Bishop Hendricken High School won a tight 2-1 Final over La Salle Academy on Saturday March 9, to clinch the Rhode Island High School Team Table Tennis title. The event was held at the RI Table Tennis Association’s facility in Manville, RI.

The teams that competed in the Rhode Island Championship Tournament included Hendricken, La Salle Academy, Wheeler School, Classical, Pilgrim, and Lincoln. The semifinals were Hendricken defeating Wheeler 3-0 and La Salle defeating Classical 2-1. 

In the final, it was Hendricken’s Alex Hopkins topping La Salle’s Andrew Smith 3-1, Hendricken’s Braiden Sawyer topping La Salle’s Dyllan Litmanovich 3-0, and La Salle’s Joey Cavanagh defeating Hendricken’s Christian Pachis 3-0. 

Rhode Island has hosted a scholastic teams event since 2016, but the competitive table tennis season has expanded and now includes teams from Rhode Island, Massachusetts, and Connecticut. 

The 2024 matches were held in “meets” with multiple teams playing on the same day. Hendricken was the regular season points leader with a combined record of 14-1 heading into the tournament. This year, there were representatives from 15 regional schools - with non-RI participants including Woodstock Academy, Hillside School, Hopkinton High School, and Grafton High School. 

Hendricken had a strong team this year, finishing 19-1 overall including both the regular season and the tournament.  Hopkins, Sawyer, Pachis, Alex Roberts, Jack Kanaczt, Luke Pignatoro, and Liam Donnaly made up the Hendricken team. In addition to Hopkins and Sawyer, Pilgrim High School players Jacob Scott and Kelvin Olea are also from Warwick.