Oct. 21, Fort Worth - Texas Wesleyan University table tennis, ranked as the best collegiate program in the country, begins the 2002-2003 season with a contest at home against a strong Houston-based club team. The match, in the Sid Richardson Gymnasium on the campus of Texas Wesleyan, will begin at 5:00 PM on Sunday, October 27. Admission is free for students with a Wesleyan ID, $2 for Wesleyan faculty and staff, and $5 for the public.

Representing team Houston will be Darko Rop, Victor Subonj, and Niraj Oak. Subonj, currently ranked as the ninth best player in the U.S., is a former member of the Yugoslavian national team. Rop, a teammate of Subonj in Yugoslavia, was also a member of the 1995 US national team. Oak was once a member of India’s nation team.

Playing for the Rams are Houston natives Eric Owens (2001 U.S. Men’s national singles champion and current third-ranked U.S player) and Jim Butler (1990, 1991 and 1993 U.S Men’s national singles champion, U.S. Olympian in 1992 and 1996, and current fourth-ranked U.S. player). David Wang, a former Chinese junior champion and current fifth-ranked U.S. collegiate player, rounds out the Wesleyan squad.

Last season, Wesleyan won of all five national collegiate titles at the USATT national tournament in Baltimore, Maryland. Wesleyan’s Razvan Cretu won the men’s singles title, then partnered with teammate Idan Levi to win the men’s doubles. Jasna Reed won both the women’s singles title and the women’s doubles title (partnered with Kyna Fong of Harvard University). Cretu and Reed also won the mixed doubles title. Eric Owens was unable to attend the tournament, instead participating in the North American Table Tennis Championships. Jim Butler and David Wang are new to the Wesleyan table tennis program.