This year, demand for Challenge 4 Charity weekend tickets was overwhelming. The 1,300 available tickets sold out several weeks in advance to the surprise of many. As co-captain of the Anderson C4C tennis team, I was sad to hear that two of our players, Alex and Pam, were not able to secure a ticket before in time. Last year, Stanford man-handled our tennis team up and down the line up, and we really wanted to put up our best possible team to make things more competitive. Thankfully, Stanford (the hosts of this widely popular event), had a secondary market in place so that people could have a second chance through the wait list.
A few days before the event, both Pam and Alex fortunately secured a last minute ticket off of this secondary market. With their help, I'm thrilled to say that we won the tennis event. In fact, Anderson won the entire sporting event of the weekend, also securing 1st place finishes in co-ed football, table tennis, men's soccer, men and women's volleyball, and squash. We came painfully close to clinching the men's A basketball title when Stanford's point guard drained an off-balance 3 with less than a minute to go. Nonetheless, I am very proud of the way our guys stepped up and challenged the highly talented Stanford team (e.g., 2-time NBA champion Mark Madsen was their center, and Graham defended him really well). The atmosphere in that Arrillaga gym was nothing short of electric. Let's just say that it did not feel like an MBA event!
If there's anything I learned from that weekend, it's that MBAs love playing sports and cheering for teammates. Thanks to all my fellow west-coast MBAs for the great memories. Many bonds were formed and new friendships created during this epic weekend -- I'm pretty sure we all can agree that this result is a win-win for everyone.
Jesse Ferlianto '12
Twitter: @jferlianto
UCLA Anderson Tennis - C4C 2012 Champions!
(Photo courtesy of Lorenzo Mah)
