Novotna helps raise money at second extravaganza

Funds go to Donna Klein athletic programs

Published December 11th, 2007

By Mario Sarmento
SPORTS EDITOR

Former Wimbledon champion and women’s world No. 2 Jana Novotna enjoyed last year’s Donna Klein Tennis Extravaganza so much she returned for the event’s second edition this year, held at Broken Sound Country Club Monday.

Novotna and friend and former tennis pro Iwona Kuczynska teamed up to take on several participants in a round robin tournament on the club’s tennis court.

“We always have fun,” Novotna said. “It’s a fun thing to do, it’s a good thing to do – give back to the community, and we like to raise money for them. What better way to help them than to be here.”

Novotna had just arrived in Boca Raton from playing in a tournament in the Grand Cayman Islands, the continuation of a busy year for the tennis star that also saw her compete at the Chris Evert Pro-Celebrity Tennis Classic last month.
“It’s been a good year this year,” Novotna said. “I’ve been doing a lot of appearances, a lot of events. I played at Wimbledon, at the U.S. Open.”

All the money raised from the lunch and raffle sales goes back into the Donna Klein athletic program.
Last year, Athletic Director David Trell said the event grossed $42,000.

“It’s based on need, certain uniforms I need each year; it really depends on what we need,” Trell said.

Last year, most of the net money went into uniforms and equipment for the first year of varsity baseball at Donna Klein.
This year, a high school girls tennis team was added to the list of varsity sports, bringing the total number of sports teams at the academy to 19. When Trell started as AD five years ago, there were only six athletic programs at Donna Klein.
The event also provided participants with a chance to match themselves against one of the best players of the 1990s.
“It’s unbelievable,” Eagles Athletic Booster co-chair Steve Lipson said. “You don’t get the opportunity very often to stand on the same court with someone who won Wimbledon. To actually get to play was amazing, and she’s such a great sport.”
Lipson and his son Jeff, a ninth grader at Donna Klein who played on the middle school team last year, play often together and are no novices at the sport. Still, they were amazed by what they saw from Novotna and Kuczynska.
“She can hit back anything,” Steve said of Novotna. “It’s like hitting against a wall.”

After lunch, participants had a chance to win prizes in a raffle, with the biggest one being a trophy Novotna earned from winning an event at Madison Square Garden.

Last year Novotna also donated a trophy. It’s something the former Grand Slam champion has no problem doing. In fact, most of her most prestigious trophies were used as centerpieces at each table during lunch, including Novotna’s 1998 Wimbledon trophy.

“It’s a nice thing to do for someone who doesn’t have something like this at their house,” Novotna said. “Again, it helps to raise money for the school, and that’s the most important thing.”

Novotna said she would like to continue appearing at the extravaganza “for as many years as we can and try to raise more money each year. Maybe try to come up with a different format, maybe try to bring somebody else in to make it more exciting. Try to get the interest of the community up. That would be fun.”