Butterfly 2017 Arnold Table Tennis Challenge Press Release 5 for 3/6/2017

2017 Butterfly Arnold Table Tennis Challenge: Collegiate Players & Alumni Dominate Rating Events

(By Barbara Wei)

National collegiate table tennis athletes from powerhouse table tennis university programs from around the country participated and dominated in the 2017 Butterfly Arnold Table Tennis Challenge. In the Open Singles event, Jishan Liang (Texas Wesleyan – 2669) finished in the runner-up position beating fellow Texas Wesleyan teammate Bruno Ventura Dos Ani (2485) in the quarterfinal. Mississippi College players also found success in the Open Singles event with Qingwei Sun (2517), Tomotaka Yoshitomi (2550), Tong Zhang (2594) and Yi Chi Zhang (2617) all qualifying into the single elimination rounds (top 16) of the Open Singles division. However, only Tong Zhang and Yi Chi Zhang moved onto the quarterfinals where they were defeated by eventual champion Jian Li and top seeded Ruichao Chen respectively.

Although bowing out in the quarterfinal of the Open Singles event, Bruno (Texas Wesleyan) handedly took the U2500 singles championship title over Lindenwood player Santiago Seville (2323).  Lindenwood players also found success in the U2400 and U2300 events, which were won by Alex Legaria and Patricio Pereyan.

With the collegiate national table tennis competition only weeks away (April 7-9) in Eau Claire, Wisconsin, collegiate table tennis athletes are using every opportunity to improve and refine their tournament tactics and match play prior to the annual championship event.

Continual coverage of the 2017 Butterfly Arnold Table Tennis Challenge and stories about the athletes will be available at ButterflyOnline.com, or via Butterfly North America’s Twitter and Facebook pages.