Oxy Men's Tennis Hosts Round Robin Tournament

LOS ANGELES, Calif. (Oct. 22, 2009) - On the night of November 7, 2009, players from the Men's Tennis Team arrived at Occidental's tennis courts an hour early to greet alumni who were invited to play in the Round-Robin fundraiser. This event was organized by Head Men's Tennis Coach Michael Guice and Coordinator Linda Park. This was the first time such an event like this had been organized for the men's tennis program.

People who attended the event included players, family, friends, and supporters of the program. It was clear that some guests were still active tennis players.  The favorites were Victor Sowers (co-captain of the men's team) and Sally Wiggins (tennis coach at Crescenta Valley High School), but a few other teams gave them a run for their money.  Towards the end of the event, first place was still up for grabs, but the favorites took the Round Robin title and Wiggins/Sowers became the champs.

Senior co-captain, Chris Wan and his father, Lee Wan ended up taking second place. Third place was awarded to Paul Finchamp '80 and freshman Stephen Perkins. Another father who attended the event was Abraham Fahim, father of senior co-captain Jamal Fahim, who played with Rozita Vanuelos.  While Abraham played with junior Ross Arias, Abraham's guest, Kristina Hansen, was matched up with Josh Capelle, a recent transfer student from the University of Wisconsin. Another all-star team consisted of Osman Kahn '01 and freshman Rod Bandiera. As a fairly recent graduate, it was no surprise that Osman still had some fire under his belt! Two of Osman's friends, fellow teammate Arman Davtyan '01 and Fernando Shahbaznia '00, attended the dinner portion and stirred up plenty of laughs. Scott Hartstein '80 and Brad Steele '80 exchanged a great deal of memories at dinner.

Food and beverages were provided by the families of player Chris Wan and Coach Michael Guice. The menu included a plentiful mixture of meats, salads, and pasta.  Spitz restaurant, a local eatery started by two Occidental graduates, provided an ample amount of döner-kabob sandwiches. While guests were enjoying the excellent food, Coach Guice addressed the group with a short speech about the team's progress and subsequently thanked the guests for their support. Winners of the Round-Robin were awarded Occidental souvenirs, and the night ended with an array of deserts and the shared opinion that this kind of event needs to happen more often.