|
|
CONTACT: Andy Kanengiser PHONE: (800) 581-6770 EMAIL: championships@nctta.org |
|
2011 College Table
Tennis National Championships April 15-17, 2011
in Rochester, MN
**NEWS RELEASE** APRIL 15, 2011
Favorites Fail to Intimidate in
Women’s Team Draw Lower-Ranked
Teams Express Little Fear, Look to Upset Top Seeds
The
women’s teams in this year’s College Table Tennis Championships may have
taken Nike’s early 90’s “No Fear” advertising campaign to heart. Which is
doubly surprising considering that this is one of the strongest ever fields
in the women’s team competition and that many of the players were barely
alive when the Nike campaign was in full swing. Take
Harvard’s women’s team . Competing in their first
ever College Table Tennis
Championships, a little nervousness might be expected. But
instead the team expressed optimism. “We're pretty excited just to be able to
go the first year we've had a women's team. I'm lucky to be in the company of
three such dedicated women (they've all been insistent on holding more
practices in the weeks leading up to the event).” Harvard
finished at the top of the New England Division with wins over Boston and
Tufts. They enter the competition as the No. 10 overall seed. The
story was similar from the 5th-ranked Toronto women’s team who, according to
coach Howard Ma, doesn’t get as much funding as their US counterparts but
still expects to content. Ma adds, “We know it will be tough to overcome the
top 2 teams. However, that doesn't
stop us from trying our best to play the best we can and represent our school
with class and respect.” Toronto
last visit to the Championships was in 2009 when they lost to powerhouse
Texas Wesleyan in the women’s team final They’re battle tested this season
but still may struggle to match that result. The Eastern Canada division was
by some accounts the toughest in college table tennis this season, with 3
schools qualifying for the Championships (Toronto, Waterloo, and Western
Ontario). All 3 are ranked in the Top 10. Coach
Ma stated confidently, “For the entire team, we are extremely excited to participate
in this tournament. We expect a
well-organized event where many amazing moments are going to happen.” It’s
not clear how many of those amazing moments he envisioned involving his team,
but it’s doubtful he’d be surprised if some did. Almost as if “NO FEAR” were also their team motto.
Players and spectators
alike will enjoy a jam-packed weekend of table tennis at the 2011 College
Table Tennis Championships. The event starts Friday April 15th and continues
to Sunday April 17th at the Regional Sports Center in Rochester, Minneosta. Organized by the National Collegiate Table Tennis Association
(NCTTA), the Championships are sponsored by Killerspin, a
Chicago-based table tennis firm and Newgy Industries (Gallatin, TN). The event is also
supported by the Association of College Unions
International (ACUI) and by USA Table Tennis,
the national governing body for table tennis in the US. 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
& tabletennis.teamusa.org
### |
|
|
|
|