Photo of Columbia University. Photo Credit: NCTTA

Shaquila Sarapao, Guest writer
NCTTA Media

The Round Rock Sports Center was bustling with activity for NCTTA, especially with an unusually strong showing this year in Women’s teams. 16 Women’s teams are participating this year. In the round of 16s, spotlight tables 1 and 2 showcased the University of Texas Austin vs. University of Maryland.

Number one seeds Kelly Zhou (Texas) and Stephanie Zhang (Maryland) battled it out in 5 sets. Zhou was up 2-0 with a sudden momentum shift towards Zhang, bringing the match to a 5th set. It was a clutch match as Zhang hit a net point to get to 8-10 and finally closed it out for Maryland’s win. Overall, Maryland’s Women’s teams continued onto the next round, beating Texas in a deciding doubles match.

In the same table, five hours later, University of Pennsylvania (#3) played against Columbia University (#7). The clash of these two teams also yielded a tiebreaking doubles match featuring Ou/Ng (Penn) vs. Yano/Zhan (Columbia). Penn led with a 2-0 lead until Columbia came back in the 3rd and 4th set, barely winning by two points. Points tailed each other, one after another. Both teams didn’t break their serve until Columbia broke Penn with a strong forehand to the corner.

Columbia led with 8-6, but Penn brought it back to 8-8. Strong rallies continued until Penn missed two consecutive shots going long for match point. A sea of blue came from the stands while cheers echoed in the building.

Columbia, number 7 seed, had secured a spot in the semifinals.

About 2023 NCTTA College Table Tennis Championships

The championships are hosted by the National Collegiate Table Tennis Association and the Round Rock CVB. Men’s and Women’s Singles and Doubles, and Men’s/Coed Teams, Women’s Teams. The event is sponsored by Double Happiness, PongSpace, Major League Table Tennis.
Watch the event on live stream starting Friday April 14th on champs.nctta.org

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 elite intercollegiate competition throughout North America. www.nctta.org