The Team Smash Cancer Tennis Tournament that was held on June 16, a week before the Relay for Life event, met all expectations and exceeded in many instances. The inspiration for the event was provided by Doris Lehr who has been involved in fundraising for the Relay for Life event since it started three years ago which raises money for the American Cancer Society for research and cures. Last year Doris had Team Smash Cancer sold pizzas in a booth which was successful and fun but this year Doris wanted to so something more along the lines of the mission of the Los Altos Tennis Club: To play tennis, meet people, and have fun.

The response to the event met expectations as the Club booked 10 courts at the high school and obtained just over 40 entries which were double the usual for our events. The event exceeded expectations as we were introducing a new tournament format that was composed of four player teams including men’s and women’s singles and doubles and mixed doubles. So we were not sure how this format would play out. However, Bill Powell laboriously worked on a score card
that had close to a dozen revisions over a two week period and literally came up with what I can only describe as a masterpiece. We will utilize this format for our future tournaments. The mood of the participants was elevated excitement as they navigated through the matches arranged on the score cards with occasional inquiries for clarification. But with blue skies and mild temperatures there was no doubt that there was something special happening here. Many players proclaimed, “What a great way to raise funds for such a great cause.”

The lunch and refreshments were coordinated by Mary Ann Wiengartner who had the assistance of a few others. After the matches everyone stayed to enjoy the food and socialize.

Prizes were awarded for just about everyone as Jack Bates had done a thorough job on procuring various items of interest including tennis items from numerous locals businesses and many gift certificates for restaurants which were very popular with the participants.

Team number 9 had the most points at the end of the day with 34 composed of Fran Castenada, Diane Gazzano, Kerstin Lindblom and Anna Burke.
On their heels was Team 1 with 33 points: Greg Schwartz, Judy Davenport, Mary Jane Bogoger, and Tran Nguyen. Team 5 competed very well and finished with 31 points: Jon Saxe, Myrna Marshall, Lynn Hunton and Virginia Sorensen.
A group picture was taken by Wendell Lehr (as were all others shown) portraying the logo of Team Smash Cancer.

(ed. note: The tournament would not have happened without the great planning and leadership of Frank Smyth)