August Feature - Pine Tree Apple Tennis Classic
The Pine Tree Apple Tennis Classic (PTATC) happens every August at LifeTime White Bear Lake. This year, the tournament took place August 1-4 and hosted 186 of the top tennis players within the Northern section and beyond, including 64 junior players. The event raised approximately half a million dollars, surpassing their goal of $430,000. We chatted with Event Coordinator, Lisa Mushett, to learn more about the background of the tournament, get the inside scoop on this year’s event and a look ahead to a special celebration next summer.
The tournament was founded by Ron and Mary Ann Peterson in 1986 when their 12-year old daughter, Julieann, was diagnosed with leukemia. They wanted to give back to the hospital that saved their daughter’s life by raising money for the medical professionals and donating to further cancer research initiatives at Children’s Minnesota.
Being tennis players themselves, they hoped to find a way to incorporate the sport they love with their passion for contributing towards the fight to end pediatric cancer, and that is how the idea of the tournament was born.
The Jacobson Family of the Pine Tree Apple Orchard, stepped up to provide the seed money to host the first tournament that featured one tournament draw and raised $15,000 in the inaugural year.
As the tournament grew, it was separated into two draws, open and masters divisions, and today, the tournament includes open, masters, grand masters, and most recently, a junior division. This year, the juniors raised $40,000, and the finalists had the opportunity to play alongside the adults in White Bear Lake, MN.
In recent years, they have worked to bring new life and energy to the tournament by increasing the number of junior and college participants, spreading awareness about the tournament and introducing new people to the event.
The Pine Tree Apple Tennis Classic is free to attend as a spectator, and they invite the public to come and enjoy great tennis, delicious apple doughnuts and check out the silent auction.
At its core, this event is all about family and community. It brings together, not only the tennis community, but also the White Bear Lake and LifeTime communities to give back to a great cause. To date, the tournament has raised over $8 million dollars for cancer research and initiatives at Children’s Minnesota and over 200 hospitals around the world.
In 2025, the PTATC will celebrate their 40th anniversary! To kick off this milestone, Pine Tree Apple Classic Fund and Children's Minnesota are pleased to announce the new Hematology, Oncology Point of Care through Survivorship Research Endowment Fund. The fund will support research by nurses and advanced practice practitioners aimed at addressing any stage of a patient’s care journey with a focus on the unique long-term physical, mental and social challenges patients can face months or years after completing cancer treatment.
Stay tuned for the dates of the 2025 tournament to be announced! Get involved and support a great cause!
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Congratulations to the 2024 Champions and everyone who participated in the 2024 Pine Tree Apple Tennis Classic!
Adult Pine Tree Champions
Open: Tooli Wilkins/Tobias Wernet def. Sonya Das/Chase Johnson 4-6, 6-3, 1-0 (10)
Masters: Jackie Sperling Hosseini/Tim Burke def. Sierra Krebsbach/Chris Arena 6-0, 7-5
Grand Masters: Linnea Benson/Doug Matuska def. Leslie Gale/Bryan Biever 6-3, 7-6 (8)
Junior Pine Tree Champions
17U: Keely Ryder/Caleb Kennel def. Maddie Larson/Oliver Walseth 6-3, 2-6, 1-0 (8)
15U: Olivia McDonald/Santi Sanchez def. Varin Tangeti/Lucky Selvakumar 6-4, 6-0
13U: Sofia Livingston/Joshua LaTour def. Anil Harshith Bharadwaj/Reese Ellingson 6-4, 4-6, 1-0(5)
11U: Vera Scheglowski/Natan Belenky - Won round robin bracket with 2-0 record
Learn more at the PTATC website here.
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