I learned that a group of Filipino tennis players who play tennis every Saturday at the Kalakaua tennis courts have some great tennis history behind them. They were once known by the nickname "FATA," Filipino American Tennis Association "Baby Boomers" in 1999. They also went by the names, Kalakaua Knights and The Lobbers. The team captain at that time was Mr. Darwin Abenoja Sr., (photo above). His son, Darwin Jr. inherited his dad's love for tennis, and played for Moanalua High School. He was selected by the coaches under the Western Division OIA as the 1996 Soft Tennis OIA Star! The "Baby Boomers" was one of seven teams who made it to the National Championship round by winning the USTA Hawaii Pacific Championship on Maui and headed for Tucson, Arizona in 1999. The 3.5 Baby Boomers (Oahu) placed second and lost to the Las Vegas team. Several years later, Darwin re-grouped his team and in 2007 they again made it to the USTA Championship in the "50 and over" league. They won the State Championship and headed for Tucson, Arizona for the National Championship but didn't make the final four. So now days, they just get together every week, and have a one day weekend tournament every three or four months of the year. Other than that, they just have fun playing tennis and talking about the good old days. "Click" here to see photos.
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