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CONTACT: Andy Kanengiser PHONE: (800) 581-6770 EMAIL: publicrelations@nctta.org |
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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: April
13, 2013 USF Bulls Fans Cheer the Loudest Cheer
Away! Loud cheering is a team sport at the NCTTA championships in Rockford, and NYU comes a close second, but the University of South Florida Bulls would be ranked No. 1. Cheers like "Vamos!" and "Si!" and "Let’s Go Bulls!" were screamed early and often when USF table tennis players battled NYU Saturday morning. The New Yorkers kept it going with chants of their own from the bright lights of the Big Apple. It went down to doubles to decide the match, but in the end the powerful USF duo of Dave Llona and Romanian sensation Chip Romonti pulled out the victory for the bunch from Tampa. "Cheering does help," Romonti said moments after the win as spectators offered their congrats. "It lifts up your confidence. This experience here in Rockford has been perfect. I’ve really enjoyed it." A 28-year-old USF accounting major, Romonti and Llona got the crowds pumped by doing several high fives and plenty of shouts of their own. It all added up to a tremendous victory for USF against a mighty NYU crew that includes the 2009 U.S. National Champion, 18-year-old freshman star Michael Landers. South Florida’s team was ranked No. 15 and NYU stood at No. 10 before the NCTTA games began. The potent cheering section for the four USF standouts reflects wonderful team camaraderie, said Llona. "We have one of the most passionate teams out here when it comes to table tennis." The USF squad is like a mini-United Nations. There are two Cubans, a Romanian, a guy from Canada, and some USA players in the mix. "Cmon!" and "Fight" and "Let’s Go" are among their American cheers. "We have such a tight-knit group. We all try to help each other out," said 21-year-old USF senior Michel Avey, a native of Canada who was raised in Florida. A music education major, Michel hopes to be making noise in a different arena when he graduates as a high school music teacher. Summing up his first experience at the 2013 NCTTA championships
in chilly Rockford, Avey boiled it down to two
words: "It’s awesome!" 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 Full list of participants and
seeds: 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 to 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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