By Michael Reff

On ranking alone it would appear Maryland’s team of table tennis student athletes would blow their competition out of the water, but instead, a closely contended doubles’ match yielded a hard fought win for the University of Maryland Testudos.

Brandeis was a force to be reckoned with and according to their third seeded player Duong Nguyen, they weren’t surprised to be playing in the national’s even though ranked so low. He said “we practice two times a week Tuesdays at a club in Boston about 10-15 matches and on Thursdays at Brandeis.” They were well prepared to take on a formidable opponent such as Maryland.

The double’s tiebreaker match between Maryland and Brandeis was more in the favor of Maryland, because Nathan Hsu and Rui Xu have NCTTA ratings of 2513 and 2496 respectively, whereas Brandeis had Shengkai Feng, and Brian Gao, rated 2421 and 2070 respectively.  But, as any table tennis aficionado will be quick to observe, it’s not always about the individual ratings of players in a double’s match, but the overall synergy between the two players and how long they’ve practiced with each other.

Maryland clinched the first double’s game in the best 3-out-5 deciding match, but Brandeis quickly pulled some tricks out of their sleeve in game two. At 2-1, they fired an impressive side swiping block to climb to a 3-1 lead in the second game. Brandeis evened out the score to deuce with a light touch, finally eking out a 14-12 game two.

In the third game, mental toughness truly started to swing in Maryland’s direction. At first Brandeis was winning point after point arriving at 10-4, game count 1-1. But then momentum shifted, and Maryland saved six consecutive game points to even it out at deuce. At 11-11 Brandeis executed a beautiful forehand flip to take advantage again. Interspersed between all these excellent points, Nathan Hsu of Maryland emitted pumped up chos. A pushing war ended the deuce game in favor of Maryland up now 2-1 in sets.

In the fourth game, Brandeis fought back to get up 4-2 even though they were faltering in serves. A ridiculous return by Maryland at 4-5 evened the score out. At 7-5 Brandeis paused to offer advice to each but the next two points were won by Maryland. An ensuing service error by Maryland gave Brandeis the 7-8 advantage, and then at 9-8 Brandeis rapidly counter looped to make it 8-10. Brandeis took the final point of the game and the two teams were headed to a fifth-game decider.

In this final game, nerves and toughness were all that mattered. Again Brandeis claimed an early lead, executing some impressive points, including one at 7-2 when Maryland looped way off the table and Brandeis blocked it to the open court. At 8-2 things took a turn for the worse for Brandeis, and a timeout was called at 8-4. At 9-6 Brandeis attempted to flip but did not convert a point, and when things were tied up at 9-9, Brandeis shanked a ball. A crowd was starting to gather at this point, and at deuce Maryland employed one of their frequently used tricky backhand serves to take advantage over Brandeis. Finally, Maryland sealed the deal with a 12-10 win over their opponents.

A close team match was indeed fought hard by both sides, and mental fortitude was the buzzword of the day.

The 2018 iSET College Table Tennis Championships is hosted by the National Collegiate Table Tennis Association and the Round Rock CVB and is one of the premier table tennis tournaments in North America featuring 6 events: Men’s and Women’s Singles and Doubles, and Men’s/Coed Teams, Women’s Teams.  The event is sponsored by iSET, Double Happiness, Gerflor, Double Fish and USA Table Tennis

Players and spectators alike will enjoy a jam-packed weekend of table tennis at the iSET College Table Tennis Championships. The event starts Friday April 20th and continues through Sunday April 22^nd.

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

By Andy Kanengiser

NCTTA Media Chairman

Removing ice off her frozen car windshield days ago in chilly Central Michigan was annoying for Sandy Chen.

"I don't like the freezing cold,'' said the 24-year-old Michigan State University graduate student.

It's late April, and the winter keeps hanging on for the northern half of the USA and Canada.Even in parts of the South,like Mississippi and Tennessee, the "spring'' was much colder than usual.

So escaping to the warmth of the iSet national collegiate table tennis championships in Texas was one way to leave old man winter behind. Sandy caught a flight from East Lansing, Michigan to the O'Hare airport in Chicago and finally to Austin, Texas to get away for a few days.

A Michigan State table tennis player, Sandy Chen is volunteering as an umpire at the NCTTA tournament April 20-22 at the Round Rock Sports Center. It's sunny and 70 degrees in the Texas city near the state capital of Austin.

That's perfect weather for the media information graduate student from East Lansing. Back home, it was snowing in Michigan. The previous day? It was freezing rain. Really,not much better for the former Michigan Wolverine who's now an MSU Spartan.

Signed up for this weekend's games at the NCTTA championships in sunny Texas was also a delightful getaway from frigid conditions for residents from upstate New York.

That was the case for women's singles player Dominique Canale, 24, of SUNY-Oswego. An MBA student who graduates in August, she brought her books with her favorite paddle to the Round Rock Sports Center.

Canale also works full-time as a project manager with the AXA insurance company. But the former NCAA Division II college tennis player carved out time to compete in her new sport of table tennis. Her boyfriend, Justin D'Antonio, an NCTTA division director in New York, got her started. (pictured above)

She loves the challenges, the spins, foot work, motion and other aspects of the fast-moving Olympic sport.

In the balmy spring air of Texas, the graduate of LeMoyne College in Syracuse, found plenty of interesting things to do, like visiting outdoor art galleries. Seeing thousands of bats flying around Austin's bridges provided an awesome sight for the New Yorker.

Hanging out in the Lone Star State, she said, was a nice switch from all the snow in New York.

The 2018 iSET College Table Tennis Championships is hosted by the National Collegiate Table Tennis Association and the Round Rock CVB and is one of the premier table tennis tournaments in North America featuring 6 events: Men’s and Women’s Singles and Doubles, and Men’s/Coed Teams, Women’s Teams.  The event is sponsored by iSET, Double Happiness, Gerflor, Double Fish and USA Table Tennis

Players and spectators alike will enjoy a jam-packed weekend of table tennis at the iSET College Table Tennis Championships. The event starts Friday April 20th and continues through Sunday April 22^nd.

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

BY Andy Kanengiser

NCTTA Media Chairman

Bouncing around the Rock Rock Sports Center with a microphone in hand and big smile on his face, Andy Nguyen had a blast.

 Doing what he does best, Andy peppered NCTTA players with softball questions as a camerman recorded every moment. What's your favorite food? What's your school? What do you love about table tennis? What's your name?

Along the way, he quickly recruited volunteers like Brenda Nguyen (the Minnesota Division director) to ask a barrage of questions, too. "Are you single?,'' she asked one of the guys on the Lindenwood University table tennis team from Mexico. He's single and enjoys Mexican food.

 It was all in good fun on Thursday night as Andy Nguyen's media crew roamed around the modern arena to produce an entertaining "documentary'' of the 2018 iSet national collegiate championships.

Attracting 250 players from New York to California and as far away away as Canada, the NCTTA's pre-tournament practice scene was a cool place to bring the cameras.  No worries about winning or losing points in tense table tennis matches that get decided in the last few seconds.

Andy Nguyen promised to wrap up his work, and produce at least a short video piece to showcase at Saturday night's NCTTA awards dinner at a Round Rock hotel.

An impossible assignment? The quick-witted NCTTA marketing chairman revealed his secret. How does the talented media guru from Charlotte, North Carolina get so much done, in a hurry? Energy drinks and coffee must help.

Honestly, it takes more than that. "I am not going to sleep!,'' insists the energetic Nguyen.

Picking Brenda Nguyen in the crowd of table tennis lovers to help do the player interviews proved to be a terrific choice. She's pretty familiar with the Olympic sport (she's a former standout player at the University of Minnesota). Brenda competed at the NCTTA's 2014 national championships near Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. So she really appreciates the electric atmosphere at the NCTTA's biggest tournament of the season.

"This was very spontaneous,'' Brenda said of her media debut as she finished player interviews. "It's fun.'' On Friday, things get much more serious for the Minnesotan. She will work the championship games as one of the umpires. The table tennis games count for real on Friday morning. The lively tournament at the Round Rock Sports Center wraps up Sunday.

The 2018 iSET College Table Tennis Championships is hosted by the National Collegiate Table Tennis Association and the Round Rock CVB and is one of the premier table tennis tournaments in North America featuring 6 events: Men’s and Women’s Singles and Doubles, and Men’s/Coed Teams, Women’s Teams.  The event is sponsored by iSET, Double Happiness, Gerflor, Double Fish and USA Table Tennis

Players and spectators alike will enjoy a jam-packed weekend of table tennis at the iSET College Table Tennis Championships. The event starts Friday April 20th and continues through Sunday April 22^nd.

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

(Picture above of Tom Feng by Warren Rosenberg)

The Men’s/Coed Team event is the title everyone seeks. Each tournament has the premier event and for the 2018 iSET College Table Tennis Championships it is the Men’s/Coed Team event.

The National Collegiate Table Tennis Association (NCTTA) was founded in the early 1990’s with this format and structure in place for a men’s/coed team battle where both the best men and women college students play together to represent their school for the chance to take this title. This is an odd format for table tennis and unique to see men and women playing together on the same team, but this is the NCTTA way and it is our diamond event!

The top 10 in the men’s/coed team event is a who’s who of Table Tennis talent from former to current Olympians from the United States and other countries! Pillar College features former US Olympian Timothy Wang, and California Berkeley features current US Olympian Lily Zhang. And let’s not forget other schools like Mississippi College (the only school to defeat Texas Wesleyan in the modern era), Lindenwood University (a scholarship school in Missouri) or UC Davis and Northeastern that have very strong teams as well.  NCTTA tournament director, Willy Leparulo states, “Literally there is no place to hide in a draw like this, everyone is good, wall to wall 2000’s.”

Lindenwood University’s coach David Cabrera says when we asked him if this is the best Lindenwood team yet, “I think our chances are very high as we have top players from all over the world here studying and playing.” Lindenwood is led by Brazilian international, Massao Kohatsu (2554) and the athletic wonder in Jeff Yamada (2462). Yamada was featured in this youtube video highlighting his athleticism to getting each and every ball!

NYU features two current National team players for the United States, Adar Alguetti and Tom Feng. Coach Yanjun Gao of NYU tells us about how their preparation is going, “I set up two times a week for our team practice and let everybody go to the gym two or three times before the national. Hope our all players will be fit at national.”  NYU has an initial goal to reach semi-finals this year, but according to Coach Gao, “We always trying to win the Championships of course.”  They will have some formidable opponents, but none so formidable as the mighty Texas Wesleyan Rams.

Texas Wesleyan University is no stranger to this title having won 13 out of the last 14 Coed Team titles! NCTTA President and Tournament Director Willy Leparulo always affectionately compares them to the “New York Yankees of College Table Tennis,” referring to the Major League Baseball team’s historic record of titles.  Coach Jasna Rather leads the program since 2007 and talks about how strong the competition has become, “The competition is each year getting stronger. Coaches and athletes are aware of that, and try to keep up with good competition.”

The Texas Wesleyan Rams are always prepared and now they have more of a home field advantage being in their home state. Rather states, “It is great to be back in Round Rock since it is only a few hours drive from Fort Worth, and playing conditions in the gym are superb.”

Come check out this superb facility and tournament championships April 20-22^nd at the Round Rock sports center!

The 2018 iSET College Table Tennis Championships is hosted by the National Collegiate Table Tennis Association and the Round Rock CVB and is one of the premier table tennis tournaments in North America featuring 6 events: Men’s and Women’s Singles and Doubles, and Men’s/Coed Teams, Women’s Teams.  The event is sponsored by iSET, Double Happiness, Gerflor, Double Fish and USA Table Tennis

Players and spectators alike will enjoy a jam-packed weekend of table tennis at the iSET College Table Tennis Championships. The event starts Friday April 20th and continues through Sunday April 22^nd.

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

By Andy Kanengiser

NCTTA Media Chair

(Pictured above Wenting Zha of Texas Wesleyan; picture by Grant Bergmann)

Talented women with a passion for table tennis will showcase their favorite Olympic sport on a national stage in Texas.

Players from women’s teams at schools such as as Texas Wesleyan University and the University of California-Berkeley should rise to the occasion at the 2018 championships in Round Rock. Cal-Berkeley is led by Lily Zhang, a Team USA player, who propelled the Lady Bears to a first-place finish at the 2017 championships in Wisconsin.  Texas Wesleyan women were the runner-ups a year ago at the NCTTA’s biggest tournament of the season.

Look for women’s teams at other schools like the University of Minnesota, the University of British Columbia in Canada and Lindenwood University in Missouri to give chase, and win big games, too, in 2018. About 250 of the best collegiate players in the USA and Canada will square off April 20-22 at the Round Rock Sports Center near Austin.

Doru Gheorghe, head coach for the TWU Rams women’s team beginning in May 2016, is again leading another solid group on the Fort Worth campus. He’s a former longtime head coach of the USA women’s national table tennis team. His service there began in 1998.

His Texas Wesleyan roster will include stellar student-athletes like Wenting Zha. Born in China, she’s been a USA resident for some time.

Wenting brings skills to the table with paddle in hand, but she’s also a bright student. She began working on her MBA at Texas Wesleyan last Fall. “She’s a very talented athlete and a great student,’’ says Coach Jasna Rather, who heads the university’s table tennis program. “We are lucky to have someone of her caliber on the team.’’

Wenting Zha shined with her Texas Wesleyan University teammates to achieve a first-place finish at the NCTTA’s 2018 South Regionals. The games were held at the Sid Richardson Center on the Fort Worth campus in late February.

The perennial national champs, Texas Wesleyan captured five of the six championship titles at stake at the NCTTA’s 2017 championships last April in Eau Claire, Wisconsin.

At the Texas divisionals in early February, the Texas Wesleyan’s powerful women’s lineup went 3-0, with perfect 4-0 scores. Wenting Zha ended up at the top spot, followed by teammates Yue Wu, Edina Haracic and Viyaleta Manastyrskaya.

It’s hard to say who’s the most talented player on the Lady Rams team.

“Our top three players are at a similar level, and basically share the 1-3 position, and then strong 4 and 5 athletes as well,’’ Rather said.

Other squads the Texas Wesleyan Lady Rams will face in the 2018 championships, she said, “are very strong. It is getting tougher and tougher to make the top 4 in coed and women’s teams,’’ Coach Rather said. “As always, our team will fight hard.’’

Cal-Berkeley’s team received a major boost when Ohlone College table tennis standout Ying Wang transferred to the school. That big announcement came in June 2017. The 22-year-old sensation from China and economics major at Ohlone College didn’t miss a beat when she became a California Bear last Fall. The 5’3” Wang fell in love with the academic environment and zeal that Cal students have for their education.

NCTTA President Willy Leparulo says the women’s teams to beat at the late April tournament will remain Texas Wesleyan University and California-Berkeley.

But he believes other squads will make some noise in Round Rock. “The University of Minnesota and the University of British Columbia are no walk overs,’’ Leparulo said. “These teams feature stars in the making and could make a run at the title.’’

The 2018 iSET College Table Tennis Championships is hosted by the National Collegiate Table Tennis Association and the Round Rock CVB and is one of the premier table tennis tournaments in North America featuring 6 events: Men’s and Women’s Singles and Doubles, and Men’s/Coed Teams, Women’s Teams.  The event is sponsored by iSET, Double Happiness, Gerflor, Double Fish and USA Table Tennis

Players and spectators alike will enjoy a jam-packed weekend of table tennis at the iSET College Table Tennis Championships. The event starts Friday April 20th and continues through Sunday April 22^nd.

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

By Michael Reff

NCTTA Media

(Picture above by Yukong Zhang of Rolland Zhang of Texas A/M University)

It’s that time of year again: the preparations for the 2018 iSET NCTTA College Table Tennis Championships at Round Rock, Texas are in full operation, and college teams are raising last minute funds and squeezing in extra practice sessions to be completely ready for the opportunity of a lifetime. But there are a handful of individuals that have qualified for the single’s competition and not with the team. These bold few are affectionately called the “Lone Rangers.” These are some of their stories.

One might think one of the main quandaries Lone Rangers find themselves in is difficulty interacting with other teams or being perceived as a third wheel since they come alone without accompaniment. This is not the case for Stanford senior Annie Shi.  She’s delighted to be going to Nationals again (she was also in the 2016 Nationals) “because” she says, “that means I’ll get to spend time playing table tennis with my friends and see a lot of my friends from different schools that I haven’t seen since we trained together as kids or competed together back in the day.” She cites the fact that since table tennis is quite a “close-knit community,” it makes her feel at home socializing with other schools. She does however admit that it will be a little difficult not having the physical support of her home team there, but she is still looking forward to making new table tennis acquaintances.

Along the same vein of Annie, 20-year-old Yash Shah of the University of Wisconsin-Madison, was elated to learn of qualifying for the Nationals, and is also looking forward to meeting up again with old and new friends. One of his old friends happens to be Mudit, a former teammate of Yash’s when they were on a state team in India. Yash has mixed emotions about being a Lone Ranger; on the one hand he is ecstatic about being able to play in Nationals again, and on the other hand he is going to feel down “as I will miss my teammates as both my previous Nationals I have attended it has been with my team. It’s also hard to convince the University to fund the trip for an individual as compared to a team.”

Another Lone Ranger, 30-year-old PhD candidate Keighobad Jafarzadegan of Purdue University, stated that this experience would be the only time he has qualified for the event at this level, and it would be his last time as well. Like Yash, he cited difficulty obtaining funds from the university for an individual, as well as an overwhelming amount of studies involved with his PhD candidacy in civil engineering. He has fought through these hardships though and is still determined to play his last year of eligibility out in Round Rock, Texas on April 20-22.

Finally, Rolland Zhang is a 19-year-old Computer Science student who attends Texas A&M University. Rolland was thrilled to qualify for Nationals this year because of the proximity of his school to Round Rock. He was sad that his team, which almost obtained a wildcard, did not qualify for the Championships this year. Rolland does however have an advantage over several of the Lone Rangers in the fact that his team captain Eldon Luo will be coming with him to help coach. Although one of the lowest seeds in the tournament with a 1909 rating Rolland has ambitious goals for the Nationals, hoping to create several upsets over much higher rated players.

To all the Lone Rangers out there who have braved the table tennis trek alone and with minimal funding and support: We salute you!

The 2018 iSET College Table Tennis Championships is hosted by the National Collegiate Table Tennis Association and the Round Rock CVB and is one of the premier table tennis tournaments in North America featuring 6 events: Men’s and Women’s Singles and Doubles, and Men’s/Coed Teams, Women’s Teams.  The event is sponsored by iSET, Double Happiness, Gerflor, Double Fish and USA Table Tennis

Players and spectators alike will enjoy a jam-packed weekend of table tennis at the iSET College Table Tennis Championships. The event starts Friday April 20th and continues through Sunday April 22^nd.

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

By Andy Kanengiser

NCTTA Media Chair

The Silicon Valley remains a table tennis hotbed in California.

The center of the USA's sophisticated high-tech universe is a breeding ground for big companies as well as startups with tons of smart people hooked on computers. Computers are their passion and surround their careers.        

Drive around San Jose and suburbs like Milpitas, and visitors will discover really nice table tennis clubs. People compete at the region's clubs and keep their table tennis paddles and balls in constant motion at home. The Chu family in this Santa Clara County near San Jose and Fremont is definitely all in for table tennis.

Look for three members of the Chu family from Milpitas to showcase their skills at the 2018 NCTTA championships in Round Rock, Texas. It will be the first time all three Chu siblings competed at the same time at the NCTTA's biggest tournament of the season. Come to the Round Rock Sports Center April 20-22 to see them in action.

Anthony Chu, 19, is a freshman studying computer science and math at the University of California San Diego. Besides playing on his college table tennis team at UCSD, Anthony enjoys playing guitar and running.

Big brother Nathaniel Chu, 21, is a UCLA senior and computer science major. He plays with a high degree of skill on the Bruins table tennis team. Nathaniel's hobbies include guitar and working out.

Let's not forget Isabel Chu, 20, a UCLA junior. She's a talented table tennis player with the Lady Bruins team. When she's not slamming and spinning table tennis balls, Isabel is a bright physiological science major. Her hobbies are baking and hiking.

Whether the Chu siblings win or lose games in the Lone Star State in late April, they will always give it their all. They will contest every point. It's just how they approach the sport at home or on the road. The two brothers and sister enjoy competing against each other. It makes them better players.

"We have some rivalries,'' Isabel Chu says. "We believe that it makes us improve because of our competitive spirits.''

At the national championships there will be at least 250 players participating for three days. "We like to think of college table tennis players as one big family,'' says NCTTA President Willy Leparulo. "But in the case of the Chu family and a few others, it's really pretty special to see them play.''

The 2018 iSET College Table Tennis Championships is hosted by the National Collegiate Table Tennis Association and the Round Rock CVB and is one of the premier table tennis tournaments in North America featuring 6 events: Men’s and Women’s Singles and Doubles, and Men’s/Coed Teams, Women’s Teams.  The event is sponsored by iSET, Double Happiness, Gerflor, Double Fish and USA Table Tennis

Players and spectators alike will enjoy a jam-packed weekend of table tennis at the iSET College Table Tennis Championships. The event starts Friday April 20th and continues through Sunday April 22^nd.

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

By Andy Kanengiser

NCTTA Media Chair

Twin brothers from India are helping drive the University of Toledo Rockets Table Tennis team.

The 20-year-olds from Mumbai are both studying mechanical engineering when they are not pounding Double Fish table tennis balls at the Ohio school.

Players at schools across the USA and Canada should see the pair of identical twins at the NCTTA’s 2018 championship games in Round Rock, Texas. Catch the Thorats in action April 20-22 in the Lone Star State.

It’s hard to overstate the value of Chaitanya Thorat and Nachiket Thorat to the awesome Toledo team this season. After all, the brothers from India helped Toledo defeat heavyweight rival Ohio State in the NCTTA’s Fall and Spring Divisional tournaments.

The Thorats are proud to say the Toledo Rockets clinched the university’s first table tennis title in the Ohio West Division this season. The Buckeyes of OSU are a huge in-state rival. Toledo finished as the runner-up the previous season during the divisional matches. The Ohio State team from Columbus was No. 1 in the division a year ago.

The Thorat brothers not only look alike. With paddles in hand, they both speak the common international language of table tennis. They are passionate about the lively Olympic sport.

“We love the adrenaline and playing under pressure,’’ says Nachiket Thorat. “For us, table tennis is like a game of chess. We have to plan our next move in order to win.’’

Playing singles or team events at school, the Thorat brothers quickly joined Toledo’s “A’’ team last season. They first learned there was an NCTTA team on the Toledo campus by talking to two guys playing at the dorm recreation center. One thing led to another, and they signed up.

For the twin brothers born on October 2, it wasn’t a case of them being table tennis rookies when they became Toledo undergraduates. They began playing in the fifth grade and kept going until they were 10^th graders.

The Thorat brothers picked up the sport again at Toledo, a growing university enrolling 16,247 undergraduates as well as professional students at the Toledo Medical Center.

In NCAA Division 1 sports, the Toledo Rockets compete in the Mid-American Conference and its teams do quite well. The Toledo Rockets women’s soccer team coached by T.J. Buchholz recently finished this past season as the reigning Mid-American women’s soccer champs. Toledo competes against Midwest schools like Eastern Michigan, Bowling Green and Dayton.

The brothers are helping put table tennis on the map on the Toledo campus.

So who’s better at table tennis? Chaitanya or Nachiket?

When the twin brothers clash, the matches are always close. But usually Nachiket wins.

Competing against one another is fun, but they really enjoy taking part in team events. “We are playing for our teammates, too,’’ Nachiket says.

The 2018 iSET College Table Tennis Championships is hosted by the National Collegiate Table Tennis Association and the Round Rock CVB and is one of the premier table tennis tournaments in North America featuring 6 events: Men’s and Women’s Singles and Doubles, and Men’s/Coed Teams, Women’s Teams.  The event is sponsored by iSET, Double Happiness, Gerflor, Double Fish and USA Table Tennis

Players and spectators alike will enjoy a jam-packed weekend of table tennis at the iSET College Table Tennis Championships. The event starts Friday April 20th and continues through Sunday April 22^nd.

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

Binghamton features an Olympic Table Tennis hopeful for 2020, Kai Zhang. Binghamton University has never been to the National Championships and is poised to be one of the best teams yet! This may be their first time as a team at the College Table Tennis Championships but they are brimming with confidence in their first year.

Binghamton not only survived but dominated their division tournaments and came in 4^th in the Regional Championships in Canada earning a wildcard into the Championships. Team leader Julio Almonte states, “We are very proud to see our school qualify for such an event, we believe that it is a great opportunity for all of our players to showcase their talents.”

Talents is a bit of an understatement perhaps as Kai Zhang and Akshay Gadikar are featured in Men’s doubles and will look to win also in the team event. Zhang is an Olympic hopeful and Gadikar an Indian international majoring in Computer Science.

Back home in Binghamton, New York, the club is very tight knit with many of their non playing club members glued to the live stream and championship website to see how their team is doing. This is their 2^nd year as a competitive program within the Campus Recreation Sport club program. Almonte says, “WE hope that our continuing success will impress our club’s goals and dedication.”

The College Table Tennis Championships is a different event from any other competition in North America in that all tables will have umpires and scorekeepers, and rules that normally are not as strict will be this time. Almonte goes on to say, “Even though our players have played in some of the best facilities in the country, they haven’t played on tournament flooring with umpires throughout this school year (excluding individual tournaments they have participated in). That being said, I’m sure these facilities will live right up to their expectations.”

Binghamton is seeded #16 out of 24 Men’s/Coed teams and while that isn’t the highest seeding, they shouldn’t be trifled with by some of the other school teams. Almonte states, “It is hard to predict where we will place as a team, as this is the first time we are sending out a full team to nationals. We recognize that the level of play will be much greater in regards to the divisional and regional tournaments, and we have been training in preparation for the tournament.” This is why we play because on any given day in Sports, anything can happen.

Tune in April 20-22^nd to the 2018 iSET College Table Tennis Championships!

The 2018 iSET College Table Tennis Championships is hosted by the National Collegiate Table Tennis Association and the Round Rock CVB and is one of the premier table tennis tournaments in North America featuring 6 events: Men’s and Women’s Singles and Doubles, and Men’s/Coed Teams, Women’s Teams.  The event is sponsored by iSET, Double Happiness, Gerflor, Double Fish and USA Table Tennis

Players and spectators alike will enjoy a jam-packed weekend of table tennis at the iSET College Table Tennis Championships. The event starts Friday April 20th and continues through Sunday April 22^nd.

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

By Andy Kanengiser

NCTTA Media Chair

Cornell University graduate Dennis Yanga brought much to the table as he worked video productions at the NCTTA’s 2017 championships.

A bright 27-year-old, Yanga grew up near New York City. He’s one of the awesome members of the NCTTA’s team of volunteers making the national championships such a success each season.

After winning kudos for his assistance at the three-day NCTTA tournament in Eau Claire, Wisconsin, Dennis will return to the 2018 games in Round Rock, Texas.

“My favorite thing about volunteering with the NCTTA is how much passion and energy everyone has,’’ Yanga said. “It’s a joy being able to work with people that share the same interest in table tennis.’’

Yanga was pretty passionate about hitting the books at Cornell. He earned a MEng in chemical engineering degree from the Ivy League school in 2013. He now works for a company called EaglePicher Technologies.

After graduating from Cornell in Ithaca, New York, Dennis moved to Joplin, Missouri. He worked in the Midwest as a research and development engineer for a company that develops batteries for space, medical and military applications. He continues to play his favorite Olympic sport at the Joplin Table Tennis Club. He volunteers with the group in the Show Me State as an umpire, coach and certified referee.

It's fun stuff. “We host tournaments and have had a few NCTTA players/alumni show up to our previous events.’’

At the NCTTA nationals, Yanga loves being involved in the video work. It’s rewarding as he hears stories of fans across the USA and the globe watching exciting table tennis action live on computer screens.

 “Video production plays a key role in helping alumni support their former teams at Nationals and Regionals with live streams,’’ Yanga said. “It gives alumni a chance to relive Nationals and feel like they are still cheering on their friends and teammates.’’

Dennis also was busy creating last year’s NCTTA Nationals promo video.

The Cornell grad’s really got a good sense for what it’s like to play collegiate table tennis on a big stage. He competed for Cornell’s coed team in NCTTA divisional and regional matches. Dennis traveled to Rockford, Illinois for the 2013 NCTTA championships. He pitched in as the coach of the Cornell women’s team swatting table tennis balls in the Land of Lincoln.

Each year, the NCTTA’s largest tournament of the year attracts more than 250 of the best collegiate table tennis players in the USA and Canada. That will be the case at the 2018 games near Austin April 20-22.

“Volunteers like Dennis Yanga do incredible work at the nationals and other major tournaments all season,’’ said NCTTA President Willy Leparulo. “We never can thank them enough.’’

Championship volunteers like Shelly Huang-Leparulo greets visitors with a smile at the registration tables. Media commentators like NCTTA Vice President Joseph Wells offer insightful analysis to make the games a memorable experience for the fans. The same goes for other hard working volunteers like Ed & Diana Hogshead, Chris Wang, David Del Vecchio, Michael Hillard, Scott Ryan, Kagin Lee, Randy Kendle (and many more).

There were about 75 volunteers helping at the 2017 championships in Wisconsin. But NCTTA officials say they could always use a few more good ones at the 2018 games or next season.

The 2018 iSET College Table Tennis Championships is hosted by the National Collegiate Table Tennis Association and the Round Rock CVB and is one of the premier table tennis tournaments in North America featuring 6 events: Men’s and Women’s Singles and Doubles, and Men’s/Coed Teams, Women’s Teams.  The event is sponsored by iSET, Double Happiness, Gerflor, Double Fish and USA Table Tennis

Players and spectators alike will enjoy a jam-packed weekend of table tennis at the iSET College Table Tennis Championships. The event starts Friday April 20th and continues through Sunday April 22^nd.

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