Earning U.S. team uniforms in the men's trials were David Zhuang (9-2) of West Windsor, N.J.; Han Xiao (9-2) of Germantown, Md.; Eric Owens (8-3) of Oakbrook Terrace, Ill.; and Cheng Yinghua (8-3) of Boyds, Md.

"I'm very happy to finish on top," said the 44-year-old Zhuang, a two-time Olympian. "Before the start of the tournament, I knew it would be tough. We finished this stage; now we have to focus on the next stage."

The next stage is earning a trip to the Beijing Olympics this summer.

Qualifying in the women's division were Yao Huang (8-0) of San Gabriel, Calif.; Nan Li (7-1) of San Jose, Calif.; Jackie Lee (6-2) of San Francisco; and Whitney Ping (5-3) of Beaverton, Ore.

"It was just focus and concentration every day - and fighting," the 28-year-old Huang said of going undefeated.

Owens, 32, was the only American-born player to land a spot among the eight who have visions of making it to Beijing.

"It's great being on the Olympic team, and to go on the next stage is a great accomplishment," said Owens, who made the team on his fourth attempt after trying out in 1996, 2000 and 2004.

Next for the Americans is a trip to Vancouver, British Columbia, for the North America trials on April 4-6. They will face off with their Canadian counterparts, with three Olympic spots to be filled on the men's side and only one open for the women.

"We are proud of where we are now, and we're going to try our best come April," Li said.

After a 24-man qualifying round in the men's division on Thursday that yielded two players for the 12-player main draw, cumulative records were kept over the last three days. Because only nine players had entered, the women went right into the main draw on Friday.

With 1,850 spectators on hand yesterday, total attendance for the trials grew to 5,500.

"For us, it was a nice surprise," the 26-year-old Li said of the crowds. "We weren't expecting it."

Li and her teammates agreed that the trials were conducted in a first-class manner.

"It was the best trials I've been to," Owens said. "The support was great."

Notes. Mark Hazinski of Mishawaka, Ind., whose 8-3 record matched those of Cheng and Owens, lost on the tiebreaker, head-to-head matches. His consolation prize is a berth at the world championships next month in China. Razvan Cretu of Manayunk and Paralympic champion Tahl Leibovitz of Ozone Park, N.Y., who both survived the qualifier, finished 3-8 and 1-10, respectively. . . . Former junior national team member Barbara Wei, an 18-year-old up-and-comer who attends Penn, went 0-8 in her first taste of senior competition.

Watch video from the trials at

http://go.philly.com/tabletennis.