The 14th Annual Wood Racquet Classic, held on Sunday September 2, 2012, elevated a typical Labor Day celebration in Orange County to a spectacular day of sportsmanship and community. The Wood Racquet Estates were filled to the brim in hopes of raising tens of thousands of dollars for the John Wayne Cancer Foundation.
Before entering the unbelievable lawns of the McCray and Peterson family homes, guests walked along a special entryway—a driveway complete with a Rolls Royce, Lotus and McClaren. Upon entering, the revelers snapped photographs in front of a custom art piece made of wooden racquets donated by cofounder Johnny McCray and WoodRacquets.com.
Tennis fans decked out in throwback attire were treated to a terrific match played by Jon Heder, of Napoleon Dynamite fame, &The Office’s Angela Kinsey against actress, director and screenwriter, Anne Heche & Revenge’sJames Tupper. Other notable attendees and participants include director McG, actress Bridget Moynahan, Yo Gabba Gabba’s Justin Lyon, Hurley’s Bob Hurley, tattoo artist Tim Hendricks, Fuel TV’s Pat Parnell, 14-time PGA tour winner John Cook, Stephanie Liu of Honey and Silk, The West Prep’s Wade Kilbarger, That’s Chic’s Rachel Nguyen, and A Taste of Dawn’s Dawn Garcia.
Team Surfline (Robin Waller and Ryan Hollis) was crowned the winner of the open tennis division after beating Team Champions (Chris Brigandi and Nathan Stadler) for the title. The women’s tennis division was won by Team McCray/Whelan (Molly McCray and Mindy Whelan) who played Team Funoyal (Annette Juptner and Raili Clasen) in the championship game. This year’s classic also hosted the first ever kid’s division on Saturday afternoon at the Palisades Tennis Club, where Calvin Saxton (also known as “Kid Creature”) battled it out for the title. Ultimately the prize was taken home by 12-year-old Grant and 10-year-old Connell McCabe.
Triumphant tournament winners went home with incredible picnic coolers donated by Fletcher Jones Motor Cars. All players were treated to gifts provided by Merritt Charles, Memphis Café, Cupio, Paper Magazine, Paul Frank eyewear,Tom’s eyewear, saber sunglasses, Mendes Bros Academy, Steve Aoki and Cobrasnake photographs, Poster Child Prints, Ramos House Café, Life Factory, Pop Chips, Mother’s Market, RVCA,Hurley, PBR, Tickle Time sunscreen and more.
As usual at the Wood Racquet Classic, the event was about more than just the actual tennis. John Gothard and Kent Maul of Team Gothmaulers were crowned the Best Dressed tennis duo with their 70s-inspired getup, complete with quintessential matching headband. An abundance of top-shelf food and drink remained constantly available to satisfy the appetites of droves of partygoers. Lunch was provided by Fork, Knife, Spoon & Rasta Taco; ice cream courtesy of Farrell’s Ice Cream Parlour Restaurant; chips, salsa, and guacamole for 1,000 from Javier’s; 50 pizzas from Original Pizza and cupcakes by Frosted Cupcakery. In the VIP lounge, guests were treated to a fully catered breakfast and lunch by A Restaurant of Newport Beach with watermelon drinks and the best supplies for a delicious Arnold Palmer. And if there’s another feature that makes this event famous, it’s that nobody ever goes thirsty at the Wood Raquet Estates—beer provided by Pabst Blue Ribbon and Stone Brewery, vodka by Skyy, champagne by Posh Events, a fresh fruit tequila bar offered by Peligroso Tequila, Herbert’s Lemonade, Honest Tea, and flavored waters from Activate Drinks.
As if all this was not enough, littered on tables were incredible auction items with memorabilia from The Masters, The Beatles and of course, the legendary John Wayne. The Duke’s signed movie collection with an additional collectable rifle was popular among the crowd and sold for $2,500. There was something for all: gift certificates from Harper’s Boutique, Insight, Ksubi, Something Else, The Solo Project; unbelievable packages from Volcom, Alejandra Kearl, Assouline, Epicuren; surf gear from INT Soft Boards, Cordell Surfboards, Billabong, CB4; street gear from Stussy and sportswear by Leisure Society; beautiful jewels by Julia Post, Dana Lynn, Shyva, & Sachi Love; handbags by Pallie Bags and Rebecca Minkoff; sunglasses by Leisure Society and Barton Perreira; golf outings at Arroyo Trabuco Golf Course and tennis outings with Mark Philippoussis ; overnight accommodations to Montage Laguna Beach, La Fonda Hotel & Spa, Montana Sporting Club, Meliá Cozumel Golf Resort & even a one-week apartment stay in St. Jean Cap Ferrat, South of France. There were over 110 items on the silent auction, all beautiful signs of a community coming together for a great cause.
The official “lead” sponsors included Leisure Society, the Fiori family, Metz Properties, HOM/Sotheby’s International Realty, Saks Fifth Avenue and Newport European Motorcars, who sat front row for the action.
This is only a modest shoutout to just a few of the sponsors who made this event possible. Most importantly, the event more than succeeded in its mission to raise money for the John Wayne Cancer Foundation. Neither would the event have been possible without the 40+ volunteers who spent countless hours preparing and executing. Thank you to all who participated, worked, sponsored and attended to make this possible!
View the entire collection of photos on the Wood Racquet Classic Facebook page, Instagram page, or check out the Instagram #woodracquetclassic!
