At Drexel, a chance to make the Olympics

Drexel University is hosting the 2008 Olympic & national team trials for table tennis, which began Thursday with qualifying rounds at the Daskalakis Athletic Center.

The event will run through Sunday, with the top four finishers in each of the men's and women's divisions earning spots on the U.S. Olympic team.

The men's field of 24 participants includes 10 highly rated players already penciled in for the 12-man main draw. Thursday, 14 players attempted to qualify for the remaining spots in the main draw.

One player who stayed alive by winning four matches yesterday was 32-year-old Razvan Cretu of Manayunk. He defeated 45-year-old De Cong Tran of Jackson Heights, N.Y., 3-11, 11-5, 11-7, 7-11, 11-6, 11-4 in his final match. Tahl Leibovitz of Ozone Park, N.Y., also survived by downing John Leach of Erie, Colo., 11-6, 9-11, 8-11, 11-10, 11-10, 9-11, 13-11.

Cretu played for the U.S. National Team in 1997 and attended the trials in an effort to make the 2004 U.S. Olympic team. Before coming to America in 1992, Cretu played for the national junior team in Romania, as well as club teams in Greece and Sweden.

"I'm just going to try my best," said Cretu, who returned to the sport after a three-year break. "I've been training a lot in the gym, mentally and physically. But once you're out there, you realize it's much tougher physically. It's good to be back, and I'm happy I made it to the final round, and I'm going to try to get every point. No pressure. If I make it, it's going to be a big party."

Although Thursday's qualifying round was single elimination, the format for the main draw tourney is a round-robin. Each match is a best-of-seven format.

With only nine participants in the women's competition, a qualifying round was not necessary and that division was idle Thursday.

Penn student Barbara Wei, an up-and-comer from Gaithersburg, Md., is in a women's field that also includes Yugoslavian-born Jasna Reed of Chicago, a four-time Olympian who represented the United State in 2000 and 2004.

Another transplanted Yugoslavian and top contender is six-time Olympian Ilija Lupulesku, who wore U.S. colors for the men's squad in 2004. The No.1 player in the U.S., Lupulesku was among the pre-qualified who received a bye.

Before facing Tran, Cretu turned back 18-year-old Joseph Cochran of South Bend, Ind., 13-11, 5-11, 11-8, 11-7, 8-11, 11-5.

In the veteran Tran, Cretu had a different challenge from what the quick Cochran presented.

"I was just trying to keep my legs and stay low," said Cretu, who fought through cramps during his match with Tran. "Have a forward position and stay close to the table."

Notes. Nick Norlen of Langhorne, William Cowan Jr. of Newtown, and Lim Ming Chui of Pennsauken, all were eliminated in their first-round matches.