By Caley Anderson

"It's intense!" declares Fong, a third-year graduate student. "You can't be wrong about what shot you take. You can't guess. It's all about spin and placement."

Given their national championship, it's safe to say that Stanford's squad has acquired the skills to dominate in the table tennis world, a feat especially impressive when you realize that team competitions consist of four-woman squads. Stanford only has three competitors -- a problem that will be fixed when Fong's sister, a member of the Junior National team, attends Stanford.

The NCTTA nationals is structured as best-out-of-four, with a doubles match in the event of a tie. Stanford had to automatically default the one match where they lacked a player. This meant they entered every game down 0-1. The championship match, against number-two seed University of Toronto, came down to the tie-breaking doubles match, which Fong and Ping won.

"Not having a fourth player put more pressure on us," says Ping, "but it helps that we have two really high-level players that have played for a long time [Ping and Fong)] Most teams will have one really strong player, but not two."

Stanford also has no coach, leaving the girls to instruct, organize and motivate each other. What they really want -- beyond winning -- is to help the sport gain recognition, starting with the Stanford populace. Fong is captain, manager and president of the club team, and the girls are instrumental in its operation. They plan on hosting their first annual open tournament this May, and their practice sessions are open to the university's community. The girls even offer lessons if you've never picked up a racket before.

"All you need is an enthusiastic attitude," says Fong, smiling.

Women's table tennis is not yet an NCAA sport, but the prospects are promising and the girls might find themselves propelled further into the limelight than they originally expected.

For now, they'll settle for their national championship trophy.