“NYC Table Tennis Academy” Confirms Championship Title; “NYISC Elite” Win Battle for Second
2015 Butterfly Teams
by Barbara Wei
“NYC Table Tennis Academy” (Marcos Madrid, Michael Landers, Jon Ebuen, Paul David) eased through their matches against “Beauty Beauty International” and “Heilongjiang Mix” on the final day of play, confirming their championship title. At most being stretched to a 5-3 outcome, “NYC Table Tennis Academy” fought hard until the end, dominating an extremely strong Division 1 throughout the weekend. Marcos Madrid (2631/WR #190), MVP of the “NYC Table Tennis Academy” team, did not lose a match the entire tournament, although he did have a few close 5-game encounters. Michael Landers, Jon Ebuen and Paul David also continuously pulled off exceptional wins to close out each team tie in impressive style. With both Marcos Madrid (MEX) and Michael Landers (USA) looking to make a run for the 2016 Rio Olympic Games, their dominance this weekend will surely increase their confidence as the Olympic trials draw near.
With “NYC Table Tennis Academy” confirmed as the champions, Division 1 play on the final day of competition focused on the fight for second place. The morning round pitted “Wang Chen’s Table Tennis Club” against “NYISC Elite” and “LYTTC Professional” against “NJTTC 1”. In a long 9 match battle, “NYISC Elite” pulled out a win, but only after some tough losses. Wang Chen (2571) played spectacularly, beating both Kai Zhang (2571) and Jishan Liang (2649). “NJTTC 1” succeeded against “LYTTC Professional” 5-3 in a very intense match up with large cheering sections, comprised of club members and students, for both teams forming along the side lines. “NJTTC 1” then faced “NYISC Elite” in the battle for 2nd place, with “NYISC Elite” coming out on top, finishing in second place and taking home the $2,000 in prize money. “NJTTC 1” and “LYTTC Professional” finished third and fourth, each taking home $1000. Following close behind was “Wang Chen’s Table Tennis Club” finishing fifth. Until the final matches were played, no team had clinched their title, which made for a very exciting final day of competition.
Coverage of the 2015 Butterfly Teams Tournament and stories about the athletes are available at ButterflyOnline.com, or via Butterfly North America’s Twitter and Facebook pages.
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2015 Butterfly Teams
November 27th – 29th @ Legacy Youth Tennis And Education Center in Philadelphia, PA
Results: Division 1, Division 2, Division 3, Division 4, Division 5, Division 6 & Division 7
Video Streams– Final Team Rosters – Photos: Friday, Saturday & Sunday
