National Collegiate Table Tennis Association

By Michael Reff
Press Committee Chair

Texas Wesleyan’s Jiaqi Lin is a star athlete that just wrapped up her studies in Sports Communications. She had quite ambitious goals for this year’s NCTTA Championships, as she was looking to end her college table tennis career with a bang.

Lin hails from Sichuan, China. She had an interesting start to the sport: according to Lin, her parents “were worried that I would inherit their poor eyesight, and I was not in good health when I was a kid... Читать дальше...

The time has come for elections for certain NCTTA Board of Directors positions. NCTTA is a “working” board, meaning board members double as volunteer directors and staff simultaneously. We put in lots of hours b/c we love it, so one of the prerequisites is passion of course!

By Jia-Yu (Trinity) Sung
Press Committee Member

Photo by Dennis Yanga

A freshman walks onto a court.
One weekend later, he walks off with his backpack jingling with awards.

But what does Ved Sheth, this year’s Men’s Singles and Coed Teams Finalist have to say about his debut performance? Reflective, Ved professes, “People may think I’m a really good player if they saw me play this year. I am still vulnerable…the only thing I can do is prepare for next year.”

Remarkably humble... Читать дальше...

Shaquila Sarapao, Press Committee Member

Three months was all it took for a graduate student to come compete at his first NCTTA national tournament in Eau Claire, Wisconsin, as the sixth seed in singles and third in doubles. Unheard of and unknown, people wondered who he was.

Who is this dark horse?

Graduating from Wuhan University with a major in Physics, Chenxi Sui is currently working on his PhD for Molecular Engineering at the University of Chicago. For the past five years... Читать дальше...

Shaquila Sarapao, Press Committee Member

Coming from the core of Texas is a familial pair with hearts as big as the state. Instead of spending the weekend with family or going to the zoo, Vikas Dusad and his 11-year-old daughter Kanika decided to come to Eau Claire, Wisconsin, and assist with the NCTTA national collegiate tournament.

But it wasn’t Vikas Dusad’s idea to come out here—instead, it was senior umpire Scott Ryan. “[He] had encouraged me to start umpiring,” Kanika says, “and then told us about this NCTTA tournament. Читать дальше...

By Joel Lidstrom
Press Committee Member

Enticed by the cheers, I moved to the Men's semifinals match on Court 2. In progress was the #1 seed, Nikhil Kumar of California against the #6 seed, Jonatan McDonald of Texas Wesleyan. Kumar had won the opening game.
Kumar can turn on the power at the shortest of notices. A rapid-fire exchange with McDonald’s backhand is always dangerous, and it knotted the match score at 1-1.

Buoyed by his win in the second game, and with an excited cadre of supporters... Читать дальше...

By Michael Reff
Press Committee Chair

Elite TT on display from West and South
Got this event spreading by word of mouth.
The conclusion of singles and the tourney in all,
The players were fiery, they answered the call!

In the Women’s arena, Zhen Deng of TWU,
Battled Angie Tan of UCLA, with a triple crown breakthrough!
Deng already had the doubles and teams under her belt,
This additional title trophy would go on her shelf!

In the Men’s single’s... Читать дальше...

By Joel Lidstrom
NCTTA Press Committee Member

Seeing Texas Wesleyan’s Jonatan McDonald warm up with his teammates is a thrilling affair. His power, depth, and consistency, whether from the forehand or backhand, is astonishing. Knowing that he is not the highest seed in the men’s draw speaks eloquently about the extraordinary quality of this tournament.
On Saturday, he faced perhaps an even more premier player in Gal Alguetti, the #3 seed (and #2 doubles seed with his brother, Sharon). Читать дальше...

By Joel Lidstrom
Press Committee Member

She was a number one cadet, a number one junior; she had an uncle who was a high-level table tennis coach…but she hated to practice. She wanted the thrill of competition.

She rode that love of competition, and suffered enough practice along the way, to win an Olympic medal. When I asked how one can succeed without having done the hard work, she smiled and said, “Maybe I was born under a lucky star.”

I met Jasna Rather sixteen years ago at this very tournament... Читать дальше...

Shaquila Sarapao,
Press Committee Member

Saturday set the scene for the quarterfinals of Coed Teams. Walking into the McPhee gymnasium early in the morning, there was already a cacophony of claps and cheers, particularly at tables 5 and 6.

Red vs. blue—Indiana University vs. UCLA. The first matchups were Sharon Alguetti against Kai Zarehbin and Andi Mai vs. Andrew Wong, respectively. S. Alguetti swiftly won his singles against Zarehbin 3-0. In the second singles match, Mai and Wong battled it out. Читать дальше...