Tennis Stars at Riviera

December 12, 2007

Steve Galluzzo , Sports Editor

Nine-time Grand Slam winner Monica Seles and former French Open doubles champions Luke and Murphy Jensen hosted the inaugural Bank of the West Pro-Celebrity Tennis Classic Saturday at Riviera Tennis Club.

They were joined by three-time Grand Slam champion and Olympic gold medalist Jennifer Capriati, ATP Tour players Vince Spadea, Taylor Dent and Justin Gimelstob, former ATP players Bill Scanlon, Robert Seguso and Jeff Tarango, WTA Tour player Vania King, former WTA player Carling Bassett-Seguso, actors Danny Nucci, Peter Jason, David Duchovny, Eric Braeden, Chad Lowe, Scott Foley, Ryan O?Neal, Donna Mills, Paula Marshall and Maeve Quinlan, musician Gavin Rossdale and comedian Jon Lovitz.

The fun-filled day included a tennis pro-am, kids' clinics, a pro-celebrity exhibition and an "Evening with the Stars" gala featuring top entertainment and a live auction.

Coordinators were Giancarlo Cava and Kirk Schaff and ball kids included Blake Anthony, Ben Brown, Carly Brown, Sam Catanzaro, Kate Christensen, Jeremy Cohen, Samantha Kogan, Spencer Pekar, Kayla Shapiro, Reid Shumway, Eden Weinberg and Calre Young.

The tennis exhibition featured "Team Luke" and "Team Murphy." All matches consisted of eight games with the team winning the most total games being declared champion.

The event raised money for a number of Jensen designated youth charities, including the Jensen-Schmidt Tennis Academy for Down Syndrome, the National Down Syndrome Society and The Riviera Foundation.