The University of Indianapolis Tennis team hosted a fundraiser called ‘Doubles with Donors’ on Dec. 3 to help raise money for the Indoor National Championship in February, according to UIndy Athletics. The fundraiser will help the team lower the cost of hosting the tournament. Head Coach Malik Tabet said he had the idea behind ‘Doubles with Donors.’
“We pair them up, we have one donor and one tennis player, and they play against another pair of one tennis player and one donor,” Tabet said.
The University of Indianapolis will host the ITA DII Men’s Team Indoor Championship at the indoor tennis facility owned by the university from Feb.18-20 2022, according to UIndy Athletics. Tabet said he placed a bid to have the indoor championship at the university.
“The main reason I wanted to put a bid for this ITA national championship was to actually get our tennis community in Indianapolis and the surrounding areas to know about UIndy Tennis,” Tabet said. “As much as we know some people know that we are nationally ranked, and we are one of the best teams in the country and the best team in the city.”
Tabet said being able to host the Indoor Championship for Division 2, with help from the fundraisers, is huge for the university because it will let people know about the tennis program and hopefully be able to bring more exposure to them.
“They still don’t know the level of tennis that we play, so I’m hoping that we will be able to bring those people over and watch some high-class tennis,” Tabet said. “That is the main reason really to try to boost our exposure toward our tennis community.”
The recent fundraiser will be able to support the cost of the tournament in the months to come as well as being able to help the tennis team connect with the donors, according to Tabet.
Senior tennis player Maria Solnyshkina was involved in the event, she said the fundraiser will benefit the tennis program.
“I think it’s really cool that we can have this opportunity to help our team to do better and achieve more stuff,” Solnyshkina said.
The advantages of hosting the tournament at the university will greatly promote how the university has its own tennis facility that is open to the public, according to Tabet. Junior tennis player Nikolaj Talimaa said he is excited to be able to host the tournament in Indianapolis because it is a familiar court to the UIndy Tennis team.
“… Last year we were in Oklahoma playing the National Championship and now I think being here is a huge advantage for us,” Talimaa said. “Playing at home, we know the courts, [and] hopefully a lot of people will show up and cheer for us.”
The tennis team is planning on hosting another ‘Doubles with Donors’ event in February with the same concept as the previous one in hopes of raising more money for the tournament, since the process was very simple, according to Tabet.
“It was just inviting the right people who love the club, love our team, and support our tennis program,” Tabet said. ”It’s people from the club faculties, friends from the tennis community, close friends.”
