Lawmakers, press hit the courts for charity tennis event

Lawmakers and journalists teamed up Tuesday night for a good cause, hitting the court for the seventh Washington Kastles Charity Classic tennis tournament.

The clouds parted just in time for attendees to watch Team Stripes beat Team Stars at the Kastles’ new stadium in Union Market.

The annual event raised money for Washington, D.C., charities, including the DC Ed Fund, N Street Village and Food & Friends.

It was a bipartisan affair, with lawmakers from both parties, including Sen. Shelley Moore Capito (R-W.Va.), Reps. Jared Huffman (D-Calif.) and William Timmons (R-S.C.), and former Rep. Charlie Dent (R-Pa.) taking part.{mosads}

Among the media participants were CNN reporter Michelle Kosinski, network president Jeff Zucker, and Wolf Blitzer, host of “The Situation Room.” The Hill, a media sponsor of the event, was represented by Editor-in-Chief Bob Cusack.

And tennis icon Nick Bollettieri was on hand as one of the event’s celebrity coaches.

Bollettieri jokingly pleaded the Fifth when asked whether Republicans or Democrats were the better tennis players in the event. But he opened up to talk about the importance of coming together for a worthy cause.

“It’s all about helping inner-city children and that’s why I am here,” he said. “The future of America is based on young children and if they don’t have hope that they can reach their dreams, America will be in more trouble than it is today.”

It was a competitive match with the Stripes, represented by tennis star Bruno Soares and D.C. United coach Ben Olsen, taking the first set in a 7-5 tiebreaker over the Stars’ Yoshihito Nishioka, who plays for the Kastles, and Kastles owner Mark Ein.

Kastles coach Murphy Jensen emceed the event and kept the mood light-hearted.

At one point during the tournament, when CNN’s Jeff Zucker took the court, Blitzer took over the umpire chair.

The match was a close and hard-fought affair, with the Stripes ultimately prevailing by one point. ABC News chief White House correspondent Jonathan Karl was honored with the MVP award.

Round 1 was full of chest bumps and laughs! Stripes up 7-5 after the first… #WKCC #KastlesStadiumatUnionMarket pic.twitter.com/4grp4ZF6N8

— Washington Kastles (@WashKastles) July 23, 2019

A little rain can’t slow me down. “Love” playing in @WashKastles’ charity classic tonight! #WKCC pic.twitter.com/MkfzNRKwEX

— Shelley Moore Capito (@SenCapito) July 23, 2019