- April 18, 2024
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Division 5 champions Joyce Welch, Chip Elitzer, Bob Gary and Katie Cornell
Division 4 champions Ray and Jacqui Ellis, Suzy White and Kevin Feeney
Division 3 champions Bill Hocker, Dominique Sparks, Monica Darold Costello and Bob Fletcher
Division 1 champions Andy and Karen Adams, Sandra Weiss and Chris Wetzig
Division 2 champions Sandy Schonhoff, Mark Malinowski, Karin Buffett and Jim Tarsy
John Beeman competes in a mixed doubles match on Friday, Jan. 11.
Bernadette Hayes returns the ball during a mixed doubles match.
Tom Kane competes in a mixed doubles match.
John Beeman and Kristin Blair compete in the preliminary rounds on Friday, Jan. 11.
Guillermo Vidal competes in a singles match.
Janine Fusco competes against Angie Eason in a singles match on Friday, Jan. 11.
Angie Eason serves the ball during a singles match.
David Glorius competes in a preliminary round doubles match.
Charlie Muntan serves the ball during a doubles match on Friday, Jan. 11.
David Schwartz competes in a doubles match.
David Schwartz and Charlie Muntan compete in a doubles match on Friday, Jan. 11.
Division 4 runners-up David Novak, Svetlana Janglin, Beth Gotthelf and Matt Walsh
Winners and runners-up received stemless wine glasses as a prize.
Bill Hocker and Bob Fletcher compete in a final doubles match on Sunday, Jan. 13.
Angie Eason gets ready to receive the ball.
Players compete in a semi-final round the morning of Jan. 13.
Angie Eason serves the ball during a final round on Jan. 13.
Matt Walsh, Mark Malinowski, Karin Buffett, Sandy Schonhoff and Jim Tarsy
There were five divisions in this year’s tournament.
There were five divisions in this year’s tournament.
John Beeman returns the ball during a final match.
Division 3 runners-up John Beeman, Angie Eason and Kristin and Roger Blair
Lindsey Shebuski competes in a final match on Jan. 13.
Chris Adelman and Tami Dalto compete in a double match.
Andy Adams and Chris Wetzig compete in a championship-round doubles match.
Division 5 competitors David Ross, Valri Poley and Jennifer and Ken Southward
Division 5 runners-up Sandie Joseph, Barbara Harbin, Keith Tschannen and Sam Roth
Division 1 runners-up Erik Patel, Chris Adelman, Tami Dalto and Andrew Chiang
Division 2 runners-up Cathy Powell, Dave Schwartz, Lindsey Shebuski and Charlie Muntan
Beth Gotthelf returns the ball during a final-round match.
The competition was fierce, but friendly at the 19th annual Observer Challenge Tennis Tournament, which ran from Jan. 11 to Jan. 13.
The tournament, with five divisions and 120 competitors, brought players from various Longboat Key tennis clubs, including the Longboat Key Club and Cedars East. Whether the players knew each other or not, the camaraderie echoed from court to court.
On one court, a player yelled “have fun, guys,” as the first serve was hit.
An hour later on a different court, a player asked her competitors “are we having fun yet?”
She was met with a “yes, we’re loving it.”
Even if teammates had never met until their first match on Friday, the groups bonded by the end of the weekend.
“Tennis brings people together,” said Mark Malinowski, whose team won Division 2.
And sometimes, it wasn’t necessarily the tennis that brought teams together at first. Teammates Ray and Jacqui Ellis, Suzy White and Kevin Feeney joked that they were in the tournament for the white shirts each competitor received.
They ended up winning the fourth division.
“We were really quite happy to get through the first round,” Jacqui Ellis said.
