Wesleyan Table Tennis Hosts National Team Trials
February 26, 2010

Texas Wesleyan - Mark Hazinski
Photo By: Rebecca Moore

Courtesy of The Rambler
By Joakim Soederbaum

Texas Wesleyan will host the national team trials in table tennis on March 4 and 5.

This is the first time that Wesleyan put in a bid for the tournament, and the Sid Richardson Center and the nearby accommodation possibilities helped Head Coach Jasna Rather’s cause as she prepared the bid.

“We want to show the table tennis world that we can host well,” she said. “Our main goal is to be a good host and have everything run smoothly, but we also hope for a strong local interest.”

Rather has received marketing support from the board of trustees, Fort Worth Chamber of Commerce and Chuck Burton, assistant vice president of marketing and communications at Wesleyan. Rather said she hopes for a crowd of 400 to 800 people.

“This is a great opportunity for us to promote the university and our program,” she said.

The tournament will consist of men’s singles and women’s singles. To be eligible to play, a player must have placed top-16 at last year’s nationals. Out of the top contenders at nationals, a total of 11 men and seven women will enter the national team trials to attempt to make the cut for the national team.

For the men, three players will be able to qualify through advancement through the round-robin and single elimination. A fourth player will then be selected by a panel consisting of national coaches.

For the women, the top two contenders of the round-robin tournament will qualify directly, while a third player will be selected by the panel of national coaches.

Mark Hazinski, who won nationals, is the only Wesleyan player qualifying for the national team trials. He is entering the tournament as the No. 1 seed.

“I think it is really cool that I get to play at my home court and help promote the university,” he said. “Of course I hope to win, but my main goal is to make the team.”

A successful tournament for Hazinski would give him the chance to represent the U.S. in the Table Tennis World Championships in Moscow, May 20-23.

“Mark is the top-seed, and with the support from a home crowd, he definitely has a big chance of making it,” Rather said.

Hazinski is playing to qualify for the World Championship. For Wesleyan, a successfully hosted event will be beneficial when it is time to bid for the trials for the London 2012 Olympics.

“To host an Olympic trial would be even bigger,” Rather said. “It would definitely be big for Wesleyan.”

The Wesleyan Rams are six-time National Intercollegiate Champions and have won 38 out of the possible 52 collegiate championships since 2002.

“Beyond bringing positive attention to our university, this tournament will draw many top players here to participate in the Newgy Texas Wesleyan Open,” Athletic Director Kevin Millikan said.

The Newgy TWU Open takes place March 6 and 7 and will feature many strong international players in addition to the domestic talents participating in the trials. A total of $9,000 will be handed out in prize money during the tournament.

As one of the largest tournaments, featuring both domestic and international players, the open singles will be even tougher than that of the national team trials, and the winner will receive $3,000.

“There is a new generation of very talented players emerging,” Hazinski said. “I have good chances and will hope for the best.”

For more information about the national team trials and the Newgy TWU Open, contact Jasna Rather at jrather@txwes.edu or (817) 531-7555.