Ping-pongers paddle to second

What sport requires precision, mental tenacity and quick footwork to compete at the highest level? Which Princeton club team has mastered those skills to the tune of two National Championship runner-up finishes? You might be surprised to learn that the answer is table tennis.

The club table tennis team attended the National Championship Tournament at Ohio State University in Columbus, Ohio, during the weekend of March 29 to April 1. The previously unbeaten Tigers advanced to the finals but fell short to Texas Wesleyan — capturing second place for the second year in a row.

Princeton competed in a field of 30 teams coming from across the United States. In the initial round-robin play, the Tigers were grouped with Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, Southern California and Southern Mississippi. The Tigers were able to beat both Rensselaer and USC handily, 4-0, while squeaking out a 3-2 win over Southern Mississippi.

Following the round-robin portion of the tournament, single-elimination brackets were created. In the team quarterfinals, Princeton trounced Rutgers with a swift, 3-0 victory. Next, the Tigers faced Ivy League foe Columbia; the Lions put up a good fight, but in the end the Tigers prevailed in a 3-2 win.

In a rematch of last year's National Championship, Princeton once again took on Texas-Wesleyan. Unfortunately for the Tigers, they failed to avenge last year's loss, falling to the Rams by a score of 3-1.

"We really wanted to win and felt we could have," freshman Eric Finkelstein said. "We were just as good as Texas-Wesleyan, and we hope to prove it next year."

In addition to Princeton's outstanding performance as a team, several Tigers competed in the singles portion of the National Tournament. Sophomore Adam Hugh led the Tigers with a second place overall finish. After being named Rookie of the Year last season, Hugh was eager to capture the national title on his return trip. Unfortunately, Texas-Wesleyan star Mark Hazinski had other plans.

"I am disappointed now," Hugh said of his loss to Hazinski in the final. "But I'm really proud of the whole team and myself for competing the way that we did."

Finkelstein fell victim to Hazinski in the quarterfinals, after overcoming the first two opponents he faced in bracket-play. Junior Pan Lin also competed in the singles tournament but fell to Joseph Cochran in the round of 16.

The team was awarded five bids to the singles bracket, as senior Michael Hsu and grad student Anton Koychev also competed.

"The tournament usually only accepts up to four players per school," Finkelstein said. "It was a huge surprise and quite an honor that they gave us enough bids for five of our players this year."

The honor did not come without merit, as the Tigers displayed their skills in three tournaments in their effort to qualify for the National Championships. This season, the team traveled to Johns Hopkins University, hosted a tournament at Princeton and competed at the New Jersey Institute of Technology. In each of their tournament appearances, the Tigers defeated every foe they encountered, including Ivy League challenger Columbia.

Get the best of the ‘Prince’ delivered straight to your inbox. Subscribe now »

Princeton's domination of the table tennis world should continue for at least a few more years. The three highest Tiger finishers at the National Tournament — Hugh, Finkelstein and Lin — will return to compete next year. These Tigers are not strangers — in fact, they grew up playing together at the New Jersey Table Tennis Club. Hugh and Finkelstein, though, are even more closely connected.

"[Hugh's] mother competed in two Olympics as part of the national table tennis team and later became a coach," Finkelstein said. "She not only coached her son but was actually my first private trainer as well."

Hugh's mother has proven herself to be quite a coach. Both Hugh and Finkelstein have competed in national tournaments at the junior level and have traveled to train in Beijing, the table tennis capital of the world. Hugh and Lin traveled to Slovenia recently to compete in the World University games. Now Hugh has his sights set on an even more impressive goal.

"I would really like to make the Olympics next year," Hugh said.

Will Princeton add another Olympian to its list of world class athletes? All eyes will be on the club table tennis team in 2008 to find out.