April is the Club’s favorite time of the year. Or maybe it’s my favorite time of the year at the Club. Either way, it’s a great time of year at the Club!
First, what is the Lago Bowl? The Lago Bowl just the most fun ever tennis tournament. It is the Newburyport Tennis Club week-long, mixed doubles, end of the season Club Tournament. This tournament has been going on for over 22 years and is steeped in history. Players of all ages and abilities square off for the thrill of becoming THE BEST OF THE CLUB.
Here are my top 3 reasons that Lago Bowl rocks (and do note that the order of these reasons changes depending upon how hungry I am):
- Competitive tennis to play and exciting tennis to watch
- The thrill of victory and the agony of defeat
- Ice cream. Or rather FREE ice cream. ALL WEEK LONG! And, even better, you don’t have to play to eat it! (Thank you Lago Ice Cream)
The excitement kicks off April 30th and runs through May 8. It’s fun to watch teams of all types – friends, couples, mothers and sons and fathers and daughters team up and square off. There are multiple divisions of play so that play is competitive even and trust me, this tennis gets GOOD. Here are the key dates to remember: Thursday night, May 7 is the Semi-Finals and the big social event night and Friday night, May 8 is the Championship Finals.
I’d be remiss without a quick plug to Lago’s Ice Cream, a local institution and the reason the Lago Bowl still exists. Mike and Carole Lago were instrumental in supporting the Lago Bowl and have sponsored it for most of its 22 years and they are the reason the tournament still exists. Mike is a testament to tennis – he didn’t start playing tennis until he was 58 when his wife finally convinced him to pick up a racquet. He’s now 84 and counting, plays almost every day and sports a mean serve. And, a portion of the Lago Bowl proceeds is donated to the Spectrum Adult Day Health Program, caring for people with Alzheimer’s disease and related dementias.
If you’ve ever wanted to watch tennis, the Lago Bowl is the time to do it. Come on by, grab a spoon and cheer on the players.
See you Courtside!
