CONTACT: Willy Leparulo PHONE: (800) 581-6770 EMAIL: publicrelations@nctta.org

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:

April 11, 2012

Canadian Invasion: Top Canadian Schools Take On College Table Tennis Championships

Toronto and Western Ontario Aim to Build On Regional Success at 2012 NCTTA Championships

The Canucks are coming the Canucks are coming – but no need to worry – it’s only the table tennis trophies they’re after.

When Toronto and Western Ontario make the journey south to Texas later this week, they will head up what may be the strongest contingent of Canadian teams ever to participate in the NCTTA Championships. Full of confidence from previous Championships and success at the division and regional level, both schools are expecting to have an impact in Plano, Texas April 13-15.

With six schools ranked in the Top 25, and two, Toronto and Western Ontario, participating at NCTTA’s Big Dance, the Canadian teams feel they are coming on strong at just the right time to make some noise at the Championships. NCTTA Great Lakes Regional Director and former University of Toronto standout Lillian Yu isn’t the least bit surprised.

“Yes my kids are awesome,” gushes Yu, speaking with pride and passion about her progeny. “We have an injection of young blood this year – a lot of kids who played in Canadian Juniors, like Aaron Wang and Michael Zhang, are now in college and playing in NCTTA.”

Wang and Zhang, who both play for Toronto, are seeded 5th and 16th overall in the men’s singles competition. In addition to their chances to place in the singles competition they are seeded 4th in doubles, and anchor a 5th seeded Toronto team.

Canadian participation in NCTTA-organized college table tennis competition started in 2002 in Ontario and since then has expanded to 3 divisions in eastern and western Canada. A total of 14 schools north of the border participated in intercollegiate table tennis action during the 2011-2012 season. Concordia University and the University of Montreal are among the newest schools to join NCTTA.

Despite the stiff competition they are likely to face from one of the strongest Championship fields in recent memory, Yu believes the Canadian schools can translate their success at the regional level to the national stage. “Not sure how strong Texas/Lindenwood are this year, but one thing we heard from all US schools in the Great Lakes Region is that they went undefeated in their division and all struggled against the Canadian teams at regionals.”

Texas Wesleyan and Lindenwood, two US-based table tennis scholarship programs are seeded first and second in the men’s/coed team event.

Western Ontario and Toronto have been interacting closely in preparations for the Championships in the hope of performing their best at the big event.

“Even though we are rivals on the table, Toronto and Western have formed a very strong bond over the course of the year,” notes Western Ontario captain Cyrus Aga. “In anticipation for the Nationals, we have organized joint training sessions and are discussing extensive strategy to make sure that Canada continues to positively impact the college table tennis community.”

The sharing of advice even extends to matters off the table, such as the best way to travel to the Championships and handling border and visa issues. “We were originally going to drive to the Championships,” explains Aga. “But then we got some good input from the Toronto team and will be flying instead.” No doubt the thought of 21 hours of drive time from Ontario to Plano, Texas also played a factor.

There is a thing as too much team bonding.

Players and spectators alike will enjoy a jam-packed weekend of table tennis at the 2012 College Table Tennis Championships. The event starts Friday April 13th and continues to Sunday April 15th at Plano Sports Authority 2 in Plano, Texas.

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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