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CONTACT: Andy Kanengiser PHONE: (800) 581-6770 EMAIL: publicrelations@nctta.org |
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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: April 9, 2012
UConn Grad Student from Serbia Marks First College Table Tennis Championships 15 Years of Practice Across Serbia and US Pays Off for Vanessa Petroj
Vanessa Petroj first learned to play table tennis when she was a little girl living in the small town of Uzdin in Serbia. In a landlocked country at the crossroads of Central and Southeastern Europe, Petroj discovered her favorite sport would evolve to the point of becoming a lifelong companion.
Now a doctoral student in linguistics at the University of Connecticut, Petroj says table tennis “builds bridges and friendships between people and cultures that will last a lifetime.”
The 23-year-old native of Serbia will continue to build bridges with her game as she appears for the first time in the NCTTA’s 2012 national championships in Plano, Texas. There, Vanessa will encounter American players as well as those from China, Brazil and other spots around the globe at the fast-action games come to the Lone Star State April 13-15.
Table tennis has taught her many lessons over the years. “Through table tennis, I learned to be a friend, a fighter, a winner and a loser.”
The Olympic sport, says the future college professor, has brought her “tears of joy, but also bitterness and pain. It has undoubtedly shaped me as a person I am today.”
At the UConn campus in Storrs, Connecticut, big-time athletics is a huge deal in the Big East Conference. Just ask Jim Calhoun, who’s won two Division I national championships as coach of the UConn men’s basketball team. The UConn women also excel at hoops and celebrated NCAA championships in recent years as well. Simply put, Huskies basketball is the top dog on campus.
Petroj was pleased to find out that the University of Connecticut blended an extraordinary opportunity in academics along with a strong interest in collegiate table tennis to make it the perfect fit. “I was thrilled to learn it is a place where table tennis is played actively and appreciated for the rewarding sport it actually is.”
It was natural that Vanessa take up the sport in Serbia at an early age. She began playing at age eight after seeing her brothers and many others “turn table tennis into a long and admirable tradition in the small town of Uzdin, Serbia.” She later played in clubs in places like Subotica and Novi Sad during her middle school years. Not far from the action at some of Serbia’s table tennis clubs, Vanessa received a bachelor’s degree in English language and literature at the University of Novi Sad.
While hitting the books on the UConn campus this year and hoping the USA job market gets better for college instructors, Vanessa really is never too far away from finding a place in the Northeast to pound table tennis balls.
Table tennis has been an Olympic sport since 1988, which also happens to be the same year that Vanessa Petroj was born. When the UConn graduate student arrives in Plano, she will soon discover there are many others from home and abroad that share her passion for the game, including Texas Wesleyan coach Jasna Rather, to name a few.
Win or lose, Vanessa’s time spent at the national championships will be a learning experience the first minute she starts warming up for singles play in Plano. Over the years, table tennis “has taught me the importance of hard work, patience and perseverance,” says the linguistics scholar. “As every player knows, table tennis isn’t just a sport; it’s a way of life.”
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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