NCTTA
Newsletter
March 2010
Anticipation for the Championships is thick in the air and we've got the full scoop on who's in and who's out, information on our newest sponsor Attack Table Tennis, and some great stories on teams qualifying for their first Championships, and on Championships volunteers. And if that wasn't enough for this newsletter, we also have the US National Team trials held at Texas Wesleyan and the Spring Top 25 rankings with a new No. 1 team!
2010 Championships Qualifiers Announced
All the regular season matches have been played, Championships invitations have been extended and the Championships registration period has ended. We're delighted to announce the following 24 Men's/Coed and 14 Women's teams that will be competing at the 2010 College Table Tennis National Championships:
Division |
Men's/Coed Teams |
Women's Teams |
Dixie |
Mississippi College |
|
Eastern Canada |
Ottawa |
Western Ontario |
Florida |
Florida State |
|
Georgia |
Georgia Tech |
Georgia Tech |
Kansas |
Wichita State |
|
Mid-Atlantic |
Princeton |
Drexel |
Midwest |
Lindenwood |
Lindenwood |
Minnesota |
Minnesota |
|
New England |
Brown |
|
New York City |
Baruch College
Columbia
NYU
|
Columbia
Rutgers |
Northern California |
De Anza College
California (Berkeley)
|
|
Northwest |
Washington |
Washington
Oregon |
Ohio |
Ohio State
Michigan State |
Michigan State |
Southern California |
USC
UC San Diego |
|
Texas |
Texas Wesleyan |
Texas Wesleyan |
Upper Midwest |
Wisconsin |
Wisconsin
Governors State |
Upstate New York |
Buffalo |
Cornell |
Virginia |
Virginia Tech
Duke |
Duke |
NCTTA Welcomes Attack as Championships Sponsor
NCTTA leaders truly love the sponsors of collegiate table tennis.
Killerspin stands tall in our eyes as the official table and equipment sponsor of the 2009-2010 NCTTA League and Championships. Newgy Industries shows class as the official barrier sponsor of the 2010 College Table Tennis Championships that will be played near Milwaukee, April 9-11.
So it’s with a great deal of pleasure that we announce that we’ve signed up a new player to our team of great sponsors. “NCTTA is thrilled to welcome Attack Table Tennis as a platinum sponsor of the 2010 National Championships,” says NCTTA President Willy Leparulo.
We can add a nice round of applause to that quote from the entire NCTTA Board, Division Directors and the terrific players who participate on college teams throughout the United States, Canada and Puerto Rico. Without fantastic sponsors like Killerspin, Newgy, and now Attack, the National Championships wouldn’t be possible.
Find out more information about Attack by going to www.attacktabletennis.com and can reach company representatives by email at customerservice@attacktabletennis.com
So if you see a company representative from Killerspin, Newgy or Attack, let them know that you appreciate their support of college table tennis!
Newcomers Storm 2010 Championships
In its inaugural season in big-time collegiate table tennis, the Governors State University team will soon be traveling across state lines to the National Championships in Wisconsin.
Think it’s no big deal to travel from Illinois to Wisconsin to play in a table tennis tourney? Think again. In its first season, the Governors State women's team is packing its bags (and paddles) to make it to the NCTTA's version of March Madness in April. The GSU women's team got a spot in the Championships as a wild card.
Governors State, located in University Park, just outside of Chicago is a diverse school in a region loaded with lots of smart women. In fact, 71 percent of the GSU students are women and about 38 percent are minorities. The school named Elaine Maimon as the 2nd female president in its 41-year history back in 2007. Governors state landed in the NCTTA's Top 25 rankings earlier this year and currently sits at No. 23.
The GSU team won't be the only newcomer at the 2010 Championships. De Anza College in Northern California is also making its way NCTTA's Big Dance for the first time in school history. The fast growing two-year institution of 24,115 students in Cupertino, California plays in a San Francisco Bay area that is teeming with table tennis players. Community colleges like DeAnza College are a small but growing force in the world of college table tennis, and are already proving they can compete with four-year schools.
Another relatively new kid on the block in NCTTA circles, Baruch College in New York recently knocked off more established teams like Rutgers and Columbia to capture the New York City Division title and punch their ticket to Wisconsin.
Outside of the United States, Canada is an emerging force in collegiate table tennis ranks. Look for the 6th-ranked University of Western Ontario’s women’s team to be among the top teams to watch when the Championships begin in less than a month. And from within the US, look for other up and coming women's teams like No. 21 Oregon to flex their muscles in Wisconsin. They may not beat perennial powerhouses like Texas Wesleyan, but these Oregon Ducks have come to play an outstanding game of table tennis.
Texas Wesleyan Hosts US National Team Trials
Maybe you were focused on plans for a fantastic spring break at the beach and missed the news. Here’s the scoop: Texas Wesleyan University hosted the USA Table Tennis National Team Trials March 4-5. Some of America’s top table tennis players were seen competing at the Fort Worth campus for a shot at representing the United States in the World Table Tennis Championships in Moscow, Russia May 23-30, 2010.
Eleven men and seven women participated in the Team Trials held at Texas Wesleyan’s Sid W. Richardson Center, site of the 2005 and 2006 College Table Tennis National Championships. The Team Trials were also held in conjunction with a second tournament, the Newgy Texas Weleyan Open two days later, March 6-7. Jasna Rather, Texas Wesleyan’s table tennis head coach, says the event will improve the school’s chances to win the bid for the Olympic Trials for the London Olympics in 2012.
Texas Wesleyan’s Mark Hazinski finished first among the men, while 14-year old Ariel Hsing finished first among the women. Here are the top finishers from the US National Team Trials:
Women
1. Ariel Hsing
2. Natalie Sun
3. Lily Zhang
4. Erica Wu
Full Results |
Men
1. Mark Hazinski
2. Shao Yu
3. Peter Li
4. Michael Landers
Full Results |
U. Wisconsin Volunteers Step Up for Championships
University of Wisconsin table tennis players are stepping up their game as volunteers. At the 2010 College Table Tennis Championships in Waukesha, Wisconsin, two Badgers from the Madison campus, Davy Zheng and Jay Johnson plan to volunteer their services.
There are about about 75 volunteers needed at the NCTTA championships just outside Milwaukee April 9-11. We, at NCTTA, really treasure our volunteers! We need truly need a great volunteer effort to have a first-rate championship.
Davy Zheng began playing table tennis as a sophomore at Bergen Community College in New Jersey. He got tired of losing to his classmates at basketball, and wanted to beat them in another sport. Davy remembered seeing friends play table tennis during his middle school days in Shanghai so he decided to pick up this fast-paced Olympic sport. Davy improved his game by watching videos on YouTube of his favorite player, Ma Long. Now he plans to take the umpire test so he can serve at the Nationals. “As a volunteer, it is going to help me watch some of the best players in the nation play up close.”
Read
more ...
NBA Hoops Stars Team with Top College Table Tennis Players to Fight Cancer
NBA stars like Dirk Nowitzki and Jason Kidd joined forces with three Texas Wesleyan University table tennis standouts and it’s all for a good cause. The table tennis-hoops event, dubbed Purple Ping Pong, was held Sunday, March 14 as a benefit for the Dallas/Fort Worth affiliate of the Pancreatic Cancer Action Network.
The Dallas Mavericks basketball players (also including JJ Barea) and head coach Rick Carlisle each anchored one of 16 celebrity teams in the event held at Moody Coliseum at Southern Methodist University in Dallas.
Texas Wesleyan brought stars of its own of course, including table tennis players Sara Fu-Hazinski, Chance Friend and 2009 Collegiate Champ Mark Hazinski. The TWU trio competed “in a table tennis exhibition displaying the sport at its finest,” says the Texas Wesleyan University Office of Communications.
For more on the event, visit: http://www.pancan.org/pingpong
Also check out an interview with Brian Pace and Mavericks Coach Rick Carlisle. Sponsor
Corner
Special thanks to our sponsors, Newgy, Killerspin and Attack Table Tennis!
NCTTA, would like
to thank Killerspin
for its support of college table tennis. Killerspin is
the exclusive NCTTA League and Championship Equipment sponsor through
2011. Member schools just need to fill out the Killerspin
Premium Membership Program Application to receive
phenomenal equipment
discounts in the online
Killerspin store.
Also,
special thanks to NEWGY
Industries,
for itscontinued support of college table tennisincluding the
2010 College Table Tennis Championships. Newgy offers a great way
to
fundraise for your
club by signing up and participating
in their Newgy
Robo Pong Affiliate Program.
Special thanks also to our newest Championships sponsor, Attack Table Tennis. Attack is a Michigan-based supplier of quality table tennis apparel and gear. Find out more about our newest sponsor from the article about them in this newsletter, or of course on their website!
2011 Championships Bid Deadline April 1
Time is running out for cities bidding to host the 2011 College Table Tennis National Championships. In fact, April Fools’ Day is the deadline and that’s no joke. Cities trying to woo the NCTTA championships to their neck of the woods must apply by April 1.
The event was held in Rochester, Minnesota in 2008 and 2009 and now swings to the Milwaukee area April 8-11, 2010. The Championships will lure more than 250 top-notch players from more than 40 different colleges and universities in the U.S. and Canada plus many more coaches, fans and volunteers.
Four cities turned in bids last year. For cities that step forward, there are economic benefits, not to mention bragging rights. The US economy is still stuck in a recession. The 2011 championships will bring some positive economic impact no matter where it lands.
For more details, check out the 2011 Championships Bidding Guidelines and the 2011 Championships Bid Application on the NCTTA website to see what it takes to qualify. From facility lighting to floor surface to attractions of the host cities, there are lots of details to consider. NCTTA leaders say they expect to make a final decision on the location of the 2011 Championships in May. So stay tuned.
Spring Top 25 Rankings
As the Championships approaches, there's a new team atop the Top 25 Rankings, as Lindenwood now holds the top spot among men's/coed teams. It's been a rapid ascent for the St. Charles, Missouri-based program, only in its second year. Texas Wesleyan lands at No. 2 with Princeton, Ottawa and Mississippi College rounding out the top 5. Among women's teams, Texas Wesleyan retains its No. 1 ranking, followed closely by Lindenwood, Columbia, Waterloo and Rutgers. Here are the full rankings:
Men's/Co-Ed
Team
Ranking
- 1. Lindenwood
- 2. Texas Wesleyan
- 3. Princeton
- 4. Ottawa
- 5. Mississippi College
- 6. Toronto
- 7. Virginia Tech
- 8. Florida State
- 9. Baruch College
- 10. De Anza College
- 11. Wisconsin
- 12. Ohio State
- 13. California (Berkeley)
- 14. Columbia
- 15. Michigan State
- 16. NYU
- 17. Waterloo
- 18. UC San Diego
- 19. Pennsylvania
- 20. UCLA
- 21. Texas
- 22. UMBC
- 23. McGill
- 24. Minnesota
- 25. Brown
|
Women's
Team Ranking
- 1. Texas Wesleyan
- 2. Lindenwood
- 3. Columbia
- 4. Waterloo
- 5. Rutgers
- 6. Western Ontario
- 7.
UCLA
- 8. NYU
- 9. Wisconsin
- 10. Toronto
- 11. Michigan State
- 12. Cornell
- 13. Duke
- 14. Stony Brook
- 15. Kansas
- 16. Washington
- 17. California (Berkeley)
- 18. Drexel
- 19. Georgia Tech
- 20. USC
- 21. Oregon
- 22. McGill
- 23. Governors State
- 24. Caltech
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