By Michael Reff
Press Committee Chair

Harvard elite table tennis player Kelly Yenn, the #2 seed in the NCTTA Women’s Singles event, certainly made a name for herself and her university at her first NCTTA Championships in Rockford, IL.

A freshman studying Economics, Neuroscience, and Computer Science, Yenn balances rigorous academics with high-calibre table tennis.

At the NCTTA Championships, she capitalized on her mental and physical strengths with a powerful double-winged attack, fast footwork, and an iron will that was demonstrated when she was down 5-10 in the fourth game of her Women’s team match against UCLA’s Joanna Sung. She went on to win 7 points in a row to secure the match at 3-1!

Though not defeating the eventual Women’s team champions, Yenn’s expertise would help lead her squad to a 3rd place finish in the Women’s event over #2 seeded NYU.

She would go on to have a rematch against #3 seeded Sung, defeating her yet again 4-1 in this best-of-7 semifinals match for the Women’s Singles event.

In the finals, Yenn faced off against Boston’s Emily Tan, the #4 seed, who had dispatched #1 seeded Sarah Jalli of Baylor in her semifinals match.

After already playing in the Women’s and Coed Team’s events, Yenn dipped into her reserves, and kicked it into a higher gear with a clean, 4-0 sweep against Tan, ultimately claiming the Women’s Singles title, a first for Harvard!

I initially touched base with Kelly, a Hong Kong Women’s Singles Open champion, at the beginning of her NCTTA career this year, where she had expressed enthusiasm about “making camaraderie and new core memories.”

I caught up with her again after she clinched the Women’s Singles title. She told me she is “Thankful for the sport- it’s taught me so so much- it’s taught me analytical thinking, teamwork, mentality, about life, etc. invaluable relationships I’ve made through the sport.”

She also said, “and thank you to those who watched the NCTTA Nationals livestream from Hong Kong and for their support.”

Furthermore, Kelly expressed gratitude for a multitude of firsts, from competing in the USA, to playing on behalf of Harvard and having such a supportive team.

“I could not thank my team enough,” Yenn reflected. “Each and every single one of them, they are just wonderful. Everyone is very supportive of each other, mentally supportive…”

When I remarked about Harvard’s women team also getting third place, she mentioned that it was quite an achievement for the university because “This is Harvard’s first time getting an award in table tennis for 15 years or more. It feels extra wonderful to be able to give this title to Harvard."

Congratulations to Kelly Yenn and the rest of her Harvard teammates for putting the elite university on the map with their impressive NCTTA achievements!

(Photo of Harvard freshman Kelly Yenn in action! Photo credit to Dennis Yanga)

By Michael Reff
Press Committee Chair

He came in with confidence,
Olympian/college athlete,
And it was plain commonsense,
That he’d go for a three-peat.

Singles titles I’m referring,
But he took it a step beyond,
Triple crown also was in grasp,
Ponging magic tricks with his paddle wand.

It was his final year,
And he truly manifested,
Repping California with no fear,
Each opponent he bested.

Singles, Doubles, and Coed Teams,
He won all the hardware.
Nikhil Kumar fulfilled his college dreams,
He secured all wins with signature flair!

Congrats to the MVP
Of the 2025 NCTTA Champs,
Loudnproud and truly worthy,
College pong, he’s left indelible stamps!

(Photo of a cheering Nikhil Kumar; photo credit to Dennis Yanga)
_______________________________________________
About 2025 NCTTA College Table Tennis Championships

The championships are hosted by the National Collegiate Table Tennis Association and GoRockford (Rockford Convention and Visitors Bureau). The event crowns national champions in Men’s and Women’s Singles and Doubles, Men’s/Coed Teams, and Women’s Teams. Also this year a first in NCTTA’s history is the Collegiate National Team trials on Thursday April 3rd for the 2025 World University Games.

PongSpace, Peaka Pong, Stiga and Paddle Palace will sponsor the event.
Watch the event on live stream starting Friday, April 4th on http://www.nctta.org/champs/2025/video.html

About NCTTA

The National Collegiate Table Tennis Association (NCTTA) is a non-profit organization established exclusively to promote 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 elite intercollegiate competitions throughout North America. www.nctta.org

By Michael Reff
Press Committee Chair

Kentucky college athlete Felipe González Seguel made his mark at the 2025 NCTTA Championships in Rockford, IL. Seguel was flying solo during this tournament, representing his school alone as a single’s player. He was the 45th seed in the Men’s Singles event.

With a rating of 2182 and the 2nd seed in his preliminary group, Seguel stunned #21 Handson Li (2334) of California, to advance out of this initial round and claim his spot in the championship knockout rounds.

I caught up with Seguel after his successful run in the preliminaries, asking him about his amazing upset against Li. He told me his simple yet effective philosophy: “I should think realistically, I shouldn’t have pressure." He went on to say that he repeats internally, “I’m not going to win.” Though seemingly counterintuitive, he says this mindset frees him up to play his best table tennis.
And best table tennis he had on the first official day of the NCTTA Championships.

Seguel’s story is quite unconventional. Originally hailing from Chile, he started playing in 2003 at the age of 15. His highest national ranking was 8th. Then life happened, and he took a 9-year hiatus from table tennis. He returned to our beloved Olympic sport in 2022. Then, Seguel proceeded to move his family to the USA in 2023 to start a PhD in Rehabilitation and Health Sciences at the University of Kentucky in Lexington. Since moving to the USA, he has participated in at least 14 tournaments and made a name for himself, as well as becoming involved in college table tennis, through an International Umpire and NCTTA Volunteer, Jorge Vanegas. This led to a conversation with NCTTA President Willy Leparulo, and the rest is history!

Seguel’s trek to the NCTTA Championships was anything but easy, but not for the reasons you would think. Severe weather cancelled his flight to Chicago, so Seguel made up his mind to drive the 8 hours from Lexington to Rockford with his family and make it a tournament vacation trip.

Seguel is grateful to the local Kentucky based Tri-State Sports Commission for helping fund part of his expenses with a $200 scholarship.
After advancing to the championship matches, Seguel defeated his round of 64 opponent, #48 Herman Lee (2148) of UBC, but later lost to #15 Kevin Guo (2386) of Yale in the round of 32.

Felipe was grateful for the chance to play in the champs and satisfied with his results.

Kudos to Felipe on a great run in Rockford, IL and we wish him the best on qualifying next year, hopefully with his whole team!

(interview with Felipe was conducted in Spanish, and all quotes were translated by the writer of this article)

(Photo features Kentucky's Felipe in action; photo credit to Dennis Yanga)
____________________________________

About 2025 NCTTA College Table Tennis Championships

The championships are hosted by the National Collegiate Table Tennis Association and GoRockford (Rockford Convention and Visitors Bureau). The event crowns national champions in Men’s and Women’s Singles and Doubles, Men’s/Coed Teams, and Women’s Teams. Also this year a first in NCTTA’s history is the Collegiate National Team trials on Thursday April 3rd for the 2025 World University Games.

PongSpace, Peaka Pong, Stiga and Paddle Palace will sponsor the event.

Watch the event on live stream starting Friday, April 4th on http://www.nctta.org/champs/2025/video.html

About NCTTA

The National Collegiate Table Tennis Association (NCTTA) is a non-profit organization established exclusively to promote 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 elite intercollegiate competitions throughout North America. www.nctta.org

By Joel Lidstrom
Press Committee Member

Jeremy Hazin is not an ordinary guy, and not an ordinary table tennis player. He is at once an orchestral virtuoso that thrives on dynamic nuance and sensitive placement, and a madman, moving about the court between points, shaking his head and talking to himself.

He walks as if he can’t arrive soon enough, yet always finds himself at the right place on the court. He speaks English, Cantonese, and Mandarin.

He has played all over the world as a professional, whether for Canada in the Tokyo and Paris Olympics (2020 and 2024), the inaugural year of Major League Table Tennis, the Pan American Games (where he reached the Round of 16 in men's singles and the quarterfinals in both men's doubles and team events), the World Junior Championships, the ITTF World Junior Circuit, and many more. In 2021 he returned as an amateur to play for New York University as a member of their collegiate team. He helped propel NYU to back-to-back NCTTA championships in 2022 and 2023.

Jeremy has an uncanny understanding of how to beat an opponent. “It doesn’t matter if my opponent has a higher rating than I. If I beat them, I am better on that day. I know how to win. If it is ugly, I don’t care.”

Of his unorthodox technique, Jeremy says it is largely from having learned as a youth without any instruction or coaching. “I developed lots of bad habits.”

Most young players develop standard topspin styles, owing to today’s wealth of proven coaching techniques. While it has immensely improved quality of play, it doesn’t easily allow for an unconventional style. Jeremy has that in abundance. His backhand block is crazy-good, ranging from a “kablam” to a gentle touch, often upsetting his opponent’s timing. He can go cross-court, or impossibly down the line. He can frustrate; he can infuriate.

Jeremy ‘wears his heart on his sleeve’ as he plays, grimacing at his mistakes, muttering, re-enacting the stroke that failed… But he quickly transitions to eager optimism for his next point. “It is what it is. Move on. Win the next point.”

He says that he no longer trains hard, which is essential to maintaining the highest level of play. He acknowledges that he is not as good as he once was, and he accepts that. We spoke shortly after his team event loss to #1 seed Nikhil Kumar (Jeremy took game one and nearly won the second). I assured him that despite the defeat, his hard-fought game was not ugly…
…but beautiful.

(Photo of Jeremy Hazin (left) and double's teammate Peter Yuan (right)... Hazin and Yuan reached the Men's Doubles Semifinals and third place in the Coed team event; photo credit to Dennis Yanga).
____________________________________________________

About 2025 NCTTA College Table Tennis Championships

The championships are hosted by the National Collegiate Table Tennis Association and GoRockford (Rockford Convention and Visitors Bureau). The event crowns national champions in Men’s and Women’s Singles and Doubles, Men’s/Coed Teams, and Women’s Teams. Also this year a first in NCTTA’s history is the Collegiate National Team trials on Thursday April 3rd for the 2025 World University Games.

PongSpace, Peaka Pong, Stiga and Paddle Palace will sponsor the event.

Watch the event on live stream starting Friday, April 4th on http://www.nctta.org/champs/2025/video.html

About NCTTA

The National Collegiate Table Tennis Association (NCTTA) is a non-profit organization established exclusively to promote 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 elite intercollegiate competitions throughout North America. www.nctta.org

By Michael Reff
Press Committee Chair

Saturday, April 5th in Rockford, IL concluded the coed and women’s teams event portions of the 2025 NCTTA Championships in spectacular fashion. And the theme of the day, as well as this whole tournament, has been West Coast dominance by both the UCLA women and California men and coed.

On the women’s side, UCLA clinched the team championship title for the second time by defeating first-time finalists Cornell University 3-1.

This win, along with UCLA’s doubles title dominance, now have both teammates Joanna Sung and Angie Tan vying for a triple crown come Sunday: that is, a teams, doubles, and singles title.

On the Coed teams side, a similar story played out with California doubles winners Nikhil Kumar and Sid Naresh edging past Texas Wesleyan’s Jonatan McDonald and Senura Silva, in a thrilling deciding match, with the same opponents of the previous day that earned them their first 2025 title. California ultimately defeated Texas Wesleyan 3-2 and clinched their first ever coed team championship title.

With two titles under his belt for this year, Kumar is also going for that triple crown, intent on securing a third trophy in the single’s event, which would also be his third consecutive singles title if he goes the distance!

After the teams matches finished, a wonderful banquet with a delicious dinner closed out the evening, honoring volunteers and collegiate champions alike. Production manager mastermind Ed Hogshead provided introductory remarks along with NCTTA President Willy Leparulo, who thanked and introduced sponsors Stiga, GoRockford, Paddle Palace (who was represented by Sean O’Neill and is also a commentator for this year’s Champs), and PongSpace and Peaka Pong, with PongSpace CEO Thomas Hu also in attendance. Both Mr. O’Neill and Mr. Hu also assisted in presenting the trophies to the students in the doubles and teams events.

The exquisite, custom, 3D-printed trophies designed by NCTTA’s Logan Zimmerman have become something of a mainstay at recent champs, with everyone admiring the beautiful and sleek craftsmanship.

Additionally, the Volunteer of the Year award was presented remotely to none other than NCTTA board member and HR Coordinator Stephanie Shih, who tirelessly planned and executed the successful World University Games Trials on Thursday, April 3rd.

Marketing Committee Chair Andy Nguyen MC’ed the event, as well as provided great entertainment for banquet attendees with highlight clips and other more hilarious content, showing the lighter side of student-athletes off the table.

This concludes Day 3 of the Champs, with one more exciting day of singles matches to go! Stay tuned for tomorrow's thrilling finish to the 2025 Champs in Rockford, IL!

(First time Coed Champs California reveling in their glory! Photo credit to Dennis Yanga)
______________________________________________________

About 2025 NCTTA College Table Tennis Championships

The championships are hosted by the National Collegiate Table Tennis Association and GoRockford (Rockford Convention and Visitors Bureau). The event crowns national champions in Men’s and Women’s Singles and Doubles, Men’s/Coed Teams, and Women’s Teams. Also this year a first in NCTTA’s history is the Collegiate National Team trials on Thursday April 3rd for the 2025 World University Games.

PongSpace, Peaka Pong, Stiga and Paddle Palace will sponsor the event.
Watch the event on live stream starting Friday, April 4th on http://www.nctta.org/champs/2025/video.html

About NCTTA

The National Collegiate Table Tennis Association (NCTTA) is a non-profit organization established exclusively to promote 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 elite intercollegiate competitions throughout North America. www.nctta.org

By Joel Lidstrom
Press Committee Member

She commands the court with confidence, a youngster in a typically adult occupation. As I watch today, her job is easy: no disputes over edge balls or hiding of serves—just a single warning about a service toss. And this match is over in ten minutes.

Kanika Dusad stands out among the dozens of umpires in this year’s NCTTA Championships. She is a mere 13, in her second year as an umpire at this three-day tournament, the previous being the 2024 event in Eau Claire, Wisconsin. She hails from Dallas, Texas, having been enlisted into the world of table tennis umpiring by Scott Ryan, a local Dallas club member and USATT Certified Referee and international umpire.

Thus far at the tournament she has umpired about ten matches. I wondered if she is nervous when they begin..

“I was when I first started, but when I made mistakes, the players would help me. Now I rely a lot on muscle memory. I really enjoy it.”

I asked about some of the difficult challenges an umpire faces: hidden serves, or disputed edge balls.

She thought for a minute as she acknowledged the possibility, but said, “The most that I’ve had to deal with is warning players about an illegal service toss.”

Of course, Kanika is an avid player, and works with a coach at the club where her entire family plays. (Her father is also an umpire at this year’s NCTTA tourney.)

Kanika’s friends think it’s cool that she does this, and one of them has expressed an interest in umpiring badminton matches. Kanika feels that she has been a bit of an inspiration!

As far as aspiring to more opportunities in the future, she said she’s keeping her options open. She loves volunteering for NCTTA, so “…maybe more NCTTA opportunities, like Divisionals and Regionals.”

All of us at NCTTA will be delighted to see her again.

(Photo of Kanika Dusad in umpiring action! Photo credit to Dennis Yanga)
______________________________________________________

About 2025 NCTTA College Table Tennis Championships

The championships are hosted by the National Collegiate Table Tennis Association and GoRockford (Rockford Convention and Visitors Bureau). The event crowns national champions in Men’s and Women’s Singles and Doubles, Men’s/Coed Teams, and Women’s Teams. Also this year a first in NCTTA’s history is the Collegiate National Team trials on Thursday April 3rd for the 2025 World University Games.

PongSpace, Peaka Pong, Stiga and Paddle Palace will sponsor the event.

Watch the event on live stream starting Friday, April 4th on http://www.nctta.org/champs/2025/video.html

About NCTTA

The National Collegiate Table Tennis Association (NCTTA) is a non-profit organization established exclusively to promote 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 elite intercollegiate competitions throughout North America. www.nctta.org

By Michael Reff
Press Committee Chair

2nd day in Rockford,
The energy was riveting,
Of cheering we were chock full,
Looping strokes with feet pivoting.

Three events occurred,
Doubles, Singles, and Teams,
The cho’s they were heard
On all video streams.

Competition so fierce
A clash of height and style,
WIthin college pong spheres,
This day was worth your while.

Friday ended with doubles,
Californian schools captured the scene,
Nikhil Kumar and Sid Naresh of California
Dashed Texas Wesleyan’s dreams.

That was on the men’s side,
But in the women’s finals,
It was an all UCLA affair,
Turning two friendly pairs into brief rivals.

Joanna Sung and Angie Tan,
Both came out on top,
And that sums up day two of the Champs,
For Rockford 2025 we’ve pulled out all the stops!

(2025 NCTTA Men's Doubles Champs, California Duo Nikhil Kumar and Sid Naresh; photo credit to Dennis Yanga)
_____________________________

About 2025 NCTTA College Table Tennis Championships

The championships are hosted by the National Collegiate Table Tennis Association and GoRockford (Rockford Convention and Visitors Bureau). The event crowns national champions in Men’s and Women’s Singles and Doubles, Men’s/Coed Teams, and Women’s Teams. Also this year a first in NCTTA’s history is the Collegiate National Team trials on Thursday April 3rd for the 2025 World University Games.

PongSpace, Peaka Pong, Stiga and Paddle Palace will sponsor the event.
Watch the event on live stream starting Friday, April 4th on http://www.nctta.org/champs/2025/video.html

About NCTTA

The National Collegiate Table Tennis Association (NCTTA) is a non-profit organization established exclusively to promote 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 elite intercollegiate competitions throughout North America. www.nctta.org

By Joel Lidstrom
Press Committee Member

When one thinks of Tufts University, a small university in Massachusetts, table tennis doesn’t come to mind, even among rabid collegiate ping pong aficionados. And when Mainak Nistala and Jason Situ enrolled there, it wasn’t on their radar. Nistala, a Computer Science major, and Situ, a Biology major, knew Tufts to be a place where they could get a broad and balanced school experience. Academics, yes; but with a range of interesting activities and involvement.

Table tennis at Tufts had been overwhelmed by COVID, and there was no evidence of a team. But ping pong players can’t be away from the game very long, and with encouragement from friends, they met to play. They realized with delight that they had played previously in a match at Nationals.

They put out the word to see if they could successfully re-vitalize the disbanded Tufts club. They did, and received their NCTTA reinstatement just this year. I caught up with them in their match against a higher rated California team.

Men’s Doubles Championship Round of 32

Tufts vs. California 3-0

Nistala was magnificent, with backhand blocks, occasional chop blocks vs. loop, and powerful topspin from both the backhand and forehand sides—all played almost casually, and all for winners. Meanwhile, Situ played conservatively with little need to attack. After the match he told me, “Mainak was putting away everything, and I was just chilling…”

Round of 16

NYU vs. Tufts 3-1

The Tufts duo started against NYU’s Hazin and Yuan with a succession of unforced errors. It is interesting how the pressure of playing a significantly higher-rated team affects play. Tufts seemed to be pressing, rushing their attack, while the NYU team was content to keep the ball in play as they cruised to an 11-5 first game win.

Tufts found offensive success in the second game, with attack from both players. After an exchange of fierce rallies and timely defense, Tufts pushed the score to 10-8, and knotted the match score at 1-1 on an anti-climactic wrong court service for NYU.

Tufts lost the third game, but made a comeback in the fourth, as they quickly pushed the game score to 6-2. They weathered the loss of a brilliant 10-hit rally that might have deflated their hope, but instead it was an unlucky net ball and an unforced error that gave the match to eventual semifinalists.

After the match, Nitala and Situ expressed no regret. But they agreed that they had had a great shot, and would use that to propel them into the singles. I mused that they would be back playing doubles next year, with a bigger and better Tufts team, bolstered by their success this year. They smiled, and said they hoped it would be so.

(Photo of Tufts doubles duo Mainak Nistala and Jason Situ; photo credit to Dennis Yang)
_______________________________________________

About 2025 NCTTA College Table Tennis Championships

The championships are hosted by the National Collegiate Table Tennis Association and GoRockford (Rockford Convention and Visitors Bureau). The event crowns national champions in Men’s and Women’s Singles and Doubles, Men’s/Coed Teams, and Women’s Teams. Also this year a first in NCTTA’s history is the Collegiate National Team trials on Thursday April 3rd for the 2025 World University Games.

PongSpace, Peaka Pong, Stiga and Paddle Palace will sponsor the event.
Watch the event on live stream starting Friday, April 4th on http://www.nctta.org/champs/2025/video.html

About NCTTA

The National Collegiate Table Tennis Association (NCTTA) is a non-profit organization established exclusively to promote 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 elite intercollegiate competitions throughout North America. www.nctta.org

By Michael Reff
Press Committee Chair

Breaking news! The 2025 World University Games (WUG) Trials has concluded, and we now have our men’s and women’s team members!

Thursday, April 3rd kicked off the NCTTA Championships in explosive style in Rockford, IL.

On the men’s side, California and UCLA swept the competition to qualify for all five WUG team positions. Elite athleticism was on full display with nimble footwork and fiery cho’s, along with passionate celebrations from the crowd.

Ved Seth and Sid Naresh, both from California secured the first two spots respectively, with UCLA teammates Kai Zarehbin, Ryan Wu, and Ethan Liu all clinching the 3-5 positions respectively.

The Californian men’s contingency now gets a chance to represent the entirety of the USA in the World University Games.

On the women’s side, there was equal excitement with a plethora of upsets by NYU teammates Anastasia Wang and Tiffany Lam, ultimately qualifying them for the WUG team. Wang (seeded. No. 9) defeated no. 7 seeded Trinity Sung (Cal Poly), and no. 4 seeded Kary Fang (UCLA) to secure the 3rd position, while Tiffany Lam (seeded no. 10) clinched the 5th position with upset wins against No. 6 seeded Kylie Lam (California), no. 5 seeded Sabrina Zhu (Georgia Tech) and Kary Fang (UCLA).

Additionally, there was a unique occurrence of not one, but two matches with sisters paired against each other: No. 1 seeded Joanna (UCLA) and No. 7 seeded Trinity Sung (Cal Poly), as well as no. 2 seeded Emily (Boston) and no. 3 seeded Angie Tan (UCLA). Joanna defeated Trinity 3-0, whereby Angie had a hard-fought battle ultimately securing the win against Emily 3-2.
Angie went on to also defeat teammate Joanna, securing the first WUG slot, with Joanna clinching 2nd, and Emily taking 4th.

Congratulations to the 2025 Men’s and Women’s team who will be playing at the WUG event July 17-24 in Rhine-Ruhr, Germany! if this is any indication of what’s in store for the rest of the Championships, it’s time to get excited!

(Photo of the 2025 WUG Men's and Women's Team! Photo credit to Dennis Yanga)

___________________________________________________
About 2025 NCTTA College Table Tennis Championships

The championships are hosted by the National Collegiate Table Tennis Association and GoRockford (Rockford Convention and Visitors Bureau). The event crowns national champions in Men’s and Women’s Singles and Doubles, Men’s/Coed Teams, and Women’s Teams. Also this year a first in NCTTA’s history is the Collegiate National Team trials on Thursday April 3rd for the 2025 World University Games.

PongSpace, Peaka Pong, Stiga and Paddle Palace will sponsor the event.

Watch the event on live stream starting Friday, April 4th on http://www.nctta.org/champs/2025/video.html

About NCTTA

The National Collegiate Table Tennis Association (NCTTA) is a non-profit organization established exclusively to promote 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 elite intercollegiate competitions throughout North America. www.nctta.org