Lindenwood Lady Lions Table Tennis Wins Program's First Ever National Championship
4/11/2010 10:01:35 PM
For the first time in school history the Lindenwood Lady Lions table tennis team won a team National Championship in Waukesha, Wisconsin. The men's squad fell just short of a national championship, falling to six-time champion, Texas Wesleyan in the finals.
In the team competition, the Lady Lions captured the Women's Collegiate National Table Tennis Championship over defending champion, Texas Wesleyan University, by the score of 3-2.
The men's team fell short of its bid to upset six-time defending national champion, Texas Wesleyan University. After winning two singles and losing two singles, the outcome would be decided by doubles. The Lindenwood pair of Paulo Rocha and Fernando Yamazato eventually lost to this year's mixed doubles champions, Mark Hazinski and Sara Hazinski in that deciding match.
Lindenwood qualified seven men and four women table tennis athletes to compete in singles and doubles for this year's national championships. Lady Lions, Livia Mizobuchi and Karin Fukushima, captured the national title in women's doubles.
Lindenwood's mixed doubles pairs of Rocha and Mizobuchi reached the semifinals as did Yamazato and Fukushima but each duo fell one match short of the championship.
Jose Barbosa captured the national men's doubles championship when he teamed up with Emporia State University's, Alfred Najem.
In women's singles action Mizobuchi and Fukushima fell short of their bid to win Lindenwood their first national table tennis individual title by each losing in the semifinals.
In the women's consolation bracket, freshman Esther Gusov won the title over Pennsylvania's Shengzhi Sun by the scores of 5-11, 12-10, 11-8 and 11-7.