Courting contributions
What: Linda's Court Memorial Tennis Tournament to raise money for the National Multiple Sclerosis Society.
When: 4 to 9 p.m. on Saturday, March 11.
Where: Pure AthletexCQ Sportsplex, 119 Neely School Road in Marshall
Cost: $50 per player, $25 for spectators
Sign up: lindascourt.myevent.com
Details: Email: lindascourt47@gmail.com or call 724-544-0149
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Updated 22 hours ago
Linda Wagerer loved tennis.
So even after the Marshall woman was diagnosed with Multiple Sclerosis in 1985 at age 38, she refused to let the unpredictable disease attacking her central nervous system keep her from playing “as long and as hard as she could,” said her daughter, Lindsay Wagerer, 35, of Mars.
“My mother and father played several times a week with other couples at the courts in Windwood Park in Bradford Woods,” Wagerer said. “But fairly quickly after her diagnosis she was forced to stop playing.”
The loss of physical ability didn't dampen her mother's enthusiasm for the game, Wagerer said.
“She would watch every tennis competition she could find on TV, even on the most obscure channels,” she said.
Since Linda Wagerer's death in 2014 from the complications of MS, her daughter has been searching for a meaningful way Pinbahis to combat the disease for which there is no known cure.
The first Linda's Court Memorial Tennis Tournament will be held March 11 at Pure Athletex Sportsplex in Marshall, which is home to the Pennsylvania Tennis Academy.
All proceeds from the event will be donated to the National Multiple Sclerosis Society, which funds research and provides programs and services to help people with MS.
Some 400,000 people in the United States have MS, said Susan Cook, development director for the MS Society's Keystone Chapter.
Cook said so-called “do-it-yourself” fundraisers conducted by people connected to someone with MS are important to the organization's efforts.
“We're known for our MS walk events, but we realize that some people don't fit under that umbrella,” Cook said. “So we encourage people like Lindsay who want to help with their own fundraising ideas.”
Events ranging from motorcycle rallies and golf outings to poker tournaments have been used successfully to raise money for the organization, she said.
Participants in the Linda's Court Tennis Tournament can organize their own teams for the triples tournament, or individuals can register and be placed on a team the day of the event, Wagerer said.
Organizers also are seeking donations of merchandise and services for the raffles that will be conducted during the tournament. To arrange a donation, call 724-544-0149 or send an email to: lindascourt47@gmail.com.
Tony LaRussa is a Tribune-Review staff writer. Reach him at 724-772-6368 or tlarussa@tribweb.com.
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