Olivari helped start the club along with Trevor Kramer, a junior from Springboro majoring in mechanical engineering with a minor in physics.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe have a lot of people super passionate about playing,\u201d said Kramer. \u201cThey are always down here practicing and playing together.\u201d<\/p>\n
![\"\"](\"http:\/\/webapp2.wright.edu\/web1\/newsroom\/files\/2019\/03\/Table-tennis-club-20974_035-1-508x339.jpg\")
<\/a>The Wright State Table Tennis Club is raising funds to pay for a trip to the College Table Tennis National Championships in April. (Video by Kris Sproles \/ photos by Chris Snyder)<\/p><\/div>\n
One of the top players in the team\u2019s division and the only Wright State student that will play in the singles competition at the nationals is Rajan Hirani, a junior majoring in statistics with an actuarial science concentration and a minor in business.<\/p>\n
\u201cTable tennis just gives me peace. It just gets me away from all the stress,\u201d he said. \u201cThe sound when the ball hits the paddle, the sound makes me feel much more peaceful and comfortable. That\u2019s my comfort zone.\u201d<\/p>\n
The club competes in matches and tournaments. This year, the team placed third in its division, which includes The Ohio State University, University of Toledo, Miami University, University of Cincinnati, Oberlin College and Marshall University.<\/p>\n
Wright State won a wild card bid to the regional tournament in Iowa City, where they upset the likes of the University of Iowa and the University of Illinois-Chicago, winning a chance to compete at the national championships.<\/p>\n
More than 250 players from 50 colleges and universities will compete in the 2019 iSET College Table Tennis National Championships in Greensboro.<\/p>\n
\u201cTable tennis is one of the world\u2019s fastest racket games,\u201d said Hirani. \u201cSo we have to be very focused.\u201d<\/p>\n
Kramer, who didn\u2019t play competitive table tennis until he came to Wright State, said New York University has a very strong team, with three of its members on the U.S. national team.<\/p>\n
\u201cI kind of want to play them to see what it\u2019s like to play at that level,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
Kramer said the Wright State team has really improved and made a name for itself with the National Collegiate Table Tennis Association.<\/p>\n
In a typical match between two teams, the top four players from each team play each other individually and must each win three out of five games. Each game is played to 11, but the winner has to win by at least two points. Ties \u2014 when each team has two winners \u2014 are broken by a final doubles match.<\/p>\n
\u201cTable tennis is a huge mental game,\u201d said Kramer. \u201cYou\u2019ve got to keep your calm and cool throughout the match.\u201d<\/p>\n
Table tennis etiquette calls for generally polite behavior, no talking between points and absolutely no wearing of white shirts, which can make a ping pong ball disappear from a player\u2019s field of vision.<\/p>\n
Injuries are not uncommon in the sport. Players sometime suffer shoulder and back injuries because of the twisting and rotation of the arms and torso. And there is an occasional knee injury.<\/p>\n
\u201cThere is a lot of movement from side to side,\u201d said Olivari. \u201cYou need to be able to move quite well, especially when you get to the higher levels.\u201d<\/p>\n
![\"\"](\"http:\/\/webapp2.wright.edu\/web1\/newsroom\/files\/2019\/03\/Table-tennis-club-20974_007-508x301.jpg\")
<\/a>Club member Trevor Kramer during a practice in the Student Union gym.<\/p><\/div>\n
Each player has his or her special customized paddle \u2014 laminated wood with pimpled rubber of varying thicknesses. A paddle can cost up to $600, but paddles used by the Wright State players average about $100.<\/p>\n
The Wright State club has 13 members, some of whom are on the competitive team and others who just play for fun. Any Wright State student is welcomed to join the club, which usually practices on the tables in the Rec Commons in the Student Union.<\/p>\n
Practices and matches are a symphony of sound and motion. The players crouch, lunge and attack with their paddles, firing the balls over the net with crazy topspin.<\/p>\n
Hirani said table tennis is a release for him whenever he is under pressure, frustrated or buried in school or office work.<\/p>\n
\u201cTable tennis is everything for me,\u201d said Hirani. \u201cIt\u2019s given me respect. \u2026 It\u2019s given me everything. Table tennis is my religion.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
The Wright State Table Tennis Club is raising funds to pay for a trip to the College Table Tennis National Championships in April. Continue reading