Players from all over represent Schools from at the College Table Tennis Championships

by Willy Leparulo

CSU Northridge, Southern Polytechnic State University and University of Rochester all share something in common with one another.

Geographic location, size or academic disciplines are not the connection in this case surprisingly. Their love for college table tennis is what binds them together in this instance. 

These schools represent this year’s group of rookies of this year’s College Table Tennis Championships.  These athletes come to the Championships as singles players to represent themselves and their schools even if the rest of their school teams aren’t able to attend.

In college table tennis, the events are split up between singles and team events, and these players have come despite their respective school teams not being invited. This shows remarkable determination and passion!

One such singles player is Yingzhao Chen out of California State University at Northridge. This is his first nationals representing CSU Northridge and he tells us about his chances: “This is my first time playing a nationals at NCTTA, I’m playing well and my play style is unique.” He is an all out attacking penhold player and looks to make some noise and surprise people in the competition.

The University of Rochester is a little known entity in the college table tennis world, but Vitraag Mehta is ready to show his determination.

Mehta is in his second year at the University of Rochester and only just realized that there was a competitive component in college table tennis in the United States. 

“Other schools must watch out for me because I believe that I have what it takes to cause some major turn arounds in the Nationals. I believe I have the grit, zeal and determination to win and with an overwhelming experience of about 10 years in India (under the training of Mr. Pradeep Gupta), who knows, I maybe capable of working my experience as a charm!”

The College Table Tennis Championships every year has a handful of players that surprise everyone. One thing is for sure: Mehta is going to “represent” as he states, “Oh yes! I'm #loudnproud to represent my University at such a high pedestal. Indeed, I'm absolutely stoked to ready, get set and go @ Eau Claire!”

In the southern United States, Tong Wei from Southern Polytechnic State University in Atlanta is aiming to give a strong showing as she did in the South Regionals, finishing #2 in singles.

With or without a team, the passion for college table tennis is alive and well.

Join us at the University of Wisconsin-Eau Claire!

The 2015 TMS College Table Tennis Championships is hosted by the National Collegiate Table Tennis Association and the Visit Eau Claire 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, Double Fish, Joola and PepPod.

Players and spectators alike will enjoy a jam-packed weekend of table tennis at the TMS College Table Tennis Championships. The event starts Friday April 10th and continues through Sunday April 12th at the University of Wisconsin-Eau Claire campus.

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