New Table Tennis Coach at UT-Arlington Aims to Make School a Power in Growing Sport

Table tennis is growing as a club sport at colleges across the nation. Today, there are more than 200 teams representing 150 schools in the U.S., Canada and Puerto Rico. The National Collegiate Table Tennis Association promotes and regulates the sport. In Texas, 22 colleges offer table tennis, including the University of Texas at Arlington. Yahao Zhang brought a strong background in the sport when he recently joined UTA as the team's coach. Zhang started playing table tennis at age 8 and as a teen played two years for the U.S. junior national team. He's won several competitions throughout his career, including four collegiate titles while a student at Texas Wesleyan University in Fort Worth.Zhang hopes to help his team of about 40 players reach nationals. Although funding has been a problem, the team has a dedicated group of players and now a new coach to help it achieve success. Learn more at facebook.com/utatt.Bonenkai partyA bonenkai is a Japanese drinking party that takes place at the end of the year. The name literally means "a gathering to forget the year."Guests — usually co-workers or friends — enjoy drinks to forget the troubles of the past year and look ahead to the new year.The Japan-America Society of Dallas-Fort Worth will host a "Bonenkai Forget-the-Year Party" at 6 p.m. Sunday at Kabuki Japanese Restaurant in the Galleria Dallas, 13270 Dallas Parkway. The party will include saying goodbye to two society staff members. Adam Black is heading to Nova Scotia to become a Buddhist monk, and Cori Hallock is pursuing a writing career. Guests also can meet a new staffer, Madoka Leonetti, and two runners who are traveling from Sendai to run in Sunday's BMW Dallas Half Marathon. Cost is $38 for members and $45 for others. The event includes appetizers, dinner and dessert. To sign up, visit jasdfw.org.Hari Kondabolu  Continue reading...