For the last three years, the Central Ohio CTAN team has organized a one day tournament event called the Jimmy Holland Memorial, and it has become one of the premier events to play in during the summer.
The tournament is held at the Swim and Racquet Club in Upper Arlington, Ohio, and is conducted in honor of Jimmy Holland; a former A-10 player at St. Joseph’s in Philadelphia, PA. Jimmy was an active and beloved player in the Columbus area when he suddenly passed away in 2017 at 33 years old, incidentally before participating in a local league match.
The Central Ohio CTAN team celebrates Jimmy through this event and hopes to bring other players together for a fun afternoon of tennis competition. The event features some of the best current and former college players in the area. It has become a great day of competitive tennis, with plenty of chances for connecting with others in the area through match play and socializing afterward. The event includes open Men’s, Women’s and Mixed draws, with prize money for each event.
“I look forward to the Jimmy Holland event each summer. This event is an extremely fun and well organized event that gets some of the best local talent together. It also brings our ITA Columbus chapter together for some high level tennis.”
Lisa Hofbauer, former East Carolina and Ohio State player
The 2023 event, held on June 17th, included current and former players from schools such as Ohio State, University of Cincinnati, Denison University, University of Toledo, Yale, and Northern Kentucky, with a total of over 25 universities represented. The Central Ohio CTAN team makes it a point to ensure anyone who is a part of the chapter is invited first to make this a unifying event between current and former players.
“The Jimmy Holland Memorial is an amazing event celebrating one of my close friends(Jimmy Holland). The event is a great cause and a terrific way to get our ITA alumni, as well as those that played with Jimmy, to come out and play competitively while celebrating Jimmy.”
Lanny Rubin, Former Walsh University player
In this summer’s men’s final, current players Alex Bernard (OSU) and JJ Tracy (OSU) defeated former players Joey Thomas (LSU) and his brother Danny (Florida Southern). In the Women’s Draw Elizabeth Pendergast (Cincinnati) and Shyla Aggerwal (Yale) defeated former players Lisa Hofbauer (ECU/OSU) and Katherine Jones (OSU) in a tight tie break match.
If you are located in the Central Ohio area and are interested in participating next year, or if you are simply just interested in how the team conducts this event, please email Lanny Rubin at rubin.lanny@gmail.com or Patrick McColgan at pamccolgan@gmail.com for more information.
Photos provided by Xavy Perez