Whiplash warning: College Table Tennis Nationals open today

Star Tribune

Last update: April 11, 2008 - 11:18 AM

Today is the start of the College Table Tennis National Championships in Rochester, Minn.

The back and forth will be held at the Rochester Regional Recreational Sports Center, with 56 schools in 23 states and Puerto Rico challenging for seven individual and team titles.

The Minnesota Gophers are among the schools competing, and they have a strong squad. The team, coached by alumnus Thor Truelson, is comprised of Yuejian Cao, Ming Curran and Anders Truelson (Thor's son), all of Minneapolis; Shiwei Zhu of Cottage Grove; and Anh Ngo of Eagan. The Gophers went 6-0 this season. They did not give up an individual match and lost only two games all season.

The competition has a definite international flair, with more than two dozen nationalities represented among the more than 250 athletes participating. China leads the way with 29. India is next with 16.

Two of the schools competing, Texas Wesleyan University and the University of Puerto Rico, are the only scholarship-funded table tennis programs at the championships.

Mixed doubles play gets things going this morning. For more information, including how to see the matches, visit www.nctta.org.

PAUL WALSH