NCTTA Media Chairman

 

A Silicon Valley table tennis icon, Kevin Korb brought his unique brand as a sage commentator to the NCTTA's biggest tournament of the year.

 

No longer the flashy Southern California player with colorful socks that never match, Korb, 20, brings solid credentials as the owner of the Top Spin table tennis club in San Jose.

 

It's a growing table tennis club with 200 members and a real hotbed for table tennis fans in high-tech Northern California. Kevin's job is to expand the club in his hometown. Attracting more players, young and old alike, and adding staff, are on his to-do list this spring and summer. He took over the reins of the club less than a year ago.

 

There are other changes ahead in Kevin Korb's life.

 

Next fall, the 20-year-old Tennessee native plans to rejoin the mighty USC Trojans squad on the Los Angeles campus. At the same time, Kevin will work towards completing his bachelor's degree.

 

People tuning to live streaming coverage of the 2016 TMS National Collegiate Table Tennis Championships this weekend heard Korb drop pearls of wisdom about his favorite Olympic sport. He's up to speed on its players, schools, sponsors, statistics and the diversity of table tennis worldwide.

 

Hollywood celebrities promoting the fast-paced game, including actress Susan Sarandon, owner of the Spin Club in New York City, are on his mind, too. Best known for starring in science fiction movies like "The Terminator,'' Arnold Schwarzenegger is another celeb on fire for table tennis. The former California governor sponsors tournaments like the Arnold Challenge.

 

Super Bowl winning quarterback Peyton Manning of the Denver Broncos filmed a TV commercial recently showing him losing a game of table tennis to a young kid. Manning complained and called the kid's winning slam a "lucky shot.''

 

As players from schools like Lindenwood, Mississippi College, Texas, Iowa, and California battled for points at the Round Rock Sports Facility, Kevin gets pumped about what he sees as solid uptick for his go-to sport.

 

It's happening around the USA and Canada during a 21st Century era he terms "the New Age of Table Tennis.'' And the sport's rise in popularity is evident at the NCTTA's championship games in late March. "At the college level, it's gone up a ton.''

 

Players like Peter Li of California, Ying Wang of Ohlone College, Jishan Liang of Texas Wesleyan and Qing Wei Sun of Mississippi College are among the contingent of 250 collegians wowing fans here. Their inspiring performances give NCTTA's team of guest commentators like Korb and Joseph Wells something to talk about. The Californian also conducted many of the post-game interviews with star players.

 

At the games played on near Austin, Kevin saluted the progress of women to enhance the sport on their campuses. He estimated that at least 25 of the women competing in Round Rock have ratings exceeding 1900. 

 

In the future, Korb hopes to focus on ways to encourage more of America's 19 million recreational table tennis players to take the sport more seriously. There are fewer than 10,000 U.S. Table Tennis Association members, reports show.

 

While the USA isn't China where table tennis is king, there's always somebody around who wants to pick up a paddle and play.

 

What's Kevin's own table tennis rating? It stands at a solid 2,150. But as far as promoting table tennis, Kevin Korb's rating really goes through the roof!

 

The 2016 TMS College Table Tennis Championships is hosted by the National Collegiate Table Tennis Association and the Round Rock CVB and is one of the premier 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 TMS International, Gerflor, Double Fish, and Joola.

Players and spectators alike will enjoy a jam-packed weekend of table tennis at the TMS College Table Tennis Championships. The event starts Friday March 25th and continues through Sunday March 27^th at the Round Rock Sports Center

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