-=| LNITT NEWSLETTER #3: FINAL |=-
5/12/97

Hello Everyone!

RENSELLAER POLYTECHNIC
is
96-97 LNITT Champion

The 1996-1997 LNITT season has come to a close. The finals took place at
RPI on Saturday, April 19th. When the it was all over and the dust
settled, it was RPI that came out ahead and earned the title of LNITT
Champion.

The final was supposed to be a round robin between the top two schools in
each division. Three of the four qualifying schools showed up, Hofstra,
RPI and BU. And the round robin took place between them only.
Here are the results I was sent:

RPI BU

Robert Thew 21-19,9-21,21-19 Sivi
HoiChi Chang 19-21,10-21 Ashok
Ed Suen/Alex Bud 21-18,21-18 Sivi/Ashok
Ed Suen 21-19,19-21,21-14 Vivek

Winning team-RPI

RPI Hofstra

Robert Thew 2-21,3-21 Kazuyuki Yokoyama
Ed Suen 21-17,21-19 Nirau Parekh
HoiChi Chang/Johnson Wong 12-21,8-21 Kazu Yokoyama/Nirau Parekh
Ali Oguz 21-10,21-6 Nobuhiko Inagaki
Alex Bud 21-9,21-12 Naoki Koyama

Winnig team-RPI

BU vs. Hofstra
Winning team-Hofstra

Previously, MIT and BU played for the Northern Division title. MIT was
victorious, earning itself the title of Northern Division Champion.
Unfortunately, MIT could not make it to the finals because of scheduling
conflicts.

* * *

I'd like to thank all the schools and teams for participating in the LNITT
this year. We have come a long way from last year when there was scarce
competition and no finals. This year, we've played hundreds of matches and
competed at many meets. This took much hard work not only in terms of
training, but in terms of organization. We all know that table tennis
unfortunately does not enjoy the kind of support that other sports do and
table tennis should get. I applaud all those who have made up for this
with pure enthusiasm. From people that spent their money and time on
traveling hundreds of miles, to those who spent their energy organizing
and running tournaments. Thank you.

I have said at the beginning of the year that I'd like to see the league
improve and grow. And that it has. At the beginning of the year I did not
feel it proper to collect dues even, as I felt that the league had lost
credibility during the previous season. I believe that that credibility
has been restored.

Next year we must continue the things we have begun but not finished this
year -- increase participation, improve communication and common decision
making.

We will hold elections at the beginning of the next season. I do not
believe at this time that I will run for re-election.

If contact information for your table tennis club changes, please send me
the information as soon as possible, especilaly the email-address. I can
always be reached at lnitt@dartmouth.edu .

Sincerely Yours,

Robert Lendvai
President, LNITT