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CONTACT: Willy Leparulo PHONE: (800) 581-6770 EMAIL: info@nctta.org |
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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: April
4, 2013 Best
of the Best Coming to Rockford, Illinois - 2013 College Table Tennis
Championships Athletes
from 50 Different Colleges Aiming for Championship Titles April is the time when College
Table Tennis Athletes from all over North America make the trek to battle for
the prize of a Championship title. Scholarship schools, non-scholarship
schools, American schools, Canadian schools, four-year schools and two-year
schools will send their respective players to Rockford, Illinois with title
hopes in mind. Nearly 250 athletes representing more than 50 different
colleges and universities have booked their tickets to Rockford, Illinois for
the National Championships on April 12-14. Last year’s tournament featured
Mississippi College defeating Lindenwood University in the team semifinal,
marking the first time a non-scholarship school defeated a scholarship school
in co-ed competition. Mississippi College eventually lost to the juggernaut
of college table tennis in Texas Wesleyan University, but perhaps had
foreshadowed something to come in the future. The future is now, and we look
towards yet another Championships where one is truly surrounded by the best
of the best. Men’s singles features 75 players
from around the USA and Canada. These players include former internationals
from Mexico, China, India, Brazil, Vietnam, Romania, Dominican Republic,
Canada, Thailand, and the United States just to name a few. Joe Wells, NCTTA
Vice President states, “This year’s tournament is like a who’s who of Olympic
level talent.” Truly, the standard of play will be very high in Rockford. Women’s singles features 37
players also from a variety of international origins, and unlike last year, we
can’t pick out exactly who the top contender is. Wells chimes in, “Jiaqi
Zheng last year was hands down the front runner, but this year in Regionals
she lost to Brana (Vlasic), so I can only imagine that this will open up the
women’s game this year to have last year’s champ already lose in Regional
play.” The Men’s/Coed and Women’s Team
Championships are probably the most sought-after titles, as the team event
brings together every member of the school’s squad. Wells, who serves as
NCTTA’s play by play commentator on the live stream, states, “The decibel
level increases two fold during the team events making it into an atmosphere
you would see in any kind of mainstream college sport competition like the
NCAA sweet 16 basketball tournament.” Table tennis may not be mainstream yet
in the USA, but you wouldn’t know it from these collegiate athletes as their
shouts and cries for support and jubilation are just as strong and passionate
as in any other sporting competition. Texas Wesleyan University is yet
again are seeded #1 in the Men’s/Coed Team competition, but just barely as there
is a strong group of schools right behind them. On the women’s side, the surprise
#1 seed is the University of California-Berkeley, but as with the men, don’t
expect them to run away with the title as Ottawa and Texas Wesleyan are right
on their heels. Rest assured that anything can
happen in sport and certainly that is no difference in college table tennis. The 2013 College Table Tennis
Championships is hosted by the National Collegiate Table Tennis Association and the Rockford Area Convention and Visitor’s Bureau and
is one of the most competitive table tennis tournaments in North America
featuring 6 events: Men’s and Women’s Singles and Doubles, and Men’s/Coed
Teams, Women’s Teams. The event is sponsored by Newgy Industries,
Butterfly, PR etc. Rockford Table Tennis Club, Fitzgerald Equipment, Rockford Park District. The full list of participants and
seeds can be found here: http://www.nctta.org/champs/2013/news.html Players and spectators alike will
enjoy a jam-packed weekend of table tennis at the 2013 College Table Tennis
Championships. The event
starts Friday April 12th and continues through Sunday April 14th at the
Forest City Tennis Center in Rockford, Illinois. 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
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