Around 30 members of the community participated in the Lewis and Clark Men's Tennis team's inaugural Doubles For All tennis tournament and fundraiser on Saturday, Oct. 8, helping to make it a success.
The event, held Oct. 8 at the Andy Simpson Tennis Complex on the college's Godfrey campus, opened with a free tennis clinic for children 14 and under. Seven aspiring tennis players learned the game using smaller racquets and foam balls on three USTA QuickStart courts provided by the USTA St. Louis District.
The tournament took on a unique format, where participants were matched with different doubles partners and against different opponents for each of three single-set, hour-long rounds.
Players were given the opportunity to specify a partner or have partners chosen for them, and were asked to list their interest in playing mixed doubles, competitive doubles, or doubles with members of the Trailblazers men's or women's team.
Participants included high school students, coaches, and casual and adult league players from Alton, Jerseyville, Edwardsville, Troy and Macedonia ranging in age from 6 to 60.
Games were played to music and participants were encourages to mix up the teams and keep playing throughout the entire hour-long round if they completed their set early.
"Quite a few family members came out to watch and were treated to a beautiful fall day and good tennis," said head men's tennis coach James Humphrey. "We couldn't have asked for better weather or a better group of players."
View photos from the event
View tournament results