Tennis fundraiser for library draws strong turnout

Dan Berner grew up with the library central to his life. His mother was a librarian, and his father, looking to support the library’s services, sought to help support that mission. So, the Shelter Island Library Tennis Tournament was born, and nearly 60 years later, with a brief hiatus, the tournament continues to this day. 

On Saturday, Aug. 15, over 75 players signed up to play and help fund raise for a good cause. Among those players was Dan Berner, who told the Reporter about the special significance for him. “There is a history to it,” he said.

The tournament is a key factor in supporting the library’s continued programs and services. While a massive expansion project is currently underway, the money funding that project is completely separate from the funds raised at the tennis tournament. Fundraisers such as the tournament support what Library Director Terry Lucas described as “essential programs and materials, so that means books, DVDs, and things for our ‘Library of Things,’ like a telescope and a bocce ball set. The money helps fund those things that people can check out from the library. Programs are everything from adult Friday Night Dialogues to social service things like Medicare programs.” 

The need for fundraising at a tax-funded institution isn’t that common, Ms. Lucas added. “Only about 80% of our budget is funded by taxes,” she said. “The other 20% we have to raise, and this is one of the things that helps us raise that 20% to be able to cover the kinds of things we want to do.”

In recent years, Chuck and Linda Kraus have been instrumental in putting on the fundraiser. When Ms. Kraus joined the library board eight years ago, her passion for the library and Chuck’s love of tennis brought forth the idea of running the tournament together. Since then, they’ve put on the tournament year after year, excluding one canceled year due to the COVID pandemic.

Ms. Kraus said one of the biggest changes has been the tournament’s move from the Shelter Island School courts to the Shelter Island Racquet Club off Menantic Road, along with an increase in participation. “The racquet club has been generous to let us use this, and it’s so much nicer a surface for the players,” Ms. Kraus said. 

“Just look at the number of people who are here,” Mr. Kraus said. “People enjoy it. It’s a good day.” 

A Look at the Action

It was a long, perfectly sunny day at the Racquet Club. Breakfast from Stars Café and complimentary massages were provided before players took to the seven courts around 9 a.m. Duos signed up in the men’s, ladies’, or mixed categories and then competed in a round-robin format to rack up the most points and move on to the next round within their bracket. The scorers table at the center of the facility had large brackets and kept track of the points, standings, and court assignments, all handled by Moussa Drame and his professional staff.

After six years working the tournament from the tennis side, Mr. Drame said he’s always happy to provide his time and money to the tournament to help it run smoothly to support the library and the Shelter Island community. Part of that commitment came into play the night before. 

When a rainstorm swept over the Island, Mr. Drame and his staff were at the Racquet Club to fight Mother Nature. “Before the rain, we were here making sure the courts were in great shape. Even while it was raining, we were still here working on them to make sure the courts would be in perfect condition,” he said. “We were here until around 9 p.m. last night,” he said.

Their work paid off, with the courts in pristine condition, which made for an exciting day of competition. In the ladies category, Kate Humphrey and Phyllis Golden took home first-place honors. “This is my third year in the tournament, but my first time playing with Phyllis,” Ms. Humphrey said after they claimed the victory at center court. 

“And this is my first time in the tournament,” Ms. Golden said. 

“This tournament is a blast,” Ms. Humphrey added. “We love tennis, and we love supporting the library.”

In the men’s division, Ben Brown and Max Bevcan returned to the tournament for their third and fourth years, respectively, with two motivations: to support the library and “to try to win,” Mr. Bevcan said. He added, “I’ve got little kids, so we’ve been watching the library get rebuilt, and that’s exciting. Anything to support them is worth it.”

Mr. Brown said he makes the trip to Shelter Island to see friends and to play in the tournament. 

While the men’s and ladies’ divisions were the shortest in duration, the mixed doubles were the first to start at 9 o’clock and didn’t conclude until a little after 3 p.m. That was due to the intense tiebreaker finish between the team of Alex Rappaport, Lisbeth Kaiser versus the high school-aged athletes Mateus Langham and Regan Smith. 

The group played their championship match on center court as a large group of eager fans tilted their heads left and right as the teams faced off in incredible back-and-forth rallies with blistering serves and high, looping balls to the back of the court before Mateus and Regan eventually won 14-12 in the tiebreaker set.

Langham and Smith credited their time playing with Moussa Drame helping them reach that moment. “I’ve gotten so much better. My skills have improved so much working with Moussa,” Regan said.

Asked what was going through their heads during the final back-and-forth points, their answer was simple: “We really needed to win,” Ms. Smith said. Mateus agreed, adding with a smile, “And we got it.”