Two senior teams warm up before their match begins.
Homecoming ping pong competition draws crowds
Students filled the small gym this morning during X-period to bear witness to the infamous SPA homecoming ping pong tournament. Sixteen teams went head to head in a bracket style competition to determine which two will face off on Friday during the pep fest. Tensions were high, and competition was fierce.
Some students were excited for the game, while others were apprehensive.
Pah Nah, professed his enthusiasm for his team’s match, saying, “I’m feeling great, I’m feeling pumped, I’m feelin the Spartan spirit,” he added enthusiastically, “Let’s go!”
Senior Jack Hlavka was slightly more anxious for his match. Hlavka said, “I’m not feeling too good about my game, I haven’t warmed up and I haven’t played ping pong for a very long time.”
The energy was high, as SAC co president Ellie Murphy attested. She stressed the extreme importance many students feel in this ping pong tournament.
“I think this might be the single greatest athletic achievement of the 21st century,” she said, “keep that in mind.”
In the past, students have shown concern over allegedly “rigged” ping pong matches in which teams move through the bracket based on favor instead of skill. Murphy put an end to those concerns reassuring that, “This is a completely non rigged competition.” The Rubicon has not been able to independently verify this statement.
After a grueling 45 minutes of tears, sweat and ping pong, two teams prevailed as the most skilled athletes of the Upper School. Twelfth-graders Zekiah Juliusson and Levi Smetana and tenth graders Maik Nguyen and Baasit Mahmood earned this title. The two teams will face off during the Pep Fest on Friday. For now, competitive spirit remains high among the student body as the next athletic competition approaches: the much awaited team dodgeball competition on Wednesday.