2008 Woodie Awards
Table tennis team paddles competition; ranks 13th
Nolan Snoap
Issue date: 9/28/07 Section: News
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For years, the game of table tennis has mystified sports fans the world over.
From the darkly runic days of Pong to this summer's far less entertaining Balls of Fury, American fascination with the tiny white plastic ball has ranged from reverence to confusion.
But the table tennis club at UCF has made it a point to make the sport accessible to all.
Alumni John McInerney founded the table tennis club in 2003, when UCF was one of the last Division I universities in Florida to add a competitive table tennis team.
In 2005, the team beat the University of Florida in an away game, propelling them to 33rd in the nation. And after a successful 2006-2007 season, the team climbed into the top 25.
Now, the team enters this season ranked at No. 13 out of more than 140 university teams in the National Collegiate Table Tennis Association.
"This year we're hoping to win state, and we're hoping to qualify for nationals," McInerney said.
As the team climbs the rankings, it also continues to grow.
"We will continue to recruit a lot of top players from around the state, whether they be table tennis-trained players or tennis players who have developed a table tennis stroke," McInerney said.
The club is not all about competition.
"We're mainly just looking for guys with experience and enthusiasm. You don't have to be a table tennis-trained player to join our club. Anybody who is a UCF student can try out for the team," McInerney said.
Not only is the club welcoming to anyone who is interested in the sport, it comes with a low price of admission.
"We'd like people to come out and see what we're all about," treasurer Kyle Brown said. "It's not an expensive club compared to some others. It's just $25 for the whole year."
Though table tennis is popular in other countries, the sport has yet to latch on in the U.S.
"If we could just figure out the trick to getting it to take off here beyond the social level, it should grow even more," McInerney said.
From the darkly runic days of Pong to this summer's far less entertaining Balls of Fury, American fascination with the tiny white plastic ball has ranged from reverence to confusion.
But the table tennis club at UCF has made it a point to make the sport accessible to all.
Alumni John McInerney founded the table tennis club in 2003, when UCF was one of the last Division I universities in Florida to add a competitive table tennis team.
In 2005, the team beat the University of Florida in an away game, propelling them to 33rd in the nation. And after a successful 2006-2007 season, the team climbed into the top 25.
Now, the team enters this season ranked at No. 13 out of more than 140 university teams in the National Collegiate Table Tennis Association.
"This year we're hoping to win state, and we're hoping to qualify for nationals," McInerney said.
As the team climbs the rankings, it also continues to grow.
"We will continue to recruit a lot of top players from around the state, whether they be table tennis-trained players or tennis players who have developed a table tennis stroke," McInerney said.
The club is not all about competition.
"We're mainly just looking for guys with experience and enthusiasm. You don't have to be a table tennis-trained player to join our club. Anybody who is a UCF student can try out for the team," McInerney said.
Not only is the club welcoming to anyone who is interested in the sport, it comes with a low price of admission.
"We'd like people to come out and see what we're all about," treasurer Kyle Brown said. "It's not an expensive club compared to some others. It's just $25 for the whole year."
Though table tennis is popular in other countries, the sport has yet to latch on in the U.S.
"If we could just figure out the trick to getting it to take off here beyond the social level, it should grow even more," McInerney said.