March 16, 2006
Habitat for Humanity Pro Invitational Tennis Tournament April 19-23 at Country Club of Spartanburg

SPARTANBURG, SC —  The Country Club of Spartanburg will host the 2006 Habitat for Humanity Pro Invitational Tennis Tournament on Wednesday through Sunday, April 19-23.

The Pro Invitational, the only male professional tennis tournament held in South Carolina, benefits the local Habitat for Humanity organization with donations from local businesses and individuals.

Last year’s tournament raised $26,000 to Habitat. With the tennis tournament donation, the cooperation of Publix Supermarket and another Habitat golf fund-raiser, a house was built and donated to the family of Tonia Flowers, Cecile Wagner, tournament chair, said of the impact that the tournament has on the community.

Each year the tournament invites nationally and internationally ranked players, 32 of which have been invited to participate in this year’s event. Players who have already committed to compete are Brian Vahaly, Fred Niemayer, Varsalies Masarakis and the Jensen brothers, Luke and Murphy, who won two rounds in the Australian Open, Wagner says, though it is still too early to know the entire field of players.
Event organizers expect 300 spectators a day and as many as 600 on the day of the finals. Prize money totals $30, 000, with a $10, 000 prize for the singles finalist and $2,500 for the semi-finalist.

Qualification rounds for non-rated players will be held Tuesday and Wednesday, and the first and second round of singles and doubles matches begin on Thursday. Singles matches will continue from 9 a.m.-1 p.m. Friday, and doubles matches will be played 1 p.m.-6 p.m. Singles semi-finals will be held on Saturday, 9-11:30 a.m., and doubles semi-finals begin at 2:30 p.m.

Sunday’s competition kicks off with the consolation finals, 11:30 a.m., then singles finals, 1 p.m., and doubles finals, 3 p.m.

The lead sponsors for this year’s event are Hometown News Inc. and Orthopedic Specialties. In addition, several local businesses and restaurants – among them, Budweiser, Coca-Cola, Walmart, Sam’s, Chick-Fil-A and Ruby Tuesday’s – are making in-kind donations to feed players and cater evening activities provided for sponsors and patrons.

Though the tournament is free to the public, individuals as well as local companies are invited to sponsor the event to benefit Habitat and attend the social functions held during the tournament. Wagner says that sponsorships are still being accepted for the event. Any company or individual interested in becoming involved can contact her at 579-9746.

“Thanks to the generous support from the Spartanburg community, this tournament has grown over the past few years because it has been able to offer better activities and better tennis,” Wagner said of the event that has been held for 18 years but has experienced its greatest growth in the past five years.

“We feel that the better players we can attract, the more sponsorship we can get, and, therefore, the more money we can raise for Habitat for Humanity.”

Refreshments will be available for sale to spectators. In addition, valet parking will be available for a fee on the day of the finals.

Team Spartanburg’s mission is to promote Spartanburg as a destination for sports events; it recruits new events as well as provide assistance to existing sports events.  Team Spartanburg is supported by its partners:

Champions – Coca-Cola, JM Smith Corp., Wachovia, City of Spartanburg

MVPs – Herald-Journal/Celebrate Community, Radisson Hotel & Suites, Spartanburg Regional Healthcare System, Verizon Wireless, Wofford College

All-Stars – Ogletree Deakins, Showcase Marketing, Shred First, Spartanburg Marriott at Renaissance Park, Spartanburg Methodist College, University of South Carolina Upstate

For information about Team Spartanburg, go to www.teamspartanburgsc.org or contact Nikki Harris at (864) 594-5050 or laura.corbin@wofford.edu.

Team Spartanburg
Spartanburg Convention & Visitors Bureau
298 Magnolia Street
Spartanburg, SC  29306
(864) 594-5050
1-800-374-TEAM

For more information, contact Team Spartanburg.