NCTTA Post Season Kicks Off With Regional Championships

The College Table Tennis regular season starts October 1st and ends February 12th but the “2nd season” as some like to call it will soon start as early as February 25th and as late as March 5th! This is the NCTTA College Table Tennis post season that culminates Regional Championships followed by the epic National Championships.

Regional Championships feature the best of Division Men’s and Women’s singles and the best of Coed and Women’s teams. The fierce battle begins with who gets to go (direct division winners and wildcards) and then of course on the table play.

Regional Championships are a keystone to getting to the National Championships. Remember these Regionals will be live streamed and some will even have commentary!

Here are the listings of NCTTA Regional tournaments.

South Regional (Feb. 25/26)
Midwest Regional (Feb. 25/26)
Mid Atlantic Regional (Feb. 25th)
Great Lakes Regional: (Feb. 25/26)
West Regional (March 4/5th)
Northeast Regional (March 4/5th)

By Andy Kanengiser
NCTTA Media Chairman

Call it a case of “Back to the Future.’’ North America’s finest collegiate table tennis players will return to Round Rock, Texas for the 2018 championship games.

NCTTA leaders selected the Round Rock Texas Sports Center over several other competitive bidders around the nation to host next year’s huge tournament.

It was really hard to turn down Round Rock that bills itself as the Sports Capital of Texas, NCTTA leaders say.  The city is home base for the Round Rock Express, the AAA affiliate of MLB’s Texas Rangers. Round Rock Donuts (are they yellow or orange?) has been an institution for food lovers in the city since 1926.

But more importantly, leaders of the vibrant city near Austin went the extra mile to welcome the TMS national collegiate table tennis championships in 2016.

Opened in January 2014, the amazing $14.9 million sports facility does a terrific job hosting basketball, volleyball, wresting, fencing, table tennis and much more.

It features 82,800 square feet of space indoors, boasts seating for 1,400 spectators and a total capacity for more than 3,000 guests. The venue has 500 parking spaces, attractive locker rooms, space for concessions stands, nice lighting and other amenities too many to mention.

NCTTA President Willy Leparulo raves about how the Lone Star State city rolled out the red carpet for the 2016 tournament. The three-day event drew about 300 collegiate players from schools across the USA and Canada. Coaches, fans and volunteers showed up, too.

“We are excited to be going back to Texas,’’ Leparulo said. “The NCTTA in its short history has hosted championships in Texas four other years. So, it’s great to come back to a familiar place.’’

The tournament will be a relatively short drive for perennial collegiate table tennis national champion Texas Wesleyan University of Fort Worth.

The Round Rock bid was considered along with a half-dozen others from states like Pennsylvania, North Carolina, and California.

“We are so blessed as an organization to have so many wonderful cities interested in college table tennis,’’ Leparulo added.

NCTTA leaders considered a long list of factors, including the availability of hotels, transportation, the quality of the venue, costs, banquet facilities, flooring, lighting, and volunteer staffing.

Home to more than 109,000 Texans, Round Rock is known as a haven for shoppers with its Round Rock Premium Outlets. Its Rock’ N River Water Park is first-class. The music scene in nearby Austin is alive and well for visitors.

Nancy Yawn, director of Round Rock’s Convention and Visitors Bureau, is delighted to receive the news from the NCTTA’s leadership team.

“We look forward to having all the event participants, spectators and volunteers come and play, support and work the tournament here in the heart of Texas,’’ Yawn said. “We hope you enjoy everything about your trip to Round Rock in March 2018.’’

The Texas city is loaded with plenty of restaurants to cater to just about everybody’s taste buds.
The impressive sports facility has room for six high school basketball courts, 12 volleyball courts, and obviously plenty of room for the college table tennis tournament. It’s worth it to visit the popular venue at 2400 Chisholm Trail. The site remains a short walk to hotels for players, coaches and volunteers.

In the weeks ahead, college table tennis players will try to punch their tickets to the 2017 NCTTA championships April 7-9. The site at the University of Wisconsin-Eau Claire is the same place the tournament was held in 2015.

In recent years, the national championships were booked in Rockford, Illinois in 2013 and Monroeville  near Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania in 2014.

NCTTA is looking for the best of the best in everything, including its commentators. Last year the organization held its first search for commentators and it worked out well.

Joe Wells, Veteran commentator at the NCTTA Champs, says “We got a lot of interest and were able to invite a number of people to our championships that became key parts to the event’s success.” This contest is a chance to attend the NCTTA College Table Tennis Championships as a Commentator for the live stream! (one must be able to work all days)

NCTTA has used in the past, Han Xiao (former UMD player and USATT board member), Joe Wells (Vice President of NCTTA), and Adam Bobrow (Current ITTF Commentator), but the Championship committee wants the NCTTA membership and alumni and fans to have a chance at being a part of our event.

Winner or winners have a shot to come out to the 2017 NCTTA Championships in Eau Claire, Wisconsin

Read all about it here: http://nctta.org/doc/2017-NCTTA-Commentator-Challenge-Rules-and-Regulations.pdf

Pictured here are last year’s winners.

Interested in playing in NCTTA and not yet a member of NCTTA get going here:
All of these links are found here

NCTTA Singles is gearing up and it is another way to make it into the post season, sign up below!

NCTTA Spring/Winter 2017 tournament schedule: http://nctta.org/schedule
NCTTA Online Registration link (for schools not yet registered in NCTTA): http://www.danserver.com/nctta/MemberApp.asp
NCTTA Online Registration for Division Singles: http://www.nctta.org/singles/
NCTTA Spring 2017 Eligibility form (for all schools): http://nctta.org/doc/Spring%202017%20ELIGIBILITY.pdf
NCTTA Rules and Regulations are here

Get registered today!

Double Fish Balls

Looking to make a bulk purchase order for some balls? Why not get some Double Fish 3* balls! Double Fish is offering NCTTA school members a discounted price of $92 ($102 for Canadians due to shipping charges) for 102 balls. These premium 3* poly balls will be identical to the ones used in our NCTTA 2016-17 season, get a head start with some multi-ball training today!  To order, please click here.

USATT Membership Discounts For NCTTA Graduates

NCTTA has recently teamed with USA Table Tennis to create a special opportunity where recent NCTTA grads can take advantage of a 1-year USATT membership for 40 percent off of the regular price. Yes, you read that right 40% off. USATT membership is the best way to stay involved with table tennis after graduation. So take advantage of this great deal! Read all about it at: nctta.org/alumni. NCTTA takes care of its alumni hoping that they then will return the favor to their collegiate clubs by donating their time or money or both to keep programs and teams alive.

Check out a new promotion with USA Table Tennis where NCTTA clubs and players can get discounts! http://www.teamusa.org/usa-table-tennis/clubs/colleges

• USATT player membership for 25 dollars for NCTTA players
• USATT club membership for 25 dollars for NCTTA member schools

By Andy Kanengiser
NCTTA Media Chairman

More than 250 of the best collegiate table tennis players in North America will return to Eau Claire, Wisconsin for the 2017 national championships.

In early June, leaders of the National Collegiate Table Tennis Association selected Eau Claire to host the three-day tournament. The site will again be the University of Wisconsin at Eau Claire.

Eau Claire competed for the bid against a proposal offered to bring the games to Biloxi, Mississippi along the Gulf Coast.

“We were happy with the way that Eau Claire leaders embraced us at the 2015 TMS College Table Tennis Championships,’’ NCTTA President Willy Leparulo. “We look forward to being back in Wisconsin in the Spring of 2017.’’

Located about 90 minutes from Minneapolis, Minnesota, the Wisconsin university partnered with the Wisconsin-Eau Claire table tennis club to help bring volunteers to the event, Leparulo noted. “Volunteers are critical to our success at regional and national tournaments each year. We will look to the University of Wisconsin-Eau Claire team and neighboring schools like University of Minnesota for such help."

Ben Morgan, sports sales manager for Visit Eau Claire, is delighted to see his hometown selected. The decision brings another major sporting event to the northern Wisconsin city, and with it comes a nice economic boost, he noted. The table tennis tournament, Morgan said, pumps in an estimated $80,000 in visitor spending.

“We had great feedback from several local businesses and hotels during the 2015 championships, and we expect the same – if not more – positive feedback in 2017,’’ Morgan added.

The event organizers in Wisconsin tracked over 300 hotel rooms used by participants at the games in April 2015. That includes college table tennis players, coaches, fans, family members, and scores of volunteers. “This is a great boost for the hotels during the non-peak season,’’ Morgan said.

Visit Eau Claire officials worked well once again with the University of Wisconsin-Eau Claire to craft an outstanding proposal to submit to the NCTTA, Morgan noted.

The NCTTA’s biggest tournament of the year has moved around the country in recent years. The 2016 national championships were held in Round Rock, Texas near Austin in late March. The 2014 championships landed in Monroeville, Pennsylvania near Pittsburgh. In 2013, the tournament was held in Rockford, Illinois. Plano, Texas hosted the games in April 2012.

The 2017 tournament in Wisconsin is expected to be in April. More details are expected to be announced on the NCTTA website (nctta.org) at a later date.

Photo credit: Nachuan(Sherry) Li; Washington University

Here are the results of the voting in this year's elections for Board of Directors positions:

• For Vice President, incumbent Joseph Wells was reelected
• For Treasurer, incumbent Randy Kendle was reelected
• The new Athlete Representative is Tae Kim, who received votes from more member schools than opposing candidate Ying Wang

They will each serve a 2-year term, starting July 1. Congratulations to the winners and thanks to all who voted!

*Superlatives--best of the best*

Every year after the Championships NCTTA celebrates "the best of the best" of the year. NCTTA will award with the assistance of JOOLA, we will have $50.00 E awards given to winning Athletes of the year and $200.00 E awards given to winning school teams.

All awards will be one time use and exclude tables.

We want your input to nominate someone or some team as the best of the best.

TO NOMINATE SOMEONE  email your nomination and WHY to info@nctta.org by April 15th

Or

Post on Twitter to @collegett #bestofbest your nomination and WHY by April 15th

PLEASE FWD THIS INFO as anyone can nominate someone!

Last year's winners were:

• 2015 Male Athlete of the Year: Feng Zhe (Texas Wesleyan)
• 2015 Female Athlete of the Year: Lily Zhang (UC Berkeley)
• 2015 Rookie of the Year: Tong Zhang (Mississippi College)
• 2015 Coach of the Year: Sam Howes (University of Western Ontario)
• 2015 Rookie Team: McGill University
• 2015 Most Improved Team: UCLA
• 2015 Division Director of the Year: John Drsek (Ohio Division)
• 2015 Regional Director of the Year: Jay Lu (Northeast)

*Rookie Teams are school teams that have never participated in the NCTTA Championships (Subject to NCTTA Historical records)

*Rookie of the year are players new to College Table Tennis (they can be any year Fresh/soph/junior/senior/graduate student) also subject to NCTTA Historical records

*Division and Regional Directors must be current to 2015-16 Competition Year

Pictured above: Texas Wesleyan Women's team

By Andy Kanengiser

NCTTA Media Chairman

Texas Wesleyan University table tennis players expressed their joy by tossing Coach Jasna Rather into the air after winning the 2016 coed team championship.

Rather landed safely with a big smile on her face at the Round Rock Sports Center on March 27.  The coach received a nice lift minutes that Sunday evening after her TWU teams practically made it a clean sweep. The Rams paddled their way to capture four of the six titles at the TMS College Table Tennis National Championships in Round Rock.

Facing rival Mississippi College for the fifth year in a row, Texas Wesleyan’s mighty players refused to repeat what happened a year ago. At the 2015 championships, MC shocked the table tennis world by edging Texas Wesleyan after the formidable Fort Worth squad won 11 consecutive coed team titles.

TWU’s narrow loss in April 2015 in Eau Claire, Wisconsin seemed to put Rather and her talented team on a 24/7 mission to regain the coed team title. And they did it in dramatic fashion as fans cheered loudly in the Lone Star State.

At the championship games in late March near Austin, the TWU Rams defeated newcomer Ohlone College of California and Toronto before squaring off against the Mississippi College Choctaws. Consisting of four superb players from China, the Mississippi College team knocked off California and the University of Texas to reach the finals in the Sports Capital of Texas.

Accolades keep pouring in from fans who watched the action in Round Rock or others seeing the Olympic sport via the NCTTA’s live streaming cameras.

NCTTA President Willy Leparulo led the salute to the new 2016 champs.

 “Texas Wesleyan stormed back to the top of college table tennis,’’ Leparulo said. “I predicted last year after Mississippi College won the team competition that it would awake a sleeping giant (Texas Wesleyan.’’

And when all was said and done, Texas Wesleyan flexed its muscles with its contingent of stars. The TWU Rams are the United Nations of table tennis with players coming from China, Germany, Brazil, the Dominican Republic, the Ukraine and elsewhere.

But it didn’t come easy. “Mississippi College was still very much in the mix’’ Leparulo said. What was shaping up to look like an MC victory went a different way in a hurry.

 “It just goes to show you how sports are,’’ says Leparulo, who coaches the Florida State University table tennis team. “Texas Wesleyan was within moments of a losing affair, but turned it around. Anyone watching could feel the tension. It was a magical ending.’’

Led by Coach & Captain Cheng Li, the MC Choctaws grabbed a 2-1 lead in the finals, it didn’t last long. TWU’s Zhe Feng defeated MC’s Qing Wei Sun to force the finals to go to doubles. Coach Rather decided to put the paddles in the hands of Zhe Feng, a former Chinese National Team member, and Jishan Liang, her top-rated singles player. The dynamic TWU duo proved too much for MC’s Cheng Li and doubles partner Tong Zhang. The Rams won three straight game, much to the delight of their fan base, and the Texas Wesleyan celebration erupted.

The four triumphs in Round Rock chalked up by TWU with its coed team, women’s team, men’s doubles and women’s doubles adds to their remarkable achievements dating back to 2003. The TWU Rams have won 12 coed team titles, 10 men’s singles titles (the last by Zhe Feng in 2015), 7 women’s singles titles (the last by Sara Hazinski in 2011), 9 men’s doubles titles, 8 women’s doubles titles and 8 mixed doubles titles.

The only titles escaping TWU in 2016 were: the women’s singles title by Ting Wang of Ohlone College and the men’s singles title going to Mississippi College’s Yi Chi Zhang.

Rather poured on the praise for her squad. The group includes one of her stars, Emil Santos of the Dominican Republic, who completed his collegiate playing career over the weekend. Santos, she said, served TWU as an effective team leader. Santos, she said, ranks with some of the finest collegiate players she’s coached at Texas Wesleyan.

Others coming home with No. 1 awards: the TWU men’s doubles team of Bruno Ventura Dos Anjos of Brazil and Shuai Wang of China, and the women’s doubles team of Anastasia Rybka of the Ukraine and Edina Haracic of Bosnia and Herzegovina.

Texas Wesleyan’s aces led a powerful lineup of six schools from the Lone Star State. The others were: Texas A&M, the University of Texas, North Texas, Texas Tech, and UT-Dallas.