NCTTA Newsletter
September 2010

Lots happening as the 2010-2011 Competition Season gets underway. We've got everything you need to know about the upcoming season, like Preseason Rankings and the 2010-2011 Membership Requirements. Plus, some results from the recent athlete survey and profiles of two new division diretors. And we announce the 2010 NCTTA-Newgy Scholarship winners!

Read on for all this and more ...

The Alabama Crimson Tide remains No. 1 in the land when it comes to college football. But it terms of collegiate table tennis, it's no surprise that Texas Wesleyan is Numero Uno and Lindenwood sits in the No. 2 slot in the 2010-2011 College Table Tennis Preseason RankingsThe two teams from Texas and Missouri were the elite squads of table tennis last season.

But what catches some folks off guard a bit is that the University of California at Berkeley is a strong No. 3 in the newest survey based on data supplied by schools under the NCTTA umbrella nationwide. It appears to be a case of West Coast table tennis on the rise! Others with strong teams and showing it with the 2010-2011 season about to kick off: Virginia Tech is ranked No. 4 and the University of Wisconsin sits at No. 5, while Florida State, voted most improved team after the 2009-2010 season comes in at No. 7.

Co-Ed Team Rankings

1. Texas Wesleyan
2. Lindenwood
3. California - Berkeley
4. Virginia Tech
5. Wisconsin
6. Baruch College
7. Florida State
8. Michigan State
9. Columbia
10. Illinois Chicago
    Complete list ...

Membership Requirements for Upcoming Season
Documents to be completed and submitted by member schools

To join NCTTA and compete in the 2010-2011 Competition Season, every school/club must complete the following steps:

1. Fill out and submit the Online Membership Form.
   Men's/coed and women's teams from the same school must register separately.
2. Pay the appropriate membership fee for your school (online as part of the Online Membership Form).
3. Take the Fall Eligibility Form to your school’s registrar office to have them verify your players’ eligibility and turn it in to your Division Director at the first meet.

• Early Membership Deadline: October 1, 2010
• Late Membership Deadline: 48 Hours Prior to First Division Competition
  ($50 late fee for men's/coed teams)

Four NCTTA Scholarship Recipients Announced
National Scholarship Program selects four student athletes to receive scholarships

Winners of four new scholarships are top-notch table tennis players from two Ivy League schools, a big university in the Upper Midwest and a college in the Deep South.

NCTTA leaders are delighted to announce the names of the recipients in the annual National Scholarship Program sponsored by Newgy Industries. We congratulate:

• Stephanie Shih (Columbia University)
• Nancy Chen (Harvard University)
• Ye Hu (University of Wisconsin)
• Yuliang “Bill” Cai (Mississippi College)

The winners of the scholarships for the 2010-2011 academic year were judged based on their table tennis skills, essays and work in the classroom. With college costs rising each year, the scholarships figure to come in handy for all of the recipients.

Based in Gallatin, TN, Newgy Industries manufactures table tennis robots and other equipment and is one of the major sponsors of the annual NCTTA championships.

Stephanie Shih is studying Asian and Middle Eastern cultures and sociology at Columbia; Nancy Chen, who started a table tennis club at her high school in Minnesota before enrolling at Harvard, is undecided on her major at the moment. Ye Hu is a computer engineering and computer science major at Wisconsin; Bill Cai, who is studying marketing at Mississippi College, is a native of the Guandong Province in China. The 23-year-old received an associate degree in China before coming to the MC campus in Clinton, MS.

We thank all the applicants in this year’s scholarship program. And we encourage our student-athletes to fill out an application for the 2011 scholarship awards.

Athlete Survey Completed
Survey yields lots of suggestions for new directions for NCTTA

Findings of a new NCTTA survey are in. And the results should give NCTTA leaders some food for thought as the 2010-2011 collegiate table tennis season cranks up on campuses in the USA and Canada.

By a strong margin, NCTTA players think it is a good idea to continue to move around our championship site to different locations. There were only three players who prefer keeping it in one location, and 45 others opposed to the idea. In recent years, we’ve played the collegiate table tennis championships in Rochester, Minnesota in 2008 and 2009, moved it to Wisconsin in 2010. And after looking over four bids, NCTTA leaders decided to have the big event in Fort Worth, Texas in April 2011.

On another topic, the vote was slightly closer. There were 15 supporting the idea of changing the division size from a minimum of four teams to three teams. There were 33 others who are opposed to the idea.

Should the NCTTA require its players to be full-time students? 29 yes, 19 no
Should college players also be USATT members? 33 yes, 15 no.

Those were some of the non open-ended questions in the recent survey conducted by Randy Kendle, the NCTTA’s new Athlete Representative. Thanks to Kendle for his hard work to get this accomplished. We appreciate those who took time to respond. NCTTA President Willy Leparulo says the new survey will give NCTTA leaders “something to think about” as the new season approaches.

Comments? Suggestions for Randy? He can be reached at athlete_rep@nctta.org 

Sponsor Corner
Special thanks to our sponsors, Newgy and Killerspin!

NCTTA, would like to thank Killerspin for its support of college table tennis. 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 support of college table tennis especially the Newgy-NCTTA Scholarship Program (see above). 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.

NCTTA Adds Two New Division Directors
Northern California and Ohio/Michigan regions get new directors

Kevin Li works as a biomedical researcher in California and is a longtime restaurant reviewer. Brian Fowler is married with three boys who compete in national table tennis tournaments. Brian’s not bad at the game, either.

But of more interest to collegiate table tennis fans, Li is the new division director for the NCTTA’s Northern California region. Fowler is the new director for the Ohio/Michigan region. Li oversees the play of eight college teams in his division. They include such teams as California-Berkeley, Stanford, UC-Davis, DeAnza College, the University of Utah, and San Jose State.

Li expects to graduate from Cal-Berkeley in 2012 with a bachelor’s degree in philosophy and neuroscience. A Pittsburgh native who grew up in Oklahoma, Kevin Li studies photosynthesis in plants and intends to go to medical school. Needless to say, Kevin Li is a bright fellow who enjoys soccer, basketball, swimming, and, especially table tennis outside the classroom. And as a food critic, “I do enjoy eating good food.”

In the Upper Midwest, Brian Fowler is a certified state level table tennis coach and holds a Level One International Table Tennis Federation coaching certification. Brian has trained the Ferris State University table tennis team in Michigan the last three years. He also began and runs a table tennis club in Holland, Michigan. In addition, Fowler served on the local planning committee of the 2010 U.S. Open Table Tennis Tournament in Grand Rapids.
NCTTA leaders want to welcome Kevin Li and Brian Fowler aboard. We wish you guys well in your new assignments.

Got an idea for a future story or newsletter topic? Email the NCTTA Media Relations Chair.