This last Thursday night, the Hillsboro Table Tennis players came to the club to play STTC in the ongoing 5-on-5 traveling cup challenge. STTC came out on top, winning 16 matches to HTT's 9. Mike Plunkett of Hillsboro outpaced all the players that night, going 5-0. STTC takes back the cup this time and will have to defend it when the two clubs meet again...

We are in the process of uploading more pictures, but here are a few from that night. Click any of the pictures to view the larger versions in a slideshow:

The 5-on-5 vs. Hillsboro Table Tennis is this Thursday night, Feb. 18th, hosted by the STTC. Come watch our best 5 take on their best 5! STTC won the trophy last May; Hillsboro took it back at the end of Summer; who will claim it this time?

Ron McCarty is running the Mt. Pulaski Table Tennis Tournament on Saturday, March 27. Contact Rick for more information or to get a tournament entry form.

The STTC 2010 Spring Tournament is coming in April, check back to this site for more information as we finalize details for the tournament. Plans are in the works for more prizes, and as always we'll have excellent and affordable food available at the tournament site.

For those of you interested in a little history, we've uploaded more results from previous STTC tournaments. The complete round robin results are in PDF format:

• Complete round robin match results from the STTC 2007 Spring Open
• Complete round robin match results from the STTC 2007 Fall Open
• 2008 Spring and Fall round robin results coming soon. In the meantime, you can review the winners of the 2008 Spring and 2008 Fall tournaments.

In other upcoming tournament news, there's a USATT-sanctioned tournament at Lindenwood University the weekend of March 20-21st. If you're looking to get an official USATT rating and want to get exposed to other playing styles in a tournament setting, then consider signing up for this tournament. A few of our club members have been going to this tournament; it's not too far of a drive.

And don't forget that the 5-on-5 match vs. Hillsboro is Thu, Feb. 18th, held at the STTC.

Congratulations to Rick and Peter for their performance at the 21st Annual Hillsboro Open last Saturday. Rick teamed up with Munkhbold "Bold" Bayarsaikhan to place 2nd in Doubles, and Peter placed 2nd in Class B Singles. Rick also made the crossover semi-finals in Class A Singles, but was bested by Jeffrey Schulte. Schulte lost in the final to Bold, Rick's doubles partner for the day. Both Rick and Peter took home cash prizes provided by the tournament sponsor: The Journal-News. Read the article at The Journal-News, view a few pictures from the Doubles competition, or watch this short clip of match point in Doubles.

Mike Plunkett and the Hillsboro Table Tennis club run a nice tournament and I recommend more of our club members check out this event in the future. Players from all over Central IL and beyond attended, such as the East Central IL/Mattoon-Charleston contingent, Decatur, and a group of Lindenwood University players including STTC alums Brad Kendle and Ryan Driskill. While there is no shortage of tough competition, HTT splits the tournament field into classes A, B, and C, so there's a place for players of all levels. The entry fee is reasonable and you get to play a lot of round robin matches.

As a bonus, we discovered a good Chinese buffet in Litchfield on the way home. Good food and a large case of ice cream! In my opinion, a great way to feed ravenous players after a long day of matches. ;)

5-on-5 vs. Hillsboro coming soon

In related news: our ongoing 5-on-5 match against Hillsboro is scheduled for Thursday, Feb. 18, to be held at our club. Get ready as our best 5 take on their best 5 to claim the trophy and bragging rights.