Table Tennis Enraptures Texas

By Matt Frazier

FORT WORTH, Texas -- Basketball isn't the only college sport deciding a national championship this weekend.

At Texas Wesleyan University in Fort Worth, athletes from across North America can be seen slapping a small ball around at 100 mph, trying to determine who is No. 1 in the world of collegiate table tennis -- Ping-Pong to most people.

The Rams of Texas Wesleyan are the top seed and favored to win their second consecutive title at the National Collegiate Table Tennis Championships.

Competition will come from 20 teams, including traditional sports powers USC, Florida, Ohio State and Washington.

But not all teams are created equal.

Unlike most schools, Texas Wesleyan has a paid coach and scholarship athletes. Other schools have nonscholarship players and part-time coaches, and some of their teams had to raise money to come to Fort Worth.

The advantage, however, does not make victory certain, said Texas Wesleyan coach Christian Lillieroos, a table tennis player and coach for more than 30 years.

"Last year we set the standard," Lillieroos said. "This year we are weaker, and the other teams are stronger. ... But TWU has all the talent it needs to win."

Texas Wesleyan has not been a table-tennis power for long.

It was in 2001 when Wesleyan decided to hire a well-known table tennis coach, offer scholarships and recruit a dream team from around the world -- spending about $40,000 a year, university officials said.

A successful program would give the private school of 2,700 national -- and international -- recognition.

Four years later, Wesleyan won its first national championship.

The bar has been officially raised.

Other universities are struggling to meet Wesleyan's standard of commitment and achievement, said Willy Leparulo, president of the National Collegiate Table Tennis Association.

"We are riding the coattails of their success," Leparulo said. "They are a role model. Other teams want to replicate what they've done. They are like the New York Yankees of table tennis, no ifs, ands or buts."

Wesleyan recruits the top table tennis players in the world.

The Rams are led by Houston native Eric Owens, ranked ninth in the country and second in the state. In 2004, Owens became national collegiate champion in men's singles, mixed doubles and team competitions.

Also on the varsity team are Courtney Roberts from Jamaica, ranked fifth in the United States in 2002, and Dinko Kranjac, a rising star from Croatia.

The Rams are also counting on women's doubles champion Sabrina Worrell, the daughter of Barbados' prime minister, Owen Seymour Arthur. She came to Texas in search of a fair chance to compete against top players.

"Even if you win, they don't really let women compete in Barbados," Worrell said. "Here I can play."

Although the Rams have the advantage of daily practices and workout routines overseen by a top coach, other top-seeded teams say this may be their year to topple Wesleyan's dream team.
"We have no real affiliation with the university, so we get no real funding, no scholarships," said sophomore Jonathan Reinfeld, president of the 1-year-old table tennis club at the University of Maryland, which is seeded No. 3. "So we are motivated to win to help get this started and off the ground."

The team is led by Han Xiao, ranked No. 2 among men.

Fifth-seeded University of California at Berkeley includes the nation's top-ranked women's player, Jackie Lee.

The biggest threat to Wesleyan is second-seeded Southern Mississippi, led by champion Kim Bong-Geun.

"They won last year, but we were the only team to take them to five games," said Marc Brana, president of the Southern Miss table tennis club. "This year we are much better. We could win it all."