Two UCLA students are taking a break from their finals on the Westwood campus to play ping pong on a nine by five foot table in Paris.
Amy Wang, 21, is America’s top women’s table tennis player from Sewell, New Jersey. Her roommate, Rachel Sung, 19, hails from San Jose and ranks number three in the nation.
The UCLA athletes spend most of their time on their respective majors, neurobiology and cognitive science but took a bet on their athletic abilities.
“When it finally hit me, I was just really overwhelmed. It didn’t feel real,” Sung said about the moment she learned she qualified for the Paris Olympics.
That sense of anxiety quickly turned into excitement. The two athletes prevailed at nationals, securing a spot at the summer Paris Olympics.
“I was also really happy, really emotional,” Wang said about competing in the Olympics.
Their lives as students, however, have proven difficult at times to find time for the sport they love.
“If I want to practice, I want to find her to practice with,” Sung said. “Our schedules – it’s really hard to find times that match up.”
The friendship between the athletes was born after competing against each other in high school. Being roommates at UCLA helps with the carpooling to their rosemead practice facility, but it also presents a downside, according to U.S. Olympic Table Tennis coach Jun Gao, a former medal winner herself.
“They always talk, even during the practice,” Gao said. “I have to stop them.”
While both have failed to make the podium individually, they are scheduled to continue to seek America’s first ever table tennis medal in the team competition.
The two young Bruins – best friends, roommates and scholars – headed to Paris dead serious about winning and competing for their nation.
“For Rachel, it’s normal. Outside, she’s quiet. And in the game, (she) has the control,” Gao said. “For Amy, outside, she’s super quiet. But when she plays, she’s a killer.”