By Judah Breitbach
The outcome was expected. The atmosphere was not. Roger beat Kit, 21- 12 in the final match of the school Ping Pong tournament on April 14.
The first round of 16 contestants was met with cheers and groans with the ebb and flow of each game. The crowd petered off towards the end of the semi- final round as students had to get to afternoon classes and jobs. But this was when the rounds started to heat up.
Roger relied heavily on his smash to either corner to put away each opponent in turn. He arguably had a harder road to the final round than Kit did; facing Richard, Santi, and Marcus, all regarded as formidable paddle handlers, in each round.
“It was great seeing the match ups and the outcomes of who played who.
Making it more official who would win brings out the true colors in all the players. All in all it was awesome seeing everyone get together for that event,” Said Marcus of the table tennis tournament.
The tournament was heavily anticipated. The lower foyer in the PUB, which holds sofas and armchairs as well as the two German made Ping Pong tables, is nearly always abuzz with the smack of the small plastic balls hitting the players paddles.
There is a recognized hierarchy among the players at the tables that is respected but constantly being challenged with each player eager to topple the one above him or her in the pecking order.
Most players are known by their first names or a nickname. For instance, the top players are widely considered to be Roger, Kit, Richard, Santi, and Nikki who’s a graduate of the college and a “guest athlete.”
“I think the Ping Pong table community at Peninsula is getting larger because more people come to the P.U.B. and play Ping Pong while they’re bored. So it is good to see many people show interest in Ping Pong,” said Sano, a quarter-finalist in the tourney.
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