EPHRATA – For the previous three Tuesday evenings, the tennis courts have been filled with tennis players enrolled in the Tuesday Night Tennis League.

The league, now in its third year, is made up of players of all ages, with the proceeds going toward the Ephrata tennis programs.

“We’re like $100 away,” Ephrata Boys Tennis Head Coach Ayla Ecalbarger said of how far the league is from their fundraiser goal.

Each Tuesday night players come out to the courts for an evening of games, cycling through other teams each night.

Ecalbarger said that the first night received a great turnout, with the next two weeks seeing a decrease in players. She noted that the previous week’s meet was slow due to the heat wave.

“The first week we had a ton of people, we had 15 teams show up,” Ecalbarger said. “Last week was hotter, so we had a new team show up and then we didn’t have as many. This time, we have seven teams.”

With the proceeds of the league going to the tennis program, the goal is to be able to purchase a new ball machine.

“We’ve been raising money for the tennis program, and we’re hoping to buy a new ball machine,” Ecalbarger said.

Ecalbarger said that the league has been effective in raising money toward its goal. She credited not only the Ephrata community but surrounding cities as well with helping the teams reach their goal.

“It’s been awesome,” Ecalbarger said of the turnout. “There’s been a lot of people from Moses (Lake) too, so then we’ve had a lot of people make connections too, and gotten to play with each other.”

The next meet for the Tuesday Night Tennis League will be on August 9 and will be the last meet of the four-night series. Those interested in participating can do so by showing up to the Ephrata High School tennis courts before play begins at 6:30 p.m. that evening.

Ian Bivona may be reached at ibivona@columbiabasinherald.com.