March Madness just wrapped up showcasing the best talent in college basketball. Meanwhile, WNIJ intern Jonathan DuMois found the best players from across the country competing in Rockford in another sport which doesn't get nearly as much attention.
From the moment the ball is raised, the athletes are locked in, focusing on the match at hand. One good play brings applause, while a bad play could cost you deeply.
UC Davis and NYU were some of the many schools competing in the National Collegiate Table Tennis Association’s National Championships at the UW Health Sports Factory in Rockford.
Willy Leparulo is the tournament’s director. He says that 251 athletes from 52 colleges and universities across North America came to Rockford to compete in the tournament.
“This is an exciting time,” he said. "We’re at the championships back in Rockford after many years. 2013 is the last time we been here.”
And some of those athletes even came from around the world.
Kelly Yenn is one of the athletes competing for Harvard in the tournament. She’s originally from Hong Kong, where made history as the youngest player to compete on Hong Kong’s national team. She began when she was six years old, originally with just one goal, beating her brother.
“And shortly after starting I did that, and that no longer became a goal,” Yenn said.
Since then, she said she never thought she would get this far, though she always takes things one match at a time. She also says that playing table tennis has helped her off the court as well.
“It’s a tactical sport, " she said. "It helps me with my analytical thinking, it helps with mentality, perseverance, and helps with my studies.”
The University of Central Florida was another school that competed this year. Christopher Mar is one of the team’s coaches and is also the Florida’s Division Director for the Association. It’s a historic tournament for him, as it's the first time the school has ever sent a women’s team to the tournament.
His doubles team, which consists of two players per team, lost early on, but he views it, and the tournament, as a teachable moment for his team.
“This is still a tournament,” Mar said. "If you are still going to be playing next year, use this to your advantage, build up your ranking, take advantage. Yes, have fun, but more importantly, this is still a tournament.”
After our interview, Mar shows me his custom-made paddle. While the mechanical engineer says he wouldn’t toot his own horn, it’s clear he knows his stuff.
“This is in honor for one of the players at the University of South Florida who basically wanted something better in chopping.” He said. “So I basically made him a combination fusion paddle. It’s a dedicated paddle to him.”
You get the sense from the tournament that there’s not only pride for the universities competing, but also for the sport itself, especially since many pay out of pocket to get here.
Leparulo tells me that the tournament itself, much like the NCTTA, is completely run by volunteers, who take time off from their jobs to run tournaments like this one.
"Every single one of us is taking paid time off to come here to Rockford to run this event for these college athletes,” Leparulo said.
So while these athletes might not have flashy endorsement deals, they still have plenty of passion for the game, no matter what side of the net the ball drops.