Lindenwood table tennis once again dominated the play over the weekend. The team competed at the 2011 St. Peters Open at Francis Howell High School.
In the Open Singles division, Paulo Rocha took the title by beating Yuliang Cai of Mississippi College in the finals by the scores of (11-8, 7-11, 11-5, 11-8). However, it was Fernando Yamazato who would stand on the victory podium by going undefeated (6-0) in the Giant round robin Class A event held on Sunday. Rocha took second place with his only loss coming at the hands of Yamazato.
In the Under-2350 event Karin Fukushima boasted the best game by defeating teammate Kris Frank in three straight games. Fukushima beat Lindenwood's, Fred Cantarelli, in one semifinals while Frank defeated Lady Lion, Michelle John, in the other semifinal. Freshman sensation, Leine Agata, showed her teammates that she's the real deal by taking the Under-2150 event over another Lindenwood freshman, Everton Wilson II, in three straight games. Senior, Nicholas Poku, took second place in the Under-1900. The Under-1250 finals was a close one with Lindenwood's, Leo Vargas, losing by the slimmest of margins 18-16 in the 5th and final game.
In Sunday's Giant round robin Class B event Yuvraaj Dookram was seeded 1st and remained undefeated going 7-0 to claim his title. Lindenwood's Guilherme Dalcin took 1st place in the C event.
Next up for the Lions is the 2011 National Collegiate Table Tennis Championships. This national event will be held in Rochester, Minnesota April 15-17, 2011. Lindenwood is seeded secondin the Men's/Co-ed team and the Women's team.
