Ping pong paddles
If a ping pong ball falls on you during your saga dinner next week, be sure to toss it back up; someone might need that to win the spring 2026 ping pong tournament. Members of The Collegian staff took some time to predict who they think will dominate the competition and come out victorious. Anyone is welcome to submit a prediction bracket before Feb. 6 and a $10 Amazon gift card will be awarded to the person who creates the highest-scoring bracket. Send inquiries to Dimitry Ermakov, dermakov@hillsdale.edu.
Furness Finesse
The championship of the ping pong tournament will be a matchup between juniors Nathan Furness and Austin Piecuch. Furness’s pickleball skills will surely transfer to the Union’s ping pong tables, as he has carefully honed his hand-eye coordination over the last year as president of the Pickleball Club. Piecuch will certainly prove competitive, for it’s an incomplete day when you don’t see him in the Union trying to school a freshman in ping pong. This will be a well-matched table tennis championship, but Furness will prove the victor.
- Ellie Fromm, News Editor
Track Team Takeover
There are four names that I care about in the ping pong lineup: Nathan Furness, Seth Jankowski, Colsen Conway, and Emil Schlueter. Furness is ranked atop the contestants for good reason. He’s got a competitive edge that matches natural athleticism. That’s a dangerous combination at the table. Jankowski runs anything he tries. My personal experience says casual table tennis players have no chance. I appeal to personal experience in the case of Conway, too. The intensity in his play and the spin on his serve have held me under 10 points. I expect that fate will come to most of his opponents. And Schlueter. He’s got that dawg in him.
Jankowski and Conway — track athletes who know what it takes to compete at a high level, will vie for the championship. The winner will be whoever serves first. Or whoever ends up rent free in the other’s mind.
- Ty Ruddy, Culture Editor
Miniature-Tennis Master
As a former member of the Hillsdale tennis team, Pali Vician-Flechler holds an advantage in the upcoming ping pong tournament. After all, ping pong is just tennis in miniature. His power will be difficult for his competitors to overcome. The one competitor who may prove to be a match for Vician-Flechler is Nathan Furness, but in the end, Vician-Flechler’s tennis skills will win out and he will be victorious.
- Christian Papillon, Assistant Sports Editor
Varsity Tennis vs. Mad Focus
Pali Vician-Flechler’s past varsity tennis history will surely bring him to the Final Four in table tennis. I’ve seen Austin Piecuch play as well — an absolute legend. Theo Hoelker is an underrated ping pong ace: He’s got some of the fastest reflexes I’ve ever seen, and he has a few trick shots up his sleeve. Finally, Ellie Ritchey has mad focus; she’ll stare all her opponents down until they can’t help but miss a ball. I expect to see Pali and Ellie in a legendary finals round.
- Matthew Tolbert, Web and Puzzle Editor
