By Kenneth Li
Great Neck North High School’s Table Tennis Club completed its 2017–18 season with a championship win in the Greater New York High School Table Tennis League (GNYHSTTL). On May 18, six Great Neck North students embarked on a trip to New York City’s Harvest Collegiate High School to compete in a round-robin style tournament that would crown the winner of the first table tennis league in the greater New York region.
For the first time, during the past winter and spring seasons, Long Island high schools, including Great Neck North, Great Neck South, Roslyn, Manhasset and Herricks, all competed in head-to-head matches against one another.
A team tournament bracket was followed as matches were played in schools and local table tennis centers. The results of these matches were recorded, and in upcoming years they will help determine seeding for the championship tournament. This year, however, because it is the first year of inception, every school that was a part of the GNYHSTTL was given the opportunity to compete in the championships.
The championship tournament started at 4:30 p.m. and hosted Great Neck North, Roslyn, Harvest and Erasmus High Schools. Games were played to 11 points, and matches were decided by whichever player won the best of three games.
North swept the tournament, failing to drop even a single match. Outstanding play by Kelly Liang, Timothy Lee, Kenneth Li, Victor Chen, Kelvin Xiao and Kevin Li helped the team clinch first place.
An additional first-place divisional trophy for New York City was awarded to Harvest Collegiate High School, and the first-place divisional trophy for Long Island was awarded to Great Neck North High School.
In the future, the American Youth Table Tennis Organization (AYTTO) hopes to expand the GNYHSTTL by including more schools and continuing to raise the level of play of high school students.
