Second Annual Tewksbury Open Tennis Tournament a Success

With the girls , proposals for , and participation levels rising all over town, a lot has been going well for the Friends of Tewksbury Tennis organization.

Earlier this summer they saw another bright moment when they hosted the 2^nd Annual Tewksbury Open Tennis Tournament, which turned out to be a great success.

This year’s tournament more than doubled in participation levels in comparison to last year’s, and the Friends of Tewksbury Tennis also saw an increase in funds raised.

“It was much bigger and most people told us they’d be happy to come back next year so we felt like it all went well,” said FTT member Mary McDonald, also coach of the TMHS girls tennis team.

With hopes to have the tournament serve as both a fundraiser and a way for members of the community to come out and enjoy a fun experience, McDonald said they accomplished just that.

“I think everybody had a good time and people were very understanding about the weather,” she said. “It was really, really fun. We’re looking forward already to having it again next year and having it be even better.”

Last year the tournament saw nearly 20 players while at this year’s event, 44 participants came out. The Friends of Tewksbury Tennis were able to raise $850 for the organization. McDonald said that money will go towards costs such as senior scholarships, equipment, or extra additives to the possible tennis courts at the new TMHS such as benches or flowers.

With an increase in participation, the tournament was able to hold more categories for the matches played. For the Mens A singles, William Ryan defeated Jim Bosch 6-1 and 6-2. In the Mens B singles, Fal Jabouin defeated Tony Wallace 6-1 and 6-2.

In the Womens singles, Veronica Op defeated Macaela Baney 6-0 and 6-3. In the Girls singles, Julia Bezrah defeated Emily Hill 10-3. In the Boys singles, Anthony Op won by walkover.

 In the Mixed doubles, Andara and Max Katong defeated Leah and Barry Lewin 6-3 and 6-1. The Womens doubles results were played at a later date due to weather delays and have yet to be reported.

The FTT were also pleased with the community support they received from several area sponsors as well as Tewksbury Community Services, who donated a set of balls to the tournament.

The organization hopes to see just as much success from their upcoming Papa Gino’s fundraiser later this month. It will be held at the on Tuesday, July 31 from 4-9 p.m. Papa Gino's will donate 20 percent of take-out and eat-in sales will be donated to FTT.

A flyer must be presented to the cashier, and flyers are available from Toby Sedgwick at tsedgwick@comcast.net, or at , the bulletin board, the or printable from their Facebook page, Friends of Tewksbury Tennis.