hoodrivernews.com
HOOD RIVER NEWS | Hood River, Ore.
Wednesday, March 11, 2020 A7
SPORTS
Local tennis team brings home the gold in tournament
By GABRIEL BRAVO
News staff writer
Hood River Women’s Ten-
nis Team 2.5 competed and
took first place in the USTA
Women’s 18-plus Area Tennis
Tournament Sunday, March 1
in Richland, Wash. Coached by
Craig Pearce, Sensi Graves, Jen
Dillard, Tonia Farman, Colleen
Carroll, Bailey Gaspar and
Bernie Von Borstel formed the
team as a way to decompress
from their daily occupations.
“We all are members of the
Columbia Gorge Sports Club,”
Dillard said. “So, we formed a
team. The team is all newbies.
We registered to play in the
tournament in the Tri-Cities,
thinking maybe we would have
a good time, but we ended up
sweeping it and it’s kind of
crazy.”
Tennis experience ranges
from high school play, child-
hood sports, and some have
been playing for a few weeks.
“We’ve got successful busi-
ness owners on our team and
it’s just so cool to see us work
hard and play hard,” Dillard
said. Graves is a professional
kite boarder and owner of
Sensi Graves Bikini, Carroll is
also a professional kite board-
er, Dillard owns Jen Dillard
Real Estate and Farman owns
Queen of Hearts Hemp Health
in Hood River.
Team members previously
knew each other through kids
or work, but not significantly.
The competition in Tri-Cities,
however, brought each other
closer and created a bond.
“We were so nervous but
also excited to play,” Dillard
said. “We had no idea what our
competition was going to be
like. We were pleased to find
everybody that we played was
so nice even from the other
clubs. People were just really
nice, and we enjoyed meeting
them and playing with them.
One of the captains from the
other teams pulled our coach
aside and said, ‘How is that
everybody from Hood River
on your team is so nice?’ It’s
great to represent Hood River
in such a good light.”
Since the team was formed
for leisure competition, there
was no impending pressure to
win, Dillard said.
“We all plan to train (for sec-
tionals) weekly, multiple times
a week, until the tournament
and play as many games as we
can and gear up,” Dillard said.
“We’re excited and we’re up
for the challenge now that we
know what we’re dealing with.
We’re excited to really train, get
out there and win.”
Their performance earned
them a spot in the Sectional
Championships on Aug. 7-9.
Winners of earn the oppor-
tunity to represent the Pacif-
ic Northwest at the National
Championships Oct. 9-11 in
Las Vegas.
“Yeah, it was intended to
be kind of like a fun thing to
do every once in a while, but
we’ve just gotten so into it,”
Dillard said. “I’m a business
owner, a mom and a wife and I
do all of those things and I kind
Photo courtesy of Jen Dillard
of forgot about myself and how
TEAM
MEMBERS
Sensi
Graves,
Jen
Dillard,
Craig
Pearce
(coach),
Tonia
Farman,
Colleen
Carroll
and
Bailey
Gaspar
pose after winning
I like to have fun too. So, it’s
first place at the USTA Women’s 18-plus Area Tennis Tournament in Richland, Wash., on March 1.
been so good for me.”
Hood River film director aims at
showcasing biking and local communities
Photo courtesy of Manny Marquez
DOUBLE MOUNTAIN in Hood River held “Movies with Manny” Feb. 26. Around 90 people attended the event.
By GABRIEL BRAVO
News staff writer
Hood River film director
Manny Marquez held a movie
showing Feb. 26 at Double
Mountain. The event show-
cased films and documentaries
featuring the 2009 Tour de
France, Tour of California and
Dirty Finger Bicycle Repair and
Sellwood Cycle Repair’s Dirty
Sellwood race.
For the Tour de France films,
Marquez was not paid, but de-
cided to film anyways in order
to get experience.
“(About Face Media) said
they’ll pay for my trip, food and
travel but we can’t really pay
you to be there,” Marquez said.
“I was in a place in my career
where I was still young. In 2009
I was 30. I was young in my ca-
reer, still trying to make a name
for myself as a film maker. I
mean 30 days in France, all
expenses paid, and you get to
hang out with the best athletes
in the world. I went with an
editor, Barry Polterman. Barry
and I became good friends and
he owned the company, About
Face Media.”
Marquez would film during
the day while Polterman edited
the footage and published it in
time for U.S. viewers to watch.
During his time in France,
Marquez learned the signifi-
cance and importance cycling
has in the country. Country
towns and villages come alive
when the race cycles through.
It’s a different experience, Mar-
quez said.
Closer to home, Marquez
filmed a series for Native Eye-
wear featuring the origin of
Dirty Finger.
“So, I’m Catholic and for
me building community is
very important,” Marquez said.
“Building a church communi-
ty, building a town community,
supporting each other. What
I saw with Dirty Finger was
a pure form of community.
They’re here for each other,
they ride together, they drink
with each other.”
Marquez and Dirty Finger
owner Mitchell Buck became
friends and started riding to-
gether. With Buck’s creative
ideas and Marquez’s filming,
both have created films for and
about Dirt Finger.
Currently, Marquez is work-
ing on a project with Double
Mountain and their recycling
efforts and a second about his
brother.
“Right now, I’m working on
a film for Double Mountain
and their refillable bottles,”
Marquez said. “Recycling is
great but refillable is really the
way to go because it comes
back into the stream instead of
having to tear this thing apart.
I’m also working on a feature
film about my brother. He’s a
former Marine and he does
chainsaw carving and he made
a chainsaw carving of a bat-
tlefield cross for every Marine
that died in his unit.”
The final winter cinema
screening will be March 25,
Marquez said, and would like
to thank Double Mountain and
Dirty Finger for their support.
2016 Hood River News file photo featuring Marquez on a local film shoot.