Table tennis at Wesleyan is on fire again. With 15 men and seven women on the team, Wesleyan dominates the competition with some of the best players in the world.
“Having been the strongest collegiate team in the nation since 2004, this season should be no different,” Coach Jasna Rather said. “We are really balanced in power now with the other top schools, so we just do our best.
This year the team boasts all returning players from last year, and six of the 22 players will be attending nationals.
“We are excited to have Sara Fu Hazinski on the team this semester and attending Wesleyan,” said Keith Evan, assistant table tennis coach. “She is on top of her game holding the No. 1 women’s position.”
Hazinski is serious about the game. You can’t just walk into a tournament or even a new opponent without a lot of speed and strategy,” said Hazinski, a freshman accounting major.
Hosting tournaments every two months, the team uses these as practice sessions for its bigger goals of nationals in Las Vegas in December and the Collegiate Trials in April. The next tournament will be held in Baltimore Nov. 26-30.
Dec. 16-20, Wesleyan table tennis players will be sending its best players to the U.S. Nationals competition. “Every point and every play is different,” said Ines Perhoc, a senior marketing major. “You have to be ready for anything.”
Rather said tactic is the most important aspect of the sport.
“It is not just about strength. You must understand the weakness of your opponent and use strategy,” Rather said. “Table Tennis is about your mind.
The players agree.
“Developing stroke techniques and using your experience makes you the best player,” said Oli Vasilca, a sophomore computer science and business administration major.
To find top players, Rather recruits from all the great players from their appearances at the tournaments.
“I keep communication open with them and try to convince them to come to Wesleyan for the education opportunities and play table tennis,” Rather said. “They have the benefits of our coaching and organized practice time that really helps their game.”
Rather said the team faces new challenges in the area of player recruitment.
“We have to find players that will help us maintain similar results that we have seen in the years past,” said Rather.
There are only two schools that offer scholarships for table tennis, so Wesleyan does have an advantage. It also manages to come up with a diverse roster.
The team includes players from Taiwain, China, India, Romania, Croatia and all over the USA. “We have undergraduate, graduate and a wheelchair player on our team,” Rather said.
“Team spirit and unity are our priorities,” said Rather. “We represent Texas Wesleyan by the way we play and act. At these tournaments we are under the microscope. We must fight hard and if that is enough to win, then great.”
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