MARCH 29, 1996 FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE TOP SEEDS PREVAIL, QUARTERFINALS SET FOR THE 1996 YONEX U.S. NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIPS (ATLANTA, GA) -- The sky rained shuttlecock white at Georgia State University yesterday, as over 75 of the nation's greatest badminton athletes kicked off the 1996 Yonex U.S. National Championships, presented by Kodak. Top seeds rolled as expected, including two-time reigning singles champion and #1 seed Kevin Han (Colorado Springs, Colo.). Han rolled past Mike Walker (Cardiff by the Sea, Calif.) 15-1, 15-5 in the opening round, and will face 1992 Olympian Ben Lee (San Jose, Calif.) today at 1:45. Three/four seed Steve Butler (Miller Place, N.Y.) also cruised, blasting Sandro Rossi (Madison, Wis.) and Ronny Oetomo (Marina del Rey, Calif.) respectively. Men's singles also featured one of the most exciting matches of the day, as top Junior John Frisch (Miller Place, N.Y.) defeated Howard Bach (Colorado Springs, Colo.) in a dramatic three game marathon 15-11, 12-15, 18-16. Frisch spoke of his strategy, and the growing rivalry between the Colorado Springs OTC and the Miller Place Badminton Club following the game. "My plan going in was to wear Howard down physically. I know he is very powerful, so I tried not to hit it up to him, I just kept the bird deep and high," said Frisch. "This was a big victory, especially since it was against an OTC player. We don't like to lose to them." In women's singles, top seeds Tang Yeping (Gaithersburg, Md.) and Andrea Andersson (Colorado Springs, Colo.) cruised, and appear to be on a collision course for the finals. Andersson, last year's champion, will take on 1993 women's singles runner-up, Meiling Okuno (Sunnyvale, Calif.) today at 2:30 pm. In men's doubles, top seeds Andy Chong (Miami Lakes, Fla.) and Ben Lee crushed young upstarts Howard Bach and Stanley Wo's (Colorado Springs, Colo.) dreams of an upset, defeating them 15- 2, 15-7. Second seeds Han and Tom Reidy (Brooklyn, N.Y.) also rolled, defeating Miami, Florida's Dudley Chen and Cosmin Ioan 15-5, 15-6. Look for a tough battle today between Hoang Ly (Costa Mesa, Calif.)/Mike Walker and Colorado Springs residents Mike Edstrom and Chris Hales at 4:00 pm. The semifinals are set for Saturday in women's doubles, as top seeds Andersson/Tang struggled to get by Donna Beach (Naperville, Ill.) and Cathy Urwin (Palos Park, Ill.). They will now take on Shannon Hsu (Costa Mesa, Calif.) and Eileen Tang (Chino, Calif.) in a rematch of the 1996 Pike Peak Classic final. In the other semifinal, Lily Chen (Stanford, Calif.) and Meiling Okuno will take on 1995 U.S. Olympic Festival champions Ann French (La Jolla, Calif.) and Kathy Zimmerman (Denver, Colo.) Top seeds Chong and Tang rolled in mixed doubles as expected, as did second seeds Edstrom and Andersson. Look for a good battle today at 3:15 pm, as OTC residents Chris Hales and Ngoc Tran take on last year's national runners-up in Trisna Gunadi (Alhambra, Calif.) and Eileen Tang. Dignitaries in attendance at yesterday's Yonex U.S. Nationals included Torsten Berg (Hillerod, Denmark), who is chair of the International Badminton Federation's Continental Coordination Committee. Berg is working in conjunction with ACOG Competition Manager Steve Kearney on the Olympic badminton competition this summer. The 1996 Yonex U.S. National Championship will resume today at 10:00 am and run through 4:00 pm. Semifinals take place Saturday from 1:00 - 6:00 pm, and finals will be held Sunday from 10:00 am - 3:00 pm. Admission is free to the public on Friday, and $6 on Saturday and Sunday. ### (FOR MORE INFORMATION, PLEASE CONTACT PAUL PAWLACZYK, USBA COMMUNICATIONS DIRECTOR AT 719-578-4808).