NCTTA

It is time, NCTTA College Table Tennis Registration for the 2019-2020 season is OPEN!

Click here to get registered and click on teams!

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We here at NCTTA are also very excited to partner with USA Table Tennis on a new membership perk for EVERY NCTTA member school

Every NCTTA school will now get 10 Free USATT memberships by following these easy steps!

Step 1: Register and Pay for NCTTA Membership

Step 2: Complete the NCTTA Eligibility form (have your school approve it and place your 10 people you want to have free USATT memberships as well as your other A team, Women's team athletes)

Step 3: Go to USATT's membership website and create an account for each of your 10 people

Step 4: Fill out this link for USATT membership activation

Back again by popular demand! Sync your USA Table Tennis rating with your College NCTTA rating!

Click here and give yourself and more importantly your team the EDGE for College competition coming up soon!

NCTTA Coaching Committee: Logan Zimmerman, Willy Leparulo and Dr. Alan Chu are on a bold mission to educate and certify as many coaches as possible into the world of college table tennis.

NCTTA's coaching certification has brought together coaches from all over the nation with on and off-the-table knowledge, skills and tricks of the trade! Currently there are 25 certified college table tennis coaches in North America! The coaching seminars are sponsored by ISET who has been a great supporter of these programs.  

Two more classes will be scheduled this summer and potentially a third one in the Fall semester.

First, an NCTTA certification class is going to be in Tallahassee, Florida at the home of the Florida State University Seminoles at the Bobby E Leach Recreation Center on July 27th and 28th! Tallahassee is home to both Willy Leparulo and Logan Zimmerman (NCTTA Course Conductors).  

Register here for this certification class at Florida State University, July 27-28th.

By Michael Reff

A USATT tourney is coming soon in end of June,

The 30^th to July fifth so signing up now is opportune.

Over 90 events will have you spent, full of table tennis glory,

Matt Hetherington states, “it’s a diverse crowd of people” who play and “everyone has their own unique story!”

For college students fresh from playing in the NCTTA champs

This is a new chance to socialize and avoid offseason cramps.

It’s in Las Vegas (need I say more?), 40 tables with rubber flooring.

This is definitely not a tourney to be missed, the competition will not be boring.

There will also be sightings of recent champions from NCTTA,

From Yue Wu to Lily Zhang these TT powerhouses will slay!

And if you choose not to play you can also help volunteer.

And get some travel and hotel paid, while assisting in making this event of the year.

David Del Vecchio of video production is requesting any and all,

To help with cameras and live streaming, to keep the ponging viewers enthralled.

The volunteer schedule is slightly different July 2^nd through 6^th you’ll stay

You’ll help with setup and teardown too, “willingness to learn” is name of the game.

So come to US Nationals in whatever shape or form,

Experience variety of events, make memories that defy the norm!

Click here to sign up for the US Nationals today!

Reach out to David Del Vecchio for volunteering information: ddelvecc@gmail.com 

By Michael Reff

Who’s that cutie in the stroller,

Smiling, tongue is sticking out

None other than Mia Leparulo,

I’ll tell you what she’s all about.

She came to Greensboro with her parents,

And while they are hard at work,

Her duty is to win hearts over,

And from tasks she does not shirk.

All who see her want to hold her,

She, the youngest VIP,

How she feels of important status,

Ask mom who translates her speech.

“Very honored very special,

And all [is so ] well deserved.

Since I’m … only baby in… volunteer group.”

I think the TT fam’ly concurs.

Her Mom’s registration coordinator,

Dad is wearer of several hats,

Both strive to make tournament greater,

And with inclusion of Mia they do that.

Mia’s goal is simple: make all happy,

Even for her stressed out dad

2 month Mia Leparulo’s

The best addition we’ve ever had.

The 2019 iSET College Table Tennis Championships is hosted by the National Collegiate Table Tennis Association and Sports & Properties Inc. and Greensboro CVB and is one of the premier table tennis tournaments in North America featuring 6 events: Men’s and Women’s Singles and Doubles, and Men’s/Coed Teams, Women’s Teams.  The event is sponsored by iSET, Double Happiness, SPI, Greensboro CVB, Double Fish and USA Table Tennis

Players and spectators alike will enjoy a jam-packed weekend of table tennis at the iSET College Table Tennis Championships. The event starts Friday April 12th and continues through Sunday April 14th.

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

Texas Wesleyan has churned out another championship performance in 2019 after the 2018 campaign that saw NYU take the title. Texas Wesleyan won the Men's/Coed Team title by knocking out two champions. In the semi finals NYU fell victim to the Rams Table Tennis powerhouse 3-1. The Championship final saw Mississippi College and Texas Wesleyan battle it out. Mississippi College champions from 2015 and runnerup too many times to count, was hoping for a 2019 title. Texas Wesleyan avenged their 2019 South Regional Championship loss and bested Mississippi College 3-1 to win the coveted 2019 ISET College Table Tennis Championships. 

Not to be understated is the Texas Wesleyan women's team who took home the women's title for the 4th year in a row and 9 times overall. An impressive victory over UC Berkeley 3-1. One player that certainly deserves to be the MVP if there were one is Wenting Zha a woman player that plays both sides for Texas Wesleyan (on the Men's/Coed team and women's team). Zha had some impressive victories for both teams and deserves much credit! 

Texas Wesleyan is and continues to be the team we aspire to be like and the team we want to beat. NY Yankees of College Table Tennis, love them or not, you must respect their hard work, training and passion which is showcased every time they take the court. 

Kudos the Coaching staff: Jasna Rather, Doru Gheorge and the players of Texas Wesleyan for well deserved championship titles!

(pictured above is the Texas Wesleyan team, credit to Jasna Rather)

The 2019 iSET College Table Tennis Championships is hosted by the National Collegiate Table Tennis Association and Sports & Properties Inc. and Greensboro CVB and is one of the premier table tennis tournaments in North America featuring 6 events: Men’s and Women’s Singles and Doubles, and Men’s/Coed Teams, Women’s Teams.  The event is sponsored by iSET, Double Happiness, SPI, Greensboro CVB, Double Fish and USA Table Tennis

Players and spectators alike will enjoy a jam-packed weekend of table tennis at the iSET College Table Tennis Championships. The event starts Friday April 12th and continues through Sunday April 14th.

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

By Andy Kanengiser

NCTTA Media Chair

Top table tennis talent at colleges across the USA and Canada shines at the NCTTA's championship games from one year to the next.

But after four seasons, their collegiate careers come to an end. That's going to be the case for several members of the NCTTA's Class of 2019.

University of Wisconsin-Madison table tennis standout Yash Shah is one of those stellar players. The 22-year-old senior from Mumbai, India will close out the books with paddle in hand on a high note.

 The computer science major is battling for points and scoring at the 2019 NCTTA Championships in Greensboro. It was close, but Yash fought hard and edged a strong UCLA opponent 3 games to 2 as Wisconsin teammates cheered Friday afternoon. The match's last score was 11-9.

"I give it my best and fight for every point,'' Yash said of his style of play at the Nationals or throughout the NCTTA season. (pictured above)

After taking a moment for a quick photo, Yash Shah rushed back to root for his Badger teammates during matches with the UCLA Bruins.

When the noise dies down, and the tournament ends at the Greensboro Coliseum, it's a case of a job well done for the lanky 6'1" native of India.

There was snow and rain in Wisconsin Thursday when the table tennis contingent from Madison campus traveled to North Carolina. Four women and three men who love this fast-paced Olympic sport.

Prior to the tournament's marathon of games, the University of Wisconsin-Madison's coed team was seeded 12th in the USA. Others on the coed team are: Luke Zheng, Peter Yang, Yanlin Li, and Liren Guo. The Badger women's team was ranked fifth. All four members of the women's team are from China: Liren Guo, Yanlin Li, Yu Zhou and Kunlu Ma.

Yash Shah provided senior leadership for the University of Wisconsin. His freshman year, he joined three women on the coed team. Last year's national tournament was in Round Rock, Texas when New York University's coed team finished No. 1.

That NYU achievement stands out for Yash Shah because one of the players on the No. 1 team is Mudit Dani. One year, they played on the same Mumbai team. Dani, 20, a management major,is among the NYU stars showcased at the 2019 Nationals. No doubt, the table tennis friends from India will catch up.

 "I look forward to playing NYU and the other top seeds,'' Shah said Friday.

Another career highlight for Yash Shah was playing the NCTTA championships in the Dairy State. The 2017 venue was the University of Wisconsin-Eau Claire campus.

What's next?  Expect him to keep playing at USATT clubs. Yash also seeks to work for a tech company in Los Angeles.

Another ace who will soon finish his NCTTA playing days is Mississippi College standout Qingwei Sun, 21. A native of Hebei, China, he's been a part of a strong MC squad the past four years. The MC Choctaws coed team was ranked No. 2 in the USA prior to the Greensboro championships. A year ago, MC finished 3rd.

Coach "Johnson'' Liang appreciates Sun's dedication to the sport, hard work and quiet leadership. The 6'1" tall Qingwei Sun always brings his best at every tournament. MC won the 2019 South Regionals in March in Fort Worth with a narrow victory over host Texas Wesleyan University.

Some University of Iowa players are wrapping up their college careers this weekend in North Carolina. They include: Dylan Garland, Arnold Kompaniyets and Kyle Mikota. All three Iowa Hawkeyes will compete in men's singles.

The 2019 iSET College Table Tennis Championships is hosted by the National Collegiate Table Tennis Association and Sports & Properties Inc. and Greensboro CVB and is one of the premier table tennis tournaments in North America featuring 6 events: Men’s and Women’s Singles and Doubles, and Men’s/Coed Teams, Women’s Teams.  The event is sponsored by iSET, Double Happiness, SPI, Greensboro CVB, Double Fish and USA Table Tennis

Players and spectators alike will enjoy a jam-packed weekend of table tennis at the iSET College Table Tennis Championships. The event starts Friday April 12th and continues through Sunday April 14th.

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

By Michael Reff

Women’s doubles finals closed out Friday night of the 2019 iSET college table tennis championships at the Greensboro Coliseum Complex in entertaining fashion.  It was a clash of the styles as the two teams, Cal Berkeley and Ohlone, had pips players Angela Guan and Ying Wang pitted against a pair of looping lefties, Qiao Jiao and Yiwei Liu. That’s not something you see every day! Typically, the ideal pairing of doubles is a lefty righty duo in order to limit the awkwardness of bumping into each other, but the Ohlone lefties made up for it with blazing footwork and extreme displays of strength against Angela Guan’s loaded underspin chops. It was a hard-fought battle on both sides, but the No. 1 seeded Berkeley Bears ultimately sealed the win.

Ying Wang is a former Ohlone student herself as well as being the 2016 women’s singles national college champion. She has short pips on her forehand side and is a flat hitting attacking player. Angela Guan is a 20-year-old Data Science major who, among many accolades, was a member of team USA for the 2017 World Table Tennis Championships. She has long pips on her backhand rubber, which reverses the spin and allows her to return heavy topspin loops with equally heavier backspin strokes.

The doubles final was not a walk in the park for them. Initially they were up 2-1 in games, but Ohlone battled their way back into the match, ruining the rhythm of Berkeley. As the match continued into a fifth and deciding game, Angela and Ying worked much more in synch, and looked to be running away with the title at 7-1. Finally Ohlone called a belated timeout, but it proved to work to their advantage, as they proceeded to win back the next three points, shortening the margin at 4-7.

This is when Berkeley’s coach made a great call, initiating a timeout that got the Bears back into their stride, winning the next point at 8-4. Ohlone took the following point, but then a backhand smash winner got Berkeley back into their groove. Two more exhilarating points later, and the Berkeley duo, who according to Angela, had never paired up before and had only practiced for one hour before starting their initial doubles matches, finally claimed a championship women’s doubles title. Congrats to the Bears for a great win!

The 2019 iSET College Table Tennis Championships is hosted by the National Collegiate Table Tennis Association and Sports & Properties Inc. and Greensboro CVB and is one of the premier table tennis tournaments in North America featuring 6 events: Men’s and Women’s Singles and Doubles, and Men’s/Coed Teams, Women’s Teams.  The event is sponsored by iSET, Double Happiness, SPI, Greensboro CVB, Double Fish and USA Table Tennis

Players and spectators alike will enjoy a jam-packed weekend of table tennis at the iSET College Table Tennis Championships. The event starts Friday April 12th and continues through Sunday April 14th.

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