As Phil Barber describes, Carl Alcancia was the type of man who was always there for others. Alcancia was a loving husband and father of three young children. He volunteered with Big Brothers Big Sisters and was an active leader in his Catholic church community.
After Alcancia passed away in December 2021 at the age of 54, Barber knew he wanted to do something to keep Alcancia’s selfless legacy alive. Barber — one of Alcancia’s many tennis friends — approached a couple individuals about helping him run a tennis tournament that would double as a fundraiser for Big Brothers Big Sisters. The result is an event for both adults and juniors that will take place April 1-2 at Springfield’s Cooper Tennis Complex. Learn more about the tournament and register here.
“Really, the thing that actually inspired me to want to do this was he had three young children,” Barber said. “It was absolutely devastating. His void is huge here in Springfield. He was involved with charities, his business, all of that. It’s left a void for a lot of people. We thought, ‘Hey, having the tournament might keep his name alive every year.’”
Barber has run tournaments previously in Stockton, Missouri, which Alcancia participated in. Barber asked USTA Missouri Executive Director Leslie Echols as well as Huong Doan and Alex Wiley to assist him in creating and marketing the tournament to honor Alcancia.
“I approached those three and said, ‘I don’t want to do this myself because I think this is going to be big enough that it’s going to require all of us,’” Barber said. “We were all friends with Carl, and we loved Carl. We all have groups of players we play with. It’s bringing all those groups together to make a successful event. That’s what we’re trying to do, and I think that’s going to happen.”
The trio initially considered hosting the inaugural tournament in December but ultimately determined an April weekend would be preferable. Barber said the outdoor tourney will feature “the full gamut of divisions” and include brackets for juniors and adults. Singles, doubles and mixed doubles adult divisions at multiple NTRP/age levels will be offered.
