Pleasantville Hosts Top Table Tennis Players at International Event

Twenty-four table tennis players, including the best women and men from the U.S., Canada and Bermuda, are competing this weekend in Westchester for a $7,500 prize and a chance to compete in future World Cup tournaments.

Westchester Table Tennis Center, owned by New York Times crossword puzzle Editor Will Shortz, is hosting the ITTF North America Cup in Pleasantville.

"It's going to be spectacular table tennis," said Shortz, who started playing table tennis when he was a child and continued until the 1980s. "My hope is that everyone loves the event so much that they would come back."

This is the first time the Westchester Table Tennis Center is hosting an international event. 

Lucy Ma, a 14-year-old player from Seattle, Washington, said it was an honor for her to be competing at the event after her coach Doru Gheorghe invited her to be a part of it. This is the girl's first international competition appearance.

Some of the players include: Ariel Hsing, 17, of San Jose, CA, the #1-rated Olympics-eligible women’s player in America, currently ranked #94 in the world; Lily Zhang, 16, of Palo Alto, CA., ranked #101 in the world for women; Timothy Wang, 21, of Houston, TX, ranked #421 in the world for men; and reigning NA Cup champion Pierre-Luc Theriault, 19, of St. Fabien, Quebec, who is world-ranked #396.

The round robin competition is taking place Saturday, April 20 until 8 p.m. The playoffs will be held on Sunday, April 21 starting at 10 a.m. Pleasantville Mayor Peter Scherer will help award the prizes.

Spectator tickets for the North America Cup are available at the door — $10 on Saturday, $15 on Sunday. For more information, please visit the center's website or call Irene Silbert 914523-8783.