Lindenwood Brand Continues to Shine in College Table Tennis
An NCTTA Feature - May 2012

By Andy Kanengiser
NCTTA Media Relations Chair

The 15,000-student Missouri institution left the 2012 NCTTA Championships in Plano, Texas on April 15 with its share of bragging rights. For the second time in program history, the Lady Lions won the national women’s team title. The team of Michelle John, Karin Fukushima, Leine Agata, and Eia Batbold defeated Toronto University 3-1 to claim victory in the finals.

At the Plano Sports Authority 2 Arena, Lindenwood’s Fernando Yamazato of Brazil defeated a longtime friend from his native land, Jose Barbosa of Texas Wesleyan in the semifinals, then edged teammate Venkat Ramesh in the finals, to capture the men’s singles title on Saturday April 14.

In the men’s/coed team event, Lindenwood captured third place. After losing to Mississippi College 3-1 in the semifinals, they rallied to a 3rd place finish with a victory over fourth-seeded San Jose State.

With 17 players on its roster, the Lindenwood squad comes from all over the globe, with talented players from Brazil, India, Peru, Trinidad & Tobago, Mongolia, and the United States. Nine Lindenwood men and four women took part in the NCTTA’s big event in the Lone Star State.

Selling Lindenwood’s strong academic program combined with some big scholarships available for elite table tennis players has put the Saint Charles, Missouri school on the international map.

“I get emails from all over the world,” Coach Randy Kendle said during a break in the Championships action.

He and his wife, Kelly, a fellow Lindenwood coach, are not just selling potential students on table tennis. They are pushing Lindenwood’s academic strengths.

Kendle gets excited when talking about players like Fernando Yamazato, a junior who’s studying communications. He came to Lindenwood from Correia De Lomos, Brazil. It’s not just his athletic ability that Coach Kendle raves about. “Fernando is an excellent student with a 3.8 average,” he said. “He’s a very smart player who can retrieve balls back. He’s also very quick and light on his feet.”

A 21-year-old who’s played the game for over a decade, Fernando’s attitude doesn’t seem to change on or off the court. “I’ve never seen him lose his temper or miss practice. He’s very respectful,” the Lions coach said. “His parents ought to be proud.”

Lindenwood just wrapped up its fourth season of NCTTA competition and already, Kendle, like most coaches, is thinking ahead to the recruiting process and making sure holes are filled on the roster next season.

But with Randy and Kelly Kendle only speaking English, the multi-lingual Lindenwood players play a big role in the recruiting process. “The players definitely help us. They make stuff happen.”

Table tennis is big, but not the only game on the Missouri campus. Lindenwood seems to have an athletic niche for just about everybody with sports ranging from women’s gymnastics to men’s rugby and roller hockey. There’s even a chess team at Lindenwood University.

No matter what the sport at Lindenwood, “we do stress that academics comes first,” said assistant coach Chance Key, while watching the fast-paced games in Texas. And it may be just that formula that has led the Lindenwood team to both academic and athletic success.

Got an interesting story idea for a future feature article?
Drop us a line at publicrelations@nctta.org