By Grant Clark
Brenda Williams is surrounded by medals and trophies.
She and her husband Mike have owned TAGS since 2001. The Olympia store specializes in plaques, trophies, and all sorts of other awards. Basically, if it’s shiny, they have it.
Scanning the inside of her office, which is layered with product samples, it is quite clear TAGS can handled any request, but despite being flanked by virtually every type of trophy you can imagine, the medal Brenda is holding has significantly more value to her than all the others.
This one was earned, not made.
Brenda was one of nearly 11,000 athletes to compete in the 2013 National Senior Games in Cleveland. The medal she proudly clutches is for the third place she won in tennis for the women’s 55-59 age division.
A biennial event, Brenda will look to secure a second medal when she competes in the 2015 National Senior Games. This year the Games will be held in Minnesota with events held throughout the Twin Cities and Bloomington.
“It was inspiring,” Brenda said about the 2013 Senior Games. “It was competitive. It was fun and a well-organized event.”
All that made it an easy decision to return.
However, this year she will not only compete as a single, but also in mixed doubles with her husband.
By winning last year’s mixed doubles tournament at the Washington Senior Games, Brenda and Mike qualified for the National Games. The tournament begins July 6.
Mike was unable to make the trip to Cleveland in 2013 to cheer his wife on. Instead Brenda frequently sent him updates via pictures.
“I said, ‘This could be you,’” Brenda joked. “It was such a great experience. It was too bad he couldn’t make it last time. We’ve been looking forward to it for quite a while.”
This will mark Brenda’s second trip to the National Senior Games, while Mike will be making his first appearance. Both also placed as singles in a national tournament in Palm Springs in 2011.
“It’s competitive. These people are good,” said Mike about the level of competition. “We’ve both kept ourselves in shape. We’ve worked hard at that. I used to think when I turned 50 it was going to be great because we were in such good shape, but it hasn’t worked out that way because everyone else is in great shape too. It really makes it competitive. But that’s the fun part of it.”
Unseeded in the 16-player tournament in 2013, Brenda won her opening round in straight sets, 6-0, 6-0, before facing the tournament’s third seeded player in the quarterfinals.
“My first match I won pretty easily,” Brenda said. “That second match was a nail biter – a three setter.”
Brenda dropped the first set before rallying to win the match, 2-6, 6-2, 1-0 (9), to advance to the semifinals where she squared off against top-seeded Deborah Burgess, who won the division in 2011.
Burgess won in three sets, 1-6, 7-5, 1-0 (3), and went on to win her second consecutive championship.
But Brenda didn’t go home empty handed. She knocked off the No. 4 seed in straight sets, 6-0, 6-0, to take home the division’s third-place medal.
In addition to repeating as a singles medalist, Brenda will attempt to also bring some hardware home with Mike.
The couple have played tennis together since their teens while growing up in Pasadena, Calif.
“I’m steady and calm,” Brenda states about the duo’s paying styles, “and Mike is quick and all over the place.”
The National Senior Games is a 19-sport, biennial competition for men and women 50 and over. It is the largest multi-sport event in the world for seniors and features events such as archery, badminton, cycling, golf, horseshoes, racquetball, swimming and track and field.
The event was inaugurated in 1987 with St. Louis, Mo. serving as the host city to 2,500 competitors. The Games having steadily grown, adding sports from its initial total of 15 and seeing its total number of athletes increase dramatically.
Cleveland played host to the 14th summer national championships in 2013 with 10,881 participants. More than 12,000 athletes are expected to compete in this year’s Games.
“I think it’s good to be a role model and to be active when you are 50 plus,” Brenda said. “I’d like to be a model for my kids and anyone else. That’s a good thing.”
