Mac Knefely • News Journal correspondent • May 8, 2009 Larry Caton loved every minute he was on a tennis court, especially if it
meant helping children learn to play the game. His memory was honored at the inaugural Larry Caton Memorial Tennis Tournament at the Roger Scott Tennis Center. The event benefited Tennis-4-Everyone, Inc, a local program geared at helping underprivileged kids play tennis. The tournament embodied the spirit that Larry Caton always enjoyed, complete with a pair of exhibition matches and full day on the hard courts. Caton died earlier this year after a lengthy illness. He was inducted posthumously into the Pensacola Sports Association Hall of Fame, along with brothers Bruce and Don. Ed Dotson kicked off the day’s events with a touching introduction about Caton. State high school doubles champs Jackie Kasler and Jennifer Pfeifler paired up to battle fellow local high school stars Will Neuner and John Nowak. The girls took the first set, but the guys won a 10-game tiebreaker instead of a full second set, as everyone wanted to get back to playing. Terry Thrash and Calvin Moore were the top men of the tourney. The women had separate division winners. In the Diamond division, Dawn Thomas and Miranda Dutra ruled the court, while Tami Manning and Debbie Cupp took the Gold division. Carole Cantin and Deb Campbell won the Silver, and Kim Moak and Teresa Endress earned the Bronze title.
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