The atmosphere and competition in Gym 2 of the Penn State Intramural Building intensified as a great deal was at stake in the latter rounds of the 2004 USA Olympic Table Tennis Trials.

The Olympic Trials came to a close yesterday and the six players who prevailed edged one step closer to earning a spot on the North American Table Tennis team to compete in the 2004 Summer Olympics in Athens this summer.

"The favorites were not true to form so that made [the trials] exciting," said Henry McCoullum, Elite Athlete Chair for USA Table Tennis. "The third and fourth spots were really close."

Jun Gao and Illija Lupulesku were crowned champions of the U.S. Olympic Trials in each the men's and women's pools after posting undefeated records throughout the round robin tournament.

Although Gao directly qualified for the Olympics because she is ranked in the top 20 of the world, the two-time former Olympic contender did not take the trials lightly.

"The Olympics are much harder than the U.S. Trials so I have to get ready to face the best players in the world," she said. "I'd like to get a medal for the U.S."

Jasna Reed and Tawny Banh claimed the second and third spots on the women's U.S. Olympic team as David Zhuang and Khoa Nguyen placed second and third for the men. However, all qualifiers except Gao must first compete against the Canadian team before earning a spot on the North American Table Tennis team.

"We're excited about our chances," McCoullum said.

"All of the players here have good temperament, are really composed and have conducted themselves well."

McCoullum was also impressed with the peaked interest in the sport at Penn State.

As word spread and more were aware of the event, crowds grew larger. On Saturday, players competed in front of about 150 spectators.

"Penn State is a leader in the country in supporting table tennis," McCoullum said.

"Table tennis is grateful to Penn State for hosting the trials and State College is definitely appreciative of the opportunity."

The newly comprised USA Table Tennis team will head to Vancouver next month in hopes of qualifying for the North American Table Tennis team to compete at the Summer Olympics in Athens.