do come back. It's just not the place you'd like to be in. Yeah, and of course, coming into this weekend, as I said a couple of times, only 7 points in separation. Princeton, 126 points so far in the season up until the start of this match. Carolina 1-19. So a good result here from the gold rush could close that gap. They could pass the Princeton Revolution. Not only does that put them in a better standing, but it also puts the pressure back on Revolution. It's these matches here where you actually take points away from the opponent that are the most valuable. So, Chen Song looking very strong. Doubles coming up next. Cho Seung-min and Johnson McDonald taking on Enzo Ongo and Carlos Hernandez. So a bit of a showdown of three agents coming up. Chen Song has just done a good job of keeping her nose a little bit ahead here throughout the match. And it makes such a difference when you're up by one versus trailing by one or two where you can't create a loose shot for fear that that's going to just open things up. An excellent angle by Chen Song going extremely wide off this slower opening. There's some good placement there from Cheng, but she just hasn't been able to get those points finished. And it's not like Chen Song is doing too much. You know, when the pressure's on her forehand, she's just kind of putting a racket on it, slowing the ball down with the person. 10-5 right now. Multiple same points for the sweep. She gets the first one. 3-0 sweep for Chen Song. And the Carolina Gold Rush take a 5-1 lead. It doesn't really get too much better. And the pressure now falls back on the Princeton Revolution. We've seen comebacks happen before, especially with the break after the doubles, the chance to reset. But that doubles is coming up next. Cho Seung-min, Johnson McDonald against Enzo Ongo and Carlos Hernandez.