The pickleball community recently came together in memory of a fallen Tampa Police officer who gave his life in a heroic deed to save others. Proceeds benefited the Tunnel to Towers Foundation.
The Jesse Madsen Memorial Tournament took place at the Tampa Pickleball Crew’s Ybor City warehouse. Madsen perished in 2001 when he steered his police SUV into the path of a wrong-way driver on I-275, a maneuver that saved others.
The inaugural tourney drew 156 players with nearly $7,000 raised after expenses. Organizer Corey Swearingen, the first paramedic on the scene after that fatal crash, plans to make it an annual event.
“That’s more (players) than I thought. I would’ve been happy with 100,” said Swearingen, who also played in the tourney with partner Daragh Carr. “Everyone said it was a blast.”
Tampa Pickleball Crew co-founder Kayla Goodman welcomed Swearingen and the Tunnel to Towers Foundation, noting that the tourney was among several charitable events since the Ybor City warehouse opened in January.
“Any way we can give back,” she said. “We think pickleball is a great fundraiser.”
Christa Vutera, one of the foundation’s longtime volunteers, worked with Swearingen to promote the tourney.
“Between the love of pickleball that is prevalent here and the love of first responders, I think it’s kind of a natural attraction,” she said of people uniting for the cause.
Among the categories was a first responder’s division, won by Luke Jaso and Carlton Green. Jody Conn and Elijah Rhoden took second with Joseph Johnson and Aaron Morris placing third.
Top finishers in other divisions included:
Men’s Doubles 3.5 — gold, Liam and Ewan Dail; silver, Edward Francis and Blake Kennedy; bronze, Max Davis and Harlan Giordano.
Men’s Doubles 4.0 — gold, Chris Pruitt and Dilan Scargle; silver, Brian Grogan and John Riley; bronze, Michael Grego and Austin Mason.
Men’s Doubles 4.5 — gold, Rafe Mosetick and Brian Kowalski; silver, Easton Bykowski and Zack Florendo; bronze, Stephen Allan andPeter Dunbar.
Women’s Doubles 3.5 —gold, Faye Zoe and Michelle Miller-Weissenberger; silver, Leah Smith and Julie Johnson; bronze, Lauren Ziebell and Laura Foy.
Women’s Doubles 4.0 —
gold, Danielle Nickerson and Parker Webster; silver, Abby Hoxha and Bridget Coyman; bronze, Bianca Pineda and Kristen Viola.
Mixed Doubles 3.0 — gold, Julie Dail and Matt Noto; silver, Lisa and Ryan Crosby; bronze, Kiara Flores Rios and Angel Matias Lopez.
Mixed Doubles 3.5 — gold, Allison and Mike Young; silver, Hanna Miller and Bradley Jacobsen; bronze, Thi Nguyen and Nam Tran. Mixed Doubles 4.0 — gold, Jamie Rogers and Sharief Ferris; silver, Bridget Coyman and Chris Torgusen; bronze, Many and Kevin Burr.
BY STEVE LEE
Times Total Media Correspondent Photos courtesy of Christa Vutera
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