The Texas Wesleyan table tennis team, in their first action since sweeping the ACU-I national championships in April, defeated Team Houston 4-1 Sunday evening in the Sid Richardson gymnasium.

Wesleyan was represented by Eric Owens, David Wang, and Russell Hamilton. Owens, who won the 2001 US national table tennis championship, came to Wesleyan last year when the table tennis program began. He is currently ranked as the third best player in the country. Wang, a former junior champion in China, is ranked 27th in the country. Hamilton comes to Wesleyan as a graduate student and a member of the J.V. team. After strong performances in two earlier JV tournaments, and with injuries to varsity team members Jim Butler and Razvan Cretu, Russell was bumped up to the varsity squad for this event. Both he and Wang are new to Wesleyan this year.

Team Houston, a club team made up of professional players, was represented by Victor Subonj, Darko Rop, and Hiraj Oak. Subonj, a former member of the Yugoslavian national team, is currently the 9th-ranked US player. Rop, the captain for Team Houston, is also a former Yugoslavian national team member, and is ranked 10th in the country. Oak, a native of India, is ranked 22 in the U.S.

In the first match, Owens narrowly defeated Subonj, 11-9, 11-4, 6-11, 8-11, 12-10.

In the second match, Wang upset Rop in straight games, 15-13, 11-6, 11-6.

In the third match, Oak defeated Hamilton, 11-3, 10-12, 9-11, 11-4, 11-7.

Match four was a doubles competition paring Owens and Wang against Subonj and Rop. Wesleyan cruised to a win in straight games, 15-13, 11-6, 11-6.

In the fifth match, Owens defeated Rop in singles, 11-8, 11-4, 11-9, to close out the competition.

Wesleyan will next play on November 28th in Baltimore at the North American Open Team Championships.