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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:

April 3, 2012

Competitive Field Set for 2012 College Table Tennis Championships

Athletes from 50 Different Colleges Aiming for National Titles

With rosters chock-full of scholarship players, Texas Wesleyan and Lindenwood head up one of the strongest fields in recent memory for the 2012 College Table Tennis Championships. After battling at the division and regional level, nearly 250 athletes representing more than 50 different colleges and universities have booked their tickets to Plano, Texas for the national championships, April 13-15.

Just how competitive is the field? Well, one of the men’s semifinalists at the 2011 US National Table Tennis Championships last December, Chance Friend, struggled to qualify out of his region for the singles event. After missing out on a direct qualification spot, he had to wait nervously for a wildcard invitation before his Championships slot was secured.

Even perennial powerhouse, Texas Wesleyan, which landed the number 1 overall men’s/coed team seed, seems less confident than in years past.

“Every year the level at the collegiate nationals is higher, and so we have had to recruit stronger players each year,” notes Texas Wesleyan head coach Jasna Rather. “We did our best job in putting together a team that is capable of winning. Will we win? We cannot answer that; we can only try our best, which might not be good enough on that specific weekend.”

Rest assured that No. 2 Lindenwood, No. 3 Mississippi College and the 23 other teams in the 24 team field will be doing their best to make it their weekend to shine.

In the women’s team event, Lindenwood, another scholarship program secured the number 1 seed. No. 2 Toronto and No. 3 Texas, which both bring previous Championships experience, figure to keep things interesting in the 12 team women’s championship.

The 2012 College Table Tennis Championships is hosted by the National Collegiate Table Tennis Association and the Plano Convention Visitor’s Bureau and is one of the most competitive table tennis tournaments in North America featuring 7 events: Men’s and Women’s Singles and Doubles, Men’s/Coed Teams, Women’s Teams and Para singles.

Getting back to that competitive men’s singles field, which features 14 players over 2400 level. One such player is 8th-seeded Truong Tu of San Jose State, who is one of only two non-scholarship players seeded in the top 10, and will be competing at his first NCTTA Championships in Texas. Texas Wesleyan’s Andreas Ball and Lindenwood’s Fernando Yamazato secured the top two seeds.

“This year I am so excited as a first time player. I don’t feel intimidated but excited,” says Tu when asked about the strength of the field. “We want to prove that we can play equal with the scholarship players.”

The women’s singles event is also full of stellar newcomers, starting with the No.1 seed, Jiaqi Zheng, of Northwestern Polytechnic University in Northern California. 2011 Champion Sara Hazinski of Texas Wesleyan is the number 2 seed and coach Rather believes she’s got a good shot at back-to-back championships.

“Most of the time Sara exceeds our expectations and she is a great fighter,” explains Rather.  “I wouldn’t be surprised to see her win against top-seeded Jiaqi Zheng – if they meet in the finals.”

Of course there are 35 other players in the women’s singles field, she’ll need to get through first.

In one of NCTTA’s newer events, Para singles features wheelchair athletes from Texas Wesleyan and University of Texas Arlington. Despite his experience, Texas Wesleyan’s Jim Segrest might be seen as something of underdog in the competition. Segrest will be competing against players at higher disability classes.

“Classes are depended upon different disability levels and since we are just rejuvenating this event again we put everyone in the same round robin.” says Abe Benham, NCTTA Para Committee Chair. “We’re definitely looking to expand this event next year.”

Full list of participants and seeds: Team | Singles | Doubles

Players and spectators alike will enjoy a jam-packed weekend of table tennis at the 2012 College Table Tennis Championships. The event starts Friday April 13th and continues to Sunday April 15th at Plano Sports Authority 2 in Plano, Texas.

About NCTTA

The National Collegiate Table Tennis Association (NCTTA) is a non-profit organization established exclusively for promoting the sport of table tennis at the college level. As the national governing body for college table tennis in the United States and Canada, NCTTA organizes intercollegiate competition throughout North America. www.nctta.org

About USA Table Tennis

Headquartered in Colorado Springs, USATT is the national organizing body for table tennis in the United States, serving 9,000+ members and nearly 300 clubs. USATT sanctions 200+ events a year including the US Open and US Nationals. USATT is affiliated with the International Table Tennis Federation (ITTF), as well as the United States Olympic Committee (USOC). www.usatt.org & tabletennis.teamusa.org

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