University of Minnesota Athletics
Gopher Tennis Serves Charity Tournament
8/5/2015 12:00:00 AM | Tennis
Former and current Gopher tennis players and coaches are competing in the 30th annual Pine Tree Apple Tennis Classic Tournament (PTATC) this coming weekend to help raise funds for research to help lessen the suffering caused by childhood cancer.
Former Minnesota women's tennis players Kathy Bjornson, Tereza Brichacova, Natallia Pintusava, Tasha Pintusava and Alexa Palen along with former assistant coach Imke Reimer will all be competing in the tournament for a cause.
On the men's side former players Chi Pham, Dean Hluschko, Mathieu Froment, Jack Hamburg, Julian Dehn, Ishay Hadash, Kevin Werwie and Tobias Wernet along with Tucker Saxon who is going into his senior season and former assistant coach and current Director of Baseline Tennis Center John Pratt will all be competing. The tournament is an invitation-only event that takes place at the White Bear Lake Lifetime Fitness.
"It's always fun to play in a tournament and especially for your team, but being able to play a game I love that benefits children who have been through so much means so much more," Saxon said.
"It is fun and doing it for a cause through tennis connects everyone together," Brichacova said.
The PTATC is a mixed doubles tennis tournament that has become one of the premier national mixed doubles charity tennis tournaments. Ron and Maryanne Peterson created the PTATC in 1986 when their 12 year old daughter Julianne was diagnosed with Leukemia. Thirty years later the PTATC has raised over $4.5 million for children's cancer research, according to http://www.childrensmn.org/.
The tournament features more than 110 of the area's top men and women tennis players in a four day tournament. Player Liaison Matthew Narr said it takes hundreds of volunteers to make the event possible with running the food stands, silent auction and working the tournament. Narr added that the players earn money by getting sponsorships, making fundraising web pages and just getting the word out to have people come out for the event. "My favorite part is knowing we have a wonderful mixed doubles tournament with some of the best players in the area all helping to get the message out."
Brichacova, Prague, Czech Republic native, who has already teamed up with UMN Magic and went on the Gopher Global trip this summer said she never really experienced volunteering much before coming to Minnesota and has loved getting involved ."The school has done so much for me so now I am trying to give back and connect with the community."
The tournament is broken into three draws with an open division, a masters division and a grand masters division starting Thursday, Aug. 6 and going until Sunday, Aug. 9. Tickets for the tournament are available at the event with all the proceeds going to Children Hospitals.
For more information on the tournament and how to donate to the cause click here.
For a look at where the Gophers competing in the tournament sit in the draw click here (PDF).
Daily updates on how the Gophers are doing in the tournament can be found on the Gopher men's and women's tennis Facebook and Twitter pages.
Men's- Facebook and Twitter
Women's- Facebook and Twitter
Players Mentioned
