NCTTA Salutes Women in Class of 2016

Submitted by nctta.president on Sun, 03/27/2016 - 12:45pm

By Andy Kanengiser

NCTTA Media Chairman
 
The Class of 2016 includes extraordinary women sparking their table tennis teams at colleges stretching from New York to California and as far north as Canada.
 
"Table tennis is in my blood,'' said New York University senior Xialing Qiang. For the 24-year-old  native of Sichuan, China, the 2016 NCTTA championships closes out her collegiate career playing this fast-paced Olympic sport. "I will never give up table tennis.''
 
A sports business major, Xialing plans to stay one more year in New York and hunt for a job. Playing table tennis for a powerful NYU team the past two seasons, she said, was a "fantastic'' experience, one she will never forget. "Everybody is supporting each other.''
 
The native of China began playing the sport as a six-year-old and refuses to retire her paddle.
 
A total of five NYU women will compete in their final college games at the Round Rock Sports Center on Sunday.
 
Playing at this beautiful sports venue near Austin is a memorable way to close things out. "I'm trying to enjoy it. Round Rock was the best,'' from its superb facilities to its welcoming environment for table tennis, says 22-year-old NYU senior Janice Ho.
 
A Clinton, New Jersey resident, Janice played in NCTTA championship tournaments during her four years at NYU. Besides Texas, she traveled with NYU teammates to national tournaments in Rockford, Illinois in 2013, Monroeville, Pennsylvania in 2014, and Eau Claire, Wisconsin in 2015.
 
After her NYU graduation in May, going to work is what's next on the agenda for the bright accounting and marketing major.
 
Others wrapping up their NYU table tennis playing days this weekend in the Lone Star State are: Michelle Leung of Hong Kong, Lisa Kim of Seoul, South Korea and Claire Bai of Beijing, China.
 
At the NCTTA tournament, players like Jasmine Nguyen, 22, of the University of California-Berkeley say they look forward to graduation in May. But they're not ready to quit the game they love. "It's really sad that it's ending. I wish I could spend more than four years at the collegiate level.''
 
A resident of Anaheim, California, the integrative biology major plans to work for a year, then prepare for the rigors of medical school. Jasmine will consider a medical career in cardiology or radiology. After playing table tennis for ten years, she's not quite ready to give it up. "I will still play, hopefully, while I'm in medical school.''
 
And serving as an NCTTA volunteeer is another option she may pursue next season.
 
Unexpected circumstances at the family's residence led Jasmine to switch her game from tennis to table tennis.
       
A major pipe leak at their California home caused extensive water damage years ago, Nguyen recalled as games continued in Round Rock Saturday. Almost "everything was destroyed, except for the ping pong table.''

The 2016 TMS College Table Tennis Championships is hosted by the National Collegiate Table Tennis Association and the Round Rock CVB and is one of the premier 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 TMS International, Gerflor, Double Fish, and Joola.

Players and spectators alike will enjoy a jam-packed weekend of table tennis at the TMS College Table Tennis Championships. The event starts Friday March 25th and continues through Sunday March 27th at the Round Rock Sports Center

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