BY ERIC CHAN
Daily Sports Writer
Published October 21, 2001
Fast hands, fast eyes and quick wits are all characteristics of a good table tennis player.
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The table tennis club was founded in the early 1990s by Alex Chien, but it died off due to lack of membership in 1995.
The next year Ashoo Jain restarted the club. Jain, the former club president, is now a member of the U.S. National Table Tennis team. He left Michigan last year to train, but plans on returning.
The Michigan Table Tennis Club meets four nights a week, Monday through Thursday from 7-9 p.m. in the Sports Coliseum. On Mondays and Wednesdays the team holds intra-club tournaments, and on Tuesdays and Thursdays the team has open play.
Skill levels range from beginners "Basement players" as LSA freshman Clement Chan refers to them to Florida junior state champs like Chan.
Newcomers to the club receive quality coaching, just like the advanced players. The better and more experienced players are always happy to teach the beginners a new trick or technique.
The atmosphere between club members is always light and friendly, but sometimes competitive.
"Before matches or tournaments, we"ll sometimes have a lot of competition between the better players," said Chan.
This year, the club"s schedule includes matches against Eastern Michigan and Illinois. The club also plans on attending the regional tournament at Oakland University in Feb. and then the national finals.
Last Monday, the table tennis club took on Michigan State at the Coliseum.
"They"re a relatively new program, and we hope to develop a rivalry between them which will make our matches more exciting," said club co-president and Engineering sophomore Zach Drennen.
Michigan dominated the B-Division competition winning eight of the nine matches.
Chan, Michigan"s No. 1 A-Division player took on Michigan State"s No. 1 competitor, Dmitri Ryukine. Play was fast and furious as the lead went back and forth between the two players. Chan fell behind in every set, but came back in all of them to win 4-0 in a best of seven match.
But Michigan"s A-Division team fell as a whole, three matches to two.
"Above all else, the club asks that people just come in, play and have a good time," Drennen said.
Club dues are $20 per semester, which pays for facilities and equipment.
