WESLEYAN MEN'S &
WOMEN'S TENNIS DEDICATE FALL SEASON TO SUSAN G. KOMEN FOUNDATION (Tennis Squads Use Fall Campaign to Promote Awareness and Raise Funds for
Breast Cancer Research)
Throughout the fall tennis season,
Wesleyan University's men's and women's squads have been dedicating each
match to the memory of or in honor of someone who has had dealings with breast cancer
in their life. Many team members have family members or friends
who have either succumbed to the disease or survived an ordeal with it.
While many matches were dedicated to these individuals, many others to
whom team members dedicated a match were submitted by those in the
Wesleyan community who knew of someone affected by breast cancer, in
response to an email sent by Head Coach Ken Alrutz. In this way,
the entire Wesleyan community was represented by the team in their
thoughts and efforts. The team had pink t-shirts made linking the
tennis teams to the Susan G. Komen Foundation, the leading breast cancer
research organization in the country. Established in 1982 by Nancy
Brinker to honor her sister, Susan G. Komen, who died of the disease at
age 36, the Komen Foundation uses the catch phrase "Sharing the
Promise," as Nancy Brinker promised her sister she would do everything
possible to combat breast cancer. "We thought this would be a
wonderful thing to do," said Coach Alrutz. "Since October is
National Breast Cancer Awareness month, it seemed the perfect time of
our season to take the ball and serve it, so to speak." While to
teams have been working on this project since the start of the season in
September, it will culminate Saturday, October 21 during Wesleyan's
Homecoming/Family Weekend celebration.
Scenes From the Special
Ceremony October 10, 2006
At each home match, the Wesleyan tennis
teams set up a table to distribute information from the Susan G. Komen
Foundation and allow individual to purchase Komen memorabilia such as
pink wrist bands, Beanie Baby white bears, and pins, as well as make
outright donations. A similar table will be set up at Wesleyan's
Homecoming October 21.
At the final women's team home match of
the fall October 10 vs. Connecticut College, the Susan G. Komen
Foundation's Connecticut Affiliate set up a special display to make
people more aware of the Foundation's activities.
Prior to the final home match, members of the
Wesleyan tennis teams decorated the fence around the courts with the
dedication slips from the season, earmarking all the heartfelt emotions
of the team.
This mixture of balloons, with
Wesleyan's colors and those of the Foundation, brings home the unity of
the cause between the teams and breast cancer research.
Before the match, head coach Ken Alrutz
and some of his players sponsored a free tennis clinic which was
attended by about a dozen individuals of all ages.
Emily Fish '09 shows off her form, the
t-shirt and the pink strings many of the players used during the season.
At the time of player introductions,
Coach Alrutz explained the nature of the team's activity to visiting
Connecticut College and introduced Cathy Bloomberg (to his right),
Affiliate Administrator for the Susan G. Komen Foundation in Connecticut
and Kathleen Farrell (to Cathy's right), a special guest and breast
cancer survivor who read Wesleyan's starting lineup.
Team captain Tori Santoro '07 hands her
Conn. College opponent Melissa Shear a gift which included a pink wrist
band and helpful information for the prevention of breast cancer.
Throughout the fall, both the men's and women's teams engaged in this
offering at every event, home and away, to every opposing player.
