Smashing Success: Tennis tournament has solid turnout

Andy Murray’s win in the U.S. Open this past month inspired 58-year-old Bob Wood of Seymour.

He decided to sign up for the first Seymour Smash Tennis Tournament, which was Saturday and Sunday at Seymour and Trinity Lutheran high schools’ tennis courts, and he won the men’s 50 and older singles title.

“He’s Scottish, and I’m Scottish, so I knew there was something Scottish in the air,” Wood said with a smile. “I wish I could have (Murray’s) money and big trophy, too.”

For now, Wood is satisfied with the plaque he earned.

“I will take this proudly to school,” said Wood, who teaches physical education at Cortland, Emerson and Seymour-Jackson elementary schools. “I encourage my kids to get out there and play, so I’m glad I could be a little bit of a role model for them. That’s great.”

Wood was one of 72 players from southern Indiana who were signed up to play during the weekend. Singles was Saturday, and doubles was Sunday. It drew people from ages 10 to 59, tournament organizer and Wood’s wife, Sharon Wood, said.

“Word of mouth was absolutely amazing,” Sharon Wood said. “An example would be one Madison person called one night (to register), and the next night, two more Madison people called. Once the information got out there, it really spread quickly. And we did have some people after we closed our entries, they were like, ‘Gosh, we wish we knew.’ We were overwhelmed. We were impressed with how many different players we got.”

Proceeds from the event will benefit the newly established Seymour High School Tennis Parents Club.

“We decided to do something that would be fun for the kids and also help the community to raise funds for the teams to buy things like uniforms and different awards we need throughout the year,” Wood said. “Our goal is to build a tennis shed because we have to store all of our equipment in the school. Most of the other schools have something near their courts. That’s one of our long-term goals is to start saving for something like that.”

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