Lily Zhang's week just keeps getting better and better. At the 2019 ITTF-Pan American Championships in Asunción, Paraguay, she went undefeated in the women's team event as the USA brought home the gold on Thursday. With the win, the US women automatically qualify for the 2020 World Championships in Busan, South Korea. That alone would have made the trip worthwhile; there was, however, still plenty of icing available for that cake. Playing in the women's singles, doubles and mixed doubles, Zhang has certainly been busy these last few days. It all culminated today. In mixed doubles, she and Kai Zhang found their way to this morning's final. There, they encountered the familiar faces of their teammates Amy Wang and Nikhil Kumar. While gold and silver were already guaranteed for the USA, each team was eager to be the ones who brought the more precious medals home. In a hard-fought contest, Zhang and Zhang edged their compatriots to secure the honor, (11-7, 15-13, 12-10, 14-12). Soon afterward, it was time for the women's doubles final. There, Lily Zhang partnered with Wu Yue in a matchup with Chile's Daniela Ortega and Paulina Vega. After a competitive first game, the American women slammed the door shut with a convincing 3-0 win, adding even more heft to their luggage. With three gold medals in three events, Zhang surely must have been pinching herself as she proceeded to the women's singles semifinals. Facing top seed Zhang Mo of Canada, Lily kept the dream alive with a 4-0 sweep. In the final, Zhang faced Brazilian ace Bruna Takahashi. Each had a chip on her shoulder: Takahashi had just upset Zhang's teammate Wu Yue 4-1 to reach the final, and Zhang and the US women had just beaten Brazil for the team gold Thursday. Whatever motivated Zhang, it worked, as she claimed the women's singles title with a dominant 4-0 scoreline. For those of you keeping score at home, that makes four events entered, and four gold medals won. When you accomplish everything you set out to do, you can justifiably call that a perfect run. For Lily Zhang's groaning suitcase, however, the work has just begun.

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