Club Tennis THON is a relatively smaller org — only 40 members — but is still making a big impact on THON this year. We caught up with the club’s THON Chair, Rebecca Sech, to learn more about Club Tennis and its Four Diamonds family.

Tell us about yourself:

I’m a senior, majoring in biobehavioral health. I’ve been playing tennis since high school, and joined right away during freshman year.

How many dancers does Club Tennis have?

Two! Their names are Stephanie Resendiz and Will Nauman. They’re both in really high spirits right now, and doing great.

How long have you been involved with the THON part of Club Tennis?

This is my fourth year. I joined the THON part as a freshman when I joined Club Tennis. I’ve been most involved the past three years, though.

Why did you choose to be involved with Club Tennis THON, as opposed to a special interest org or another THON organization?

I joined Club Tennis during fall of freshman year just to get involved, and I made a lot of friends there. Once I realized how involved everyone else was, it made me want to be there with them.

As a THON chair, you have to be here awhile. How long have you been in the BJC stands?

I got here around 3 p.m. on Friday, and have been here for all but about six hours. I want to make sure everything runs smoothly for us, and to support Steph and Will. I’ll be here until the end!

What’s your favorite part about THON?

I love that everyone stands at the end when they reveal the total. After standing for 46 hours, and being exhausted, and finally getting to sit down, they’re right back up standing immediately. It’s simple, but it’s my favorite part.

Can you tell me about your THON family?

Club Tennis is paired with the Xander Beltz family. Xander is seven years old, and was diagnosed with leukemia when he was one year-old, but he went through treatment and beat cancer last year. He’s officially cancer free! He’s the youngest cancer survivor in his hometown (Carlisle, PA.) He has a sister named Jacaylah, and his whole family is highly involved in THON. This is our second year with them as our THON family, we’ve been getting to know them really well over the last year and it’s been awesome.

What’s your favorite THON-related memory?

When we went canning at the Beltz’ house, Xander wanted to play Mario Kart at 6:30 in the morning, before we went out canning! I’m not that good at Mario Kart, but we played and had a great time. It was so much fun.

What makes Club Tennis a unique org?

This isn’t really THON-related, but it describes us well. The Beltz’ don’t believe that we actually play tennis! They call us ‘Club Grub,’ because all we do is go out to eat. Whenever we actually play tennis we send them pictures, and they joke that we photoshopped ourselves in!

What’s your favorite part of the line dance this year?

I like the first line of the chorus: ‘Whoop! There it is! / We’re here for the kids!’ The lyrics are fun, and I like the movement they have to go along with it.