Mississippi Governor, Phil Bryant, enjoys wearing cowboy boots, loves bringing jobs to the Magnolia State and stays busy promoting healthcare initiatives for citizens of all ages.

It didn't make front-page newspaper headlines, but the state's chief executive also recently signed a nice resolution saluting Mississippi College table tennis star, Cheng Li.

Bryant is always involved supporting campaigns to step up physical fitness among Mississippians, and frequently attends college sporting events around the state. So the table tennis resolution for the MC standout made good sense. In addition, Mississippi College is the Republican governor's alma mater. Bryant earned a master's degree from MC and is a former political science instructor at the Baptist-affiliated school.

Li received the gubernatorial honor and a hearty round of applause at Mississippi College's Sports Hall of Fame banquet on the Clinton campus. At the event, new members of the Hall of Fame were inducted and the university honored its outstanding student athletes on soccer, cross country, football, basketball, and baseball teams, among others.  A 20-year-old business student from China, Li was recognized for becoming the No. 1 collegiate table tennis player in North America for the 2014 season.

The 6' 3" student athlete from Mississippi College won the title at the TMS 2014 College Table Tennis Championships in Monroeville, PA in early April. The resolution from Gov. Bryant noted that achievement and Cheng Li's success as a player and coach in the USA & China.

Li also was named the NCTTA's player of the year for 2014. To win the title, Li defeated some outstanding players from powerhouse teams like Texas Wesleyan before his victory over MC teammate Yichi Zhang in the finals.  Off the court, Cheng Li serves as a goodwill ambassador for Mississippi College. "What I like best about the school are the people," he said. "It's nice to have so many wonderful people here.''

The Mississippi College team finished No. 2 for the third year in a row at the NCTTA Championships, with Texas Wesleyan winning the coed title for the 11th consecutive year.

The MC Choctaws will be strong again next season.

Cheng Li, Yichi Zhang, and MC's awesome doubles duo of Zescheng "Leo'' Huang, 19, and Junyu Xiao, 23, are returning to play for the school in Clinton this fall. All four are natives of China where table tennis is king.

MC's lone American player, Tyler Brogdan, of Birmingham, Alabama plans to study in China when the fall semester rolls around in August. Another top-notch MC table tennis player, Joe Xie, graduated with a master's degree in sports management in May. The team's former captain, Xie, will be missed.

Tourists flock to Argentina to see masterful tango performances, hike the South American nation's volcanic peaks and check out the incredible pro soccer scene.

Argentina is also home to lots of lively table tennis leagues, and native son, Carlos Zeller, has brought some of that passion to South Florida.

Hooked on table tennis since he was a teenager in Argentina, Zeller, 64, is among the founders of the Broward Table Tennis Club in the Miami area in 1990. He became its president in 2004, and five years ago opened a new club in Hollywood, Florida.

After spending 35 years in the woodworking industry (before that it was the oil business), and deciding to retire, Zeller discovered he had a little more time on his hands.

With his roots in the South Florida region since moving to the USA at age 27, Carlos looked for new challenges. He wanted to find ways to bring top-notch collegiate table tennis players to his beautiful club in Hollywood. As a result, he recently signed on to become the new director of the National Collegiate Table Tennis Association's South Florida Division.

With a wonderful club showcasing the talents of four professional coaches, it made sense for Zeller to expand his horizons to an NCTTA division including such schools as Nova Southeastern University, Barry College, Broward College and Florida Atlantic University in Boca Raton. The club is also home to an international umpire.

Zeller is a bright guy who received his degrees, including a Masters in industrial engineering at Buenos Aires University in Argentina.

After two years of paying hefty rent for his new table tennis club in Hollywood, Carlos figured out that for the same amount of money he could own the building. And since then, Zeller and supporters have operated the table tennis club as a non-profit organization.

The native of Argentina knows the table tennis game and what it takes to organize tournaments. Over the years, he's run more than 100 tournaments.

His love of table tennis began when he was just 13 and continued for eight more years. He picked up the game again in his late 20s.

"I played many team sports, but when I had the chance to learn table tennis, I just fell in love with the sport.''  In Argentina, the Olympic sport of table tennis is much more organized than it is in South Florida, he said. "There is a much larger percentage of the population playing in Argentina, and there are leagues everywhere.''

A former Florida Senior Olympics table tennis player, he wants to take steps to make the fast-paced game a vibrant sport in his region of the Sunshine State. "We applaud his spirit and are delighted to welcome Carlos Zeller to our team,'' says NCTTA President Willy Leparulo of Tallahassee, Florida. "We believe he will energize that key division in Florida, and, at the same time, boost interest in the sport in his area.''