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CONTACT: Kevin Li PHONE: (800) 581-6770 EMAIL: championships@nctta.org |
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2011 College Table
Tennis National Championships April 15-17, 2011
in Rochester, MN
APRIL 16, 2011
Hazinskis on the Same Page, Repeat as Mixed
Doubles Champions Husband
and Wife Successfully Defend Their Mixed Doubles Title
Mark
and Sara Hazinski demonstrated why marriage has its
perks in the mixed doubles event at the 2011 College Table Tennis
Championships. In doubles, where communication and teamwork are essential,
the Hazinskis were totally in sync throughout the
competition, fighting off many challengers eager to dethrone the top-seeds
and defending champions. Mr.
and Mrs. College Table Tennis as they were dubbed by some Facebook
posters watching the live stream, the Hazinskis
cruised through the early rounds of the draw. In the semifinals, they
faced-off against 4th seeded Gao Yanjun (LaGuardia College) and Stephanie Shih (Columbia),
sporting a new haircut. Coach Santos Shih, Stephanie’s dad was measured going
into the match, “we have a chance but we have to contain Mark.” However,
they failed to do just that as Mark Hazinski used
his massive forehand to dominate play. Gao and Shih
were overwhelmed, losing in straight games, despite keeping the scores
relatively close. In
the other half of the draw, Lindenwood’s Karin
Fukushima and Fernando Yamazato, the No. 2 overall
seed were challenged in some of their early round matches. They were
stretched a full five games by Jingwen Hui/Lukasz Fita (Texas/Texas
Wesleyan) in the quarterfinals and defeated 5th-seeded Ines Perhoc/Yahao Zhang (Texas
Wesleyan) 3-1 in the semis. Yamazato’s forehand and
Fukushima’s control game proved too much for the Texas Wesleyan duo. But
another pair from Texas Wesleyan would await in the
finals. Fukushima/Yamazato and Hazinski/Hazinski actually met in the 2010 mixed doubles
semifinals with the Hazinskis winning that one 3-1.
Chants
from the Lindenwood side were primarily in
Portuguese while Texas Wesleyan teammates clapped in unison. TWU Coach Keith
Evans gesticulated wildly but preached “patience and confidence.” Deceptively
simple advice, but apparently it worked as husband and wife, Mark and Sara Hazinski repeat as Mixed Doubles Champions.
The 2011 College Table
Tennis Championships ran from Friday April 15th and through Sunday April 17th
at the Regional Sports Center in Rochester, Minneosta. Organized by the National Collegiate Table Tennis Association
(NCTTA), the Championships are sponsored by Killerspin, a
Chicago-based table tennis firm and Newgy Industries (Gallatin, TN). The event is also
supported by the Association of College Unions
International (ACUI) and by USA Table Tennis,
the national governing body for table tennis in the US. 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
& tabletennis.teamusa.org
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