|
NCTTA
Newsletter
October 2008
Here's what's
going on in college table tennis as the 2008-2009 season gets underway.
Killerspin Becomes NCTTA Equipment Supplier
NCTTA Announces Exclusive Partnership with Kllerspin LLC
 NCTTA
has signed a 3-year Table Tennis Equipment League and Championship
Partnership with Killerspin LLC. Killerspin will be providing balls and
barriers to each NCTTA division, and is now the NCTTA’s official
equipment sponsor. Killerspin will also provide tables, 3-star champion
balls, and barriers for the 2009 NCTTA Championships.
The agreement also offers great discounts on Killerspin equipment for NCTTA member schools, including:
- 20% off all regularly priced merchandise, excluding the purchase of table tennis tables
- 25% off the purchase of regularly priced tournament-used tables (pickup only)
- 15% off the purchase of regularly priced new table tennis tables
View the press release for more details. Member schools just need to fill out the Killerspin Premium Membership Program Application to receive the discounts.
High School Table Tennis Anyone?
High school students in Auburn, CA show promising interest in table tennis
The weekend of October 11th-12th, the Auburn Table
Tennis Club, in association with the Sierra Table Tennis Club and the
Auburn Recreation District, held the area’s 1st USATT sanctioned
tournament. The 1st Annual Gold Country Open featured a large number of
high school students from the Auburn, CA area. Besides publically
advertising the tournament, organizers recruited students by contacting
local high school tennis programs, which attracted a large number of
high school tennis players for the tournament.
Nearly 50 students played in the high school singles and doubles
events. The high schools also competed as teams for a trophy that would
stay on display in the school, commemorating their victory until the
next year’s tournament. The tournament followed a round-robin format,
and awarded medals for 1st, 2nd, and 3rd in the individual singles and
doubles events.
Said one satisfied high school teacher, “Everyone from [our high
school] had a great time at your tournament! The kids were buzzing with
excitement in the days leading up to the event…In addition to the
eleven players that showed up, there were also quite a few spectators
from our school who showed up. It was the closest thing to school
spirit that I have seen in thirteen years of teaching at [our high
school]…We will definitely be participating in the next Gold Country
Open…”
Hopefully, NCTTA can play a major role in turning this type of interest
into a recruiting opportunity for the future of collegiate table tennis.
Ohio Division Tournament
Ohio division features teams from Kentucky, Ohio, and Michigan
Eight universities brining a total of 17 teams, stormed
upon the campus of the University of Akron (OH) for the Fall
2008 Ohio Division tournament. Defending Division Champion
Michigan carried the momentum from their 5th place finish at last
year's National Championships, getting off to excellent start with a
7-0 record. Preseason No. 13 Ohio State came out second with a
6-1 record. University of Kentucky (5-2), Michigan State (4-3),
Akron (3-4), Ferris State (2-5), Ashland (1-6) and Case Western (0-7)
round out the rest of the field. Notable individual participants
were Darren Tang (OSU) with a 7-0 singles record and a 2-0 doubles
record. The Spring tournament will be held February 28 at The Ohio
State University.
Spartans Back in Action -- Michigan State fares well after a year off
One new face attended the Ohio Division meet—Michigan State. MSU has
competed in NCTTA before, but they didn’t participate during the
2007-2008, so most players didn’t really know what to expect from them.
They looked like they never missed a beat.
The Spartans drew Michigan for their first match and lost 0-4. They got
over that loss pretty quickly as they then rolled over Case Western,
Ashland, and Ferris State 4-0. MSU ended up 4-3 on the day, only losing
to fellow Division I schools Michigan, Ohio State, and Kentucky. The
brightest spot on the team was Zingting Hu who, making his first NCTTA
appearance, went 4-2 at first singles—the losses coming from Bharagav
Avasarala of Michigan and Darren Tang of Ohio State. Other members of
the new MSU team include Ziru Li (2-3), Yun Li (4-3), Congshan Li
(4-1), and Jihwoan Chang (4-1). Will all the other newcomers this year
be competitive?
NCTTA League Competition in Full Swing
A list of upcoming Division Tournaments
It’s
fall, and you can smell the collegiate table tennis competition in the
air. October and November are chock-full of Division Meets. Here are
the upcoming ones:
October 25th @ Carleton College (Minnesota Division)
October 25th @ Texas Wesleyan University (Texas Division)
October 25th @ Mississippi College (Dixie Division)
November 1st @ James Madison University (Virginia Division)
November 1st @ Boston University (New England Division)
November 1st @ Kansas State University (Kansas Division)
November 1st @ Portland State University (Northwest Division)
On a Lighter Note
Some fun college table tennis videos
Table tennis in a terminal, table tennis on two tables, and proper
table tennis etiquette…Check out these videos of college table tennis
players taking their game to new and interesting levels.
Sponsor Corner
Support our new League sponsor, Killerspin!
As mentioned above, Killerspin is the exclusive NCTTA League and Championship Equipment sponsor through 2011. Member schools just need to fill out the Killerspin Premium Membership Program Application to receive phenomenal discounts. Browse all your favorite Killerspin equipment in the online Killerspin store.
 Also,
special thanks to NEWGY Industries, for its continued and valued
sponsorship. Newgy will be sponsoring our 2009 Championships this year
in Rochester, Minnesota. Newgy offers a great way to fundraise for your
club and help out our sponsor as well by signing up and participating
in their Newgy Robo Pong Affiliate Program.
|
