Photo Credit: Dennis Yanga, representing playing for one’s team and what it means.

Willy Leparulo, Guest Writer
NCTTA Media

Year after year, NCTTA has been a home to former and current elite Junior/National team athletes from the USA, Canada and other countries. Representing one’s country while being in college is not an easy feat and one that takes coordination, support and true grit. Trailblazers like NCTTA Alumni Lily Zhang (UC Berkeley) and others have paved the way for the new group to step into the light.

We spoke with Joola’s Matt Hetherington, a former NCTTA athlete from Pillar College, to share his insight with NCTTA on the “vibe” of the NCTTA Championships,

“I think many (elite) college players just enjoy the fact that they can stay in the sport and be involved in some level of competition with more freedom and less stress attached”.

Many elite athletes are here at the NCTTA Championships from not only USA and Canada, but other countries like Trinidad and Tobago, Brazil, India and New Zealand to name a few, all sharing similar previous training and experiences.

One thing is certain: the NCTTA Championships provide a unique table tennis moment, one that isn’t readily available. Hetherington states, “The (NCTTA) team aspect is definitely unique, you get a sense that you are representing something more than yourself. When you achieve something in college, your school is proud, your team is proud, and your friends from outside of the sport at the school make a deal out of it.”

Loud and Proud is NCTTA’s favorite hashtag, so come check out these athletes as they represent their schools!

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