Loyola’s Club Table Tennis Team Brings Community to the Table

It was quiet in Ireland’s Pub on a Monday. The late afternoon pool players had just arrived and the trivia night teams were yet to burst into spirited debate. 

Throughout the space, easy conversation bounced back-and-forth across long tables in concert with the growing noise. 

Every so often, Calista Cardenas, the president of Loyola’s Club Table Tennis team, peered at the orchestra of noise to her left. It was coming from her teammates, whose practice was well underway. 

The team meets Mondays and Fridays from 4 to 6 p.m. in Ireland’s Pub, providing members with a mix of a competitive spirit and community space. 

Cardenas, a third-year studying film, started playing table tennis in high school to flesh out the extracurriculars section of her college applications. Cardenas said she returned to table tennis while perusing the endless scroll of clubs on LUCommunity during her first year on campus.

“Okay, why not?” Cardenas said.

“Why not?” quickly turned into consistent attendance and eventually a leadership role. 

It wasn’t her choice to take on the position, Cardenas said. A large group of fourth-years graduated at the end of her first year, leaving no one behind to fill crucial roles. 

So Cardenas had to step up, forcing her to be more outgoing. She did this despite the disparity in gender within the club, which never made her feel out of place, she said. 

Cardenas, being one of the only few women at the practice, said the lopsided gender makeup is a trend that has continued from her high school team.

“There’s obviously some things where it’s like, ‘Oh, they’re not going to understand when I talk about, I don’t know, little snippets of my life,’ just because again, that gender disparity,” Cardenas said. 

In light of this, Cardenas set out to try and encourage more girls to join the club. Cardenas hoped to get more women on the team through tabling at the Club Fair, even if they didn’t go to practices regularly.

Her efforts weren’t in vain — more female students started showing up to practice.

In spite of this gender disparity, which still hasn’t fully evened out, Cardenas said club members have never made her feel ostracized or left out.

“It’s a space for everyone, no matter your skill level or your background or what year you are, and we’ve had grad students every once in a while too, which is really cool,” Cardenas said. 

The club members laughed and joked between themselves to Cardenas’ right, engrossed in their own conversations. Second-year Dom Dao was among them. 

Dao said he started playing table tennis in high school to destress during the off-season of gymnastics and wrestling — the two other sports he was involved in. But the more table tennis he played, the more he wanted to improve.

Dao said table tennis is very easy to start playing, but within the confines of the game, there isn’t a limit to how skilled you can become.

“There’s so much to know in just what table tennis is and what you can do with a ping pong ball, a table and a racket,” Dao said. 

Much like Dao, third-year Toch Enekamma wasn’t aware of how much was possible with a racket until he started playing. 

“All the people here play differently, so it’s really varied,” Enekamma said. “So that keeps it fun and creative.” 

Enekamma said the different play-styles push him to get better, especially against his fellow club members. He recently learned the way he had been playing was completely against the rules, he said. 

Enekamma had been serving the ball incorrectly, hitting it right out of his hand instead of bouncing it against the table, in line with the rules.

But that’s not an issue — for Enekamma, it’s another goal.

“Alright, I won, but apparently I cheated,” Enekamma said. “So I guess I have to beat him now without cheating, and that’s a new goal.”

Enekamma said any setback can be a learning experience. Playing against more challenging opponents gives him an opportunity to learn something new about how table tennis is played.

Enekamma started his tenure with the club with this kind of learning experience after coming to practice on a whim with one of his friends. His first match wasn’t exactly even, and after suffering such a tough defeat he felt the need to commit to his newfound craft. He’s been coming to practices ever since.

Beyond the never-ending quest for growth and the pursuit of a higher skill level, Enekamma said he’s been able to use the club as a space to relax and unwind. Between studying for the MCAT and dealing with his other classes, Enekamma said it’s nice to “just play ping pong.” 

Dao has been able to find a similar space for peace at practices amidst a busy class schedule. 

“Especially if I have a bad day in my class where I’m like, ‘I don’t know what I’m doing. I’m so confused,’” Dao said. “I come here. I play a few games and I’m like, ‘I know what I’m doing in this, at least.’”

None of the leisure Dao was seeking when he first joined in high school is lost, despite the inclination of some players towards a more competitive game. 

The team played a tournament against their UChicago equivalent last year, giving players the opportunity to play more competitively. 

“We always usually have a good time,” Dao said, before pausing to correct himself. “You know what? Not usually — always. We always have a good time.”

Cardenas echoed his sentiment. Club members who want competition can have it, she said, but at the end of the day, they’re all there to play.

Featured image by Ryan Pittman | The Phoenix