ATLANTA, Georgia – The national champion Texas Wesleyan table tennis team traveled to Atlanta during the week of March 17-22 to participate in the qualifying tournament for the Pan Am Games, and freshman Eric Owens secured a spot on the U.S. team, finishing fourth among the 12 best players in the country.

Nine spots in the 12-man event are automatically given to the highest-rated players in the country, and players who advance through a qualifying tournament obtain the final three spots. Owens, as the third-ranked player in the U.S., received an automatic bid to the event. Wesleyan teammate Jaichen (David) Wang had to play his way in, and did so, earning the final spot in the field.

Owens struggled on Wednesday and Thursday, the first two days of competition. He lost to Adam Hugh, the nation’s top-ranked U-16 player, on Wednesday, and went 2-1 on the day. On Thursday, Owens lost two more matches, this time to former Olympic silver medallist Ilija Lupulesku and top-ranked U-18 player Mark Hazinski. He would finish the day with a cumulative record of 3-3, far below his expectations.

Owens came back strong on Friday, winning all three matches, including one against the eventual champion David Zhuang. Down 0-3 and facing defeat, Owens roared back to win four consecutive games and hand Zhuang his only loss of the tournament. Owens continued his strong play on Saturday, winning his final two matches, including one against teammate David Wang, to finish at 7-3 for the event – good enough to earn a spot on the team that will represent America at the Pan Am Games in August.

Wang, after a tiresome qualifying tournament, finished the main event in the tenth spot, winning two games against eight losses.

The team travels to Philadelphia this weekend for the Intercollegiate National Championship Tournament, held on the campus of Penn State University. Owens, Cortney Roberts, Russell Hamilton, and Orin Hickerson will represent the Rams, who are heavily favored to win the men’s singles, men’s doubles, and mixed doubles events.