|
|
CONTACT: Willy Leparulo PHONE: (800) 581-6770 EMAIL: info@nctta.org |
|
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: April 4, 2013 Ready to Rumble in Rockford - 2013
College Table Tennis Championships Teams Go All Out in Their Pursuit
of the Championship Team Title Getting
to the promised land can mean a lot of different things, but in the college table
tennis world it means the year end College
Table Tennis Championships. Not every school is given
this chance and getting the sacred invitation from NCTTA is always a
momentous occasion for each respective school. The process starts in
September and over 200 college and university teams practice and compete with
their sights set on this very tournament. Every year a couple of schools experience
what they see as their shot at the Championships. For two schools this year,
Virginia Commonwealth University and University of South Florida, the wait is
finally over. Virginia Commonwealth University
(VCU) has been an NCTTA member school since 2005 and has never qualified for
these championships. Huy Truong, VCU team captain, proudly states that they
are ready, “We have been playing almost every day with alumni still in the
area and are excited at this opportunity.”
Those alumni from prior years’ teams serve as mentors according to
Truong. VCU’s first ever appearance in the Championships is also celebrated
by their administration as their Regional picture and trophy is showcased in
the main gymnasium of their school. “The general consensus is to go all out
and have fun with it,” says Truong. Watch out for VCU’s top player, Tao Li,
who is also one of the top contenders in women’s singles. She’ll lead the
team as they give it all they have and go all out for a Championship title! Talking about going all out, no
one can deny that the Bulls from the University of South Florida fit that
bill. University of South Florida (USF) is actually located in Tampa, which
is more centrally located to the state. The USF Table Tennis team is led by
Dave “the forehand slam” Llona, a player who gained internet fame with a
couple thousand internet followers of the old Facebook group, back in his
undergraduate days at the University of Central Florida. Llona, competing in
his last year of NCTTA eligibility as well as completing his MBA at USF, is
the heart and soul of this club that has never before qualified for the
Championships since joining NCTTA in 2007. The Bulls have been eyeing a shot
at the champs since last September says Club president, Michel Avey. “Things
were looking up after we found out about former UCF players (Mat Delgado and
Llona) transferring to USF.” The team was complete when Ciprian “Chip”
Romonti joined the squad a couple weeks into the Fall semester. The “Romanian
Sensation,” as Llona calls him, is a former Romanian international who just
stumbled upon the club and completed the missing link for the USF Table
Tennis squad which is ranked #15 in the tournament. When asked about USF’s
chances in the team event, Llona states, “No doubt in my mind we will come in
to the Top 5 and upset some teams in the process.” Llona, who is known for
his strange yet effective “thumb” grip, is also very
well known for his vociferous echoes of support for his teammates. “We are
going to make some noise in the team event supporting one another, this is
what college table tennis is about and we are ready to bring it in Rockford!” The 2013 College Table Tennis Championships is hosted by
the National
Collegiate Table Tennis Association
and the Rockford Area Convention and Visitor’s Bureau and is one of the most
competitive 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 Newgy Industries, Butterfly, PR etc. Rockford Table
Tennis Club, Fitzgerald Equipment,
Rockford Park District. The full list of participants and seeds can be found here:
http://www.nctta.org/champs/2013/news.html Players and spectators alike will enjoy a jam-packed
weekend of table tennis at the 2013 College Table Tennis Championships. The event starts Friday April 12th and continues through
Sunday April 14th at the Forest City Tennis Center in Rockford, Illinois. 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 ### |