Table tennis competitors hold exhibition at Berry Middle School

Berry Middle School students were in for a treat Jan. 30 when two Chinese table tennis players visited their gym classes.

Mississippi College players Cheng Li, the current National Collegiate Champion in table tennis, and Joe Xie, the National Collegiate Doubles Semifinalist, were in town for a tournament at UAB Jan. 31. The players agreed to share their talent and sport with the students at Berry.

Xie also serves as the athletic director for Bumpernets at the Riverchase Galleria where he coaches table tennis himself. Bumpernets owner and president, Homer Brown, was there to emcee the event along with his operations manager and six-time senior Olympic gold medalist, Duke Stogner.

Li, Xie and Bumpernets’ sponsored player Barnabas Gonzalez all performed the tricks of table tennis and went head-to-head in a few matches with students.