BATON ROUGE — The Irene W. and C.B. Pennington Foundation is sponsoring an exhibition tennis match between tennis greats Pete Sampras and Todd Martin Oct. 29 at the Pete Maravich Assembly Center to help alleviate the financial challenges facing LSU Health Sciences Center students impacted by the hurricanes that ripped through Louisiana in 2005.
Billed as “Duel Under the Oaks,” the exhibition match, youth tennis clinic and celebrity tennis match are being presented in cooperation with the LSU Foundation and the Tiger Athletic Foundation. Paula Pennington de la Bretonne of the Pennington Family Foundation is organizing the match to assist the thousands of students who were victims of either Hurricane Katrina or Rita.
“One hundred percent of the proceeds derived from this event will be donated to the LSU Health Sciences Center ? Student Relief Fund,” said de la Bretonne. “Many of these students lost everything and this fundraiser is a way of easing some of the hardships these dedicated students are enduring.”
LSUHSC programs include: medical, dental, nursing, public health, allied health professions and graduate studies.
“The LSU Health Sciences Center students, faculty and staff are very grateful for the efforts of the organizations and individuals who have come together to coordinate this event,” said Florence Andre’, President of the LSU Health Sciences Center Foundation. “The devastation to our programs by the hurricanes has been catastrophic, but through the support of the citizens of Louisiana and the dedication of the LSUHSC family, we are working our way back to excellence.”
The “Duel Under the Oaks” activities begin at 9 a.m., Sunday, Oct. 29 with a tennis clinic for boys and girls, ages 7 to 17, at W.T Robinson Tennis Stadium on the LSU campus.
Stella Sampras-Webster, Pete Sampras’ sister and women’s tennis coach at UCLA, will be assisting Sampras and Martin with the clinic. Sampras and Martin will show the youngsters the fundamentals as they hit with the LSU men’s and women’s tennis teams. Prizes will be given throughout the clinic.
At noon in the Maravich Assembly Center, there will be an LSU tennis team exhibition, followed by a celebrity match featuring actor Scott Foley of TV hit “The Unit” and Baton Rouge actor Wes Brown, currently co-starring with Matthew McConaughey in the movie “We are Marshall” to be released in December 2006. The Sampras/Martin exhibition follows at 2 p.m.
Pete Sampras became the youngest man to win the U.S. Open in 1990 when he was 19 years old. He has won seven Wimbledon titles, five U.S. Opens and two Australian Opens throughout his career. In 2001, Sampras won his eighth and ninth ESPY awards for Male Tennis Performer of the year and Record Breaking Performance of the Year. He finished his career defeating Andre Agassi in the 2002 U.S. Open to claim his 14th Grand Slam Title.
Todd Martin was a finalist at the 1999 U.S. Open and the 1994 Australian Open. He reached the semifinals at Wimbledon, the U.S. Open and the Grand Slam Cup in 1994. Martin played the Davis Cup for the United States every year between 1994 and 2002. Twice his peers recognized him with the Tour Sportsmanship Award for his abiding respect for the sport and his competitors.
Sampras and Martin partnered at the Davis Cup in the United States in 1995 to win the doubles title. They competed in the 2001 Australian Open, with Martin beating Sampras in the fourth round.
Tickets are $25 and $20, with special $10 tickets available for students and children. Tickets may be purchased online at www.lsusports.net or by calling 800-960-8587 or 225-578-2184 or the LSU Athletic Ticket Office. For more information please visit www.dueloaks.com.