MC Table Tennis Team Boosts 2009 National Rankings
Back: Jenny Wu, Jessica Zhou, Ou Lan, Captain Ken Qiu, Sabrena Song, all of China; Front: Nancy Tsai of Taiwan, Maria Montano of Venezuela
MC's women's team finished fourth in the 2009 College Table Tennis National Championships with its supporters in Rochester, Minnesota shouting cheers in Chinese, Spanish and English. Finishing fifth: Stanford University of California.
Concluding Sunday, the National Collegiate Table Tennis Association's three-day tournament attracted 39 teams including more than 250 players from the U.S., Canada and Puerto Rico. The MC men's and coed teams finished in 16th-place, one spot ahead of 17th-place Michigan State.
MC's dynamic duo of Haijing "Jenny" Wu and Jie "Jessica" Zhou defeated the University of Wisconsin. But in the semi-finals Sunday, they lost a heartbreaker - three games to two to University of Toronto to barely miss out on a finals showdown with powerhouse Texas Wesleyan. The women's team from the Fort Worth school emerged as the 2009 champions.
Other members of the MC women's team, including University of Southern Mississippi transfer Maria Montano of Venezuela, who was USM's top player, and Nancy Tsai of Taiwan rounded out the Christian university's nationally ranked table tennis team. The MC women also defeated such schools as Georgia State and Cal Tech along the way at Rochester's Regional Sports Center. On a Twitter site covering the tournament, Montano was credited for teaching the Chinese players to say their cheers in Spanish!
This year, the strategy was to emphasize MC's women's team and that proved successful, said MC Table Tennis Team Captain Ken Qiu, who also coaches the squad. The MC women also lost out to a strong Rutgers team from New Jersey that finished third.
Last year, MC finished 14th overall in the 2008 Nationals in Minnesota in its first trip to the tournament with Qiu leading the way with his aggressive attack game of slams and spins.
"We wouldn't have a team without Ken," said Jim Brackenridge, director of MC's International Programs Office. "We have outstanding kids - they are quality kids and good when it comes to competing."
At his office Tuesday on the Clinton campus, Brackenridge said he was thrilled after learning of the weekend results. "I'm overwhelmed with how well this team is doing," he said, noting the MC squad is now winding up its second season.
It's hard for most U.S. college teams to compete with Texas Wesleyan. Since 2002, the school has won more titles than any other institution. Texas Wesleyan offers full scholarships to its top players. Jasna Reed, its No. 1 women's player from Bosnia, is a graduate student in education with thirty years of table tennis experience.
MC player Ou Lan, 23, who is seeking a master's degree in business administration, said he plans to spend the summer in China working to improve his table tennis game. He plans to work closely with a coach to return next fall and help MC advance its national ranking.
At the Detroit airport Monday, MC Athletic Director Mike Jones, who was in the city for the NCAA Final 4 basketball tournament, offered his congratulations to the entire table tennis team as they waited on a plane connection to Jackson.
Members of the team spent long hours practicing in MC's Alumni Gym to get ready for the Dixie Division Tournament and the Nationals. "They played their hearts out in Minnesota. Results of the 2009 Nationals proved their passion for the game is paying off," said Andy Kanengiser, the team's sponsor and university news coordinator. "Our players also excel in the classroom."
Nationwide, table tennis is a growing sport at the collegiate level with NCTTA President Willy Leparulo of Tallahassee seeing many bright spots. There are 151 colleges and universities with table tennis teams, he said. That's up from 127 schools just a year ago. The tournament in Minnesota attracted such teams as Duke, Columbia, Princeton, the University of Puerto Rico, the University of Washington and the University of California. The turnout exceeded last year's level despite a bad economy nationwide.
Rochester is best known as the home of the famed Mayo Clinic. It's also a big sports center. The table tennis action was one of five tournaments in the city in the Land of Ten Thousand Lakes. Wresting, hockey, volleyball and tae kwon joined table tennis with the five tournaments bringing 20,000 visitors to the city. It boosted the local economy by about $1 million, organizers say.
Soon, MC's team must get back to work. Winners of the Dixie Division tournament at the Baptist Healthplex Feb. 21, MC will host the Fall 2009 event at the same facility on the Clinton campus in October.
For more information on the 2009 national championships, visit the web site http://www.nctta.com/champs/2009/index.html.
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