National Collegiate Table Tennis Association

Jan-Feb 2004

NCTTA Enters the Fall Season with Smashing News

By Tzu-Wei Lin, Public Relations Director, NCTTA 

Following the addition of six new divisions this past summer, growth is still the main theme of the National Collegiate Table Tennis Association as the Internal Revenue Services officially recognized this student-run organization as a publicly supported 509(a)(1) organization under the 501(c)(3) non-profit category. As a result, NCTTA is eligible to generate tax-deductible receipts for our donors.

In response to the positive direction of the league, NCTTA has secured a table tennis equipment sponsorship with STIGA and the Table Tennis Pioneers, who will offer student discounts to NCTTA members.  For details, please visit the sponsorship page at www.nctta.org/Sponsorship.htm and the Table Tennis Pioneers at www.ping-pong.com. 

Amidst all the developments, division meets commenced as 83 member schools launched their campaign to qualify for the prestigious National Championships. Meets began in October, with the heart of the competition taking place in November. This year’s inaugural meet took place on October 26, where University of Florida (UF) looked to defend its division title against its rivals.  UF’s team captain, Lee Gary, depicted the meet as “a testament to the growth of the division and mirrored the general expansion of NCTTA as a whole.” Ultimately, host UF would defeat Florida State University in a decisive 5-0 victory.

Moving north to New England, last year’s runner-up, Harvard University, and eight other teams visited MIT for its fall meet on November 1.  Harvard, having lost five of its six varsity team players, confronted powerhouses MIT, Northeastern University, Boston University (BU), and Wesleyan University in what New England Division Director Andrew Holm described as “the tightest race [for a trip to the Nationals] in recent memory.”  New England boasted some of the top college players in the nation, with Harvard ace Anton Titov, MIT captain Ron Choy, and BU freshmen and Singapore National Junior team member Hanloong Ma facing off in NCTTA’s most competitive division.  Even though MIT triumphed in this meet, the large nature of this division would allow two teams to travel to the Nationals, thus only intensifying the battle to a higher level.

Around the league, Virginia Tech won their respective division meet, which entertained an international flavor of participants from twenty different countries!  Of note, the division welcomed a woman-only team from Virginia Tech.  Duke University also made a strong statement in the Carolina division by dominating all other teams 5-0, with team members that include the twins Jackson and Patrick Musker, who were trained by USATT Hall of Famer Wei Wang.  Southern Mississippi would also triumph the first ever Dixie Division meet, boasting such players as Korean National Junior team member Kim Bong Geun and Tiger Narasimhan, who’s ranked #2 in Mississippi.

At this point, we are already looking forward to the 2004 NCTTA National Championships.  Please visit our website at www.nctta.org and give us any feedback.  NCTTA continues to welcome any sponsorship inquiries in supporting our 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization and all the special student athletes involved in our beloved sport.  

NCTTC Current Standings 

Virginia Division: 1^st Virginia Tech 2^nd University of Virginia 3^rd James Madison University 4^th Bluefield College 5^th Eastern Mennonite University

Florida Division: 1^st University of Florida 2^nd Florida State University 3^rd University of North Florida 4^th University of West Florida 5^th University of Central Florida 

Carolina Division: 1^st Duke University 2^nd North Carolina State University 3^rd Methodist College 4^th University of North Carolina at Wilmington

Dixie Division: 1^st Southern Miss 2^nd Mississippi State 3^rd Univ. Of South Alabama 4^th West Florida

Mid-Atlantic Division: 1^st Princeton University 2^nd University of Pennsylvania 3^rd Pennsylvania State University at University Park 4^th Howard University

Upstate NY Division: 1^st Cornell Univ. 2^nd Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute 3^rd Hamilton College