By Andy Kanengiser
NCTTA Media Chair
Table tennis stars from Texas Wesleyan University and Mississippi College collided for five years in a row at the NCTTA championship games.
Fans wonder if the script will repeat itself at the 2017 tournament in Eau Claire, Wisconsin April 7-9. Time will tell as 260 stellar college players and coaches across the USA and Canada pack their paddles for three days of lively games.
Some observers predict a sixth straight Finals showdown between Texas Wesleyan and MC in the TMS tournament. MC’s lone national triumph for its coed team happened at the same Eau Claire venue in 2015. A narrow 12-10 win by MC in doubles decided the intense match as audiences watched via live streaming on their computers.
The MC Choctaws victory two years ago was historic in collegiate table tennis circles. MC knocked off a strong Texas Wesleyan bunch that arrived at the University of Wisconsin-Eau Claire with a phenomenal 11 consecutive national coed team titles. But the Texas Wesleyan Rams players responded and secured its 12thnational coed team championship in March 2016 in Round Rock in the Lone Star State.
When the 2017 TMS championships arrive, Jasna Rather, head of the Texas Wesleyan table tennis program, and fellow coaches will have their squad ready. Same is true for Cheng Li, coach of the powerful MC team and the squad’s former all-star captain.
Texas Wesleyan Rams standouts like Jishan Liang, Zhe Feng, Bruno Dos Anjos Ventura, Chen Wang and Jennifer Wu, to name a few, will pack their paddles for the Dairy State. They expect to rack up wins in Wisconsin no matter who they face.
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