TENNIS / JEFF RILEY : Oxnard’s McIntyre Keeps His Spirit Alive as Wheelchair Sports Activist

In 1985, Glenn McIntyre’s life was forever changed.

McIntyre, an officer with the Oxnard Police Department, was riding a motorcycle that collided with a car that was being operated by a drunken driver in Laguna Beach.

McIntyre’s back was fractured in 17 places and he also sustained fractures in his hips, ribs, and knees.

“I was in so much pain that I didn’t think about moving, I was just trying to figure out how to breathe,” McIntyre said. “I could hear people running toward me. I knew I had about two minutes to figure out how to breathe.”

Today, McIntyre is paralyzed from below his ribs and is confined to a wheelchair. But he has not allowed that physical handicap to hinder his spirit.

McIntyre, who still is employed by the Oxnard Police Department and lives in Oxnard, is ranked No. 6 in the world in the B division of the Wheelchair Tennis Players Assn.

The WTPA was founded 12 years ago and sponsors about 70 tournaments nationwide, including the Gold Coast Classic at Ventura College on Saturday and Sunday.

McIntyre, the tournament director, is sponsored by Oxnard Regional Medical Center and will be the second-seeded player in the men’s B division. McIntyre’s doubles partner, Tim Ambler of Ventura, is the top-seeded player.

McIntyre began playing wheelchair tennis in 1989 and immediately became addicted. Once, after receiving a one-day leave from a hospital, he traveled to Santa Barbara for a wheelchair football tournament. He also has competed in numerous wheelchair races.

“I wasn’t going to just sit around,” he said.

McIntyre, 29, has played in 17 tennis tournaments in California, Arizona, and Nevada. As a doubles team, McIntyre and Ambler have won six of the eight tournaments they have entered. McIntyre also just concluded a six-week course in which he instructed junior wheelchair tennis players.

“There aren’t many sports in which somebody in a wheelchair can compete with able-bodied people, but tennis is one of them,” McIntyre said. “When you play, you push a little faster than you thought you could. You lean a little farther than you thought you could. No matter what, you’re going for it.”

The Gold Coast Classic, which allows the ball to bounce twice before a player must return it, will feature 50 players from throughout California and offers several prizes to competitors--including a wheelchair worth $2,000. The Ventura Rotary Club will sponsor a steak dinner Saturday at 6 p.m. at Ventura State Beach in conjunction with the tournament.

Other top local players include Oxnard’s Richard Ceniseroz, Oxnard’s Kirby Haley, Ventura’s Vince Pena and Oxnard’s Oscar Magallanes.

“A lot of people have made this tournament possible,” said McIntyre, who will compete in the U.S. Wheelchair Open in Irvine on Oct. 5-13. “We plan to make it an annual event.”

Junior team tennis: The Oxnard Tennis Center’s 12-year-old girls’ tennis team defeated Cabrillo Racquet Club, 3-1, Monday.

The victory propelled the team into the Gar Glenney Cup in Fresno on Aug. 24-25. Oxnard Tennis Center will meet the state’s northern-division winner for the state championship.

Team members include Alicia Dorsky, Leslie Balta, Veronica Reynosa, Miko Yokoi and Lauren Dickey.

Junior tournament: More than 120 juniors are competing in the Oxnard Sports Festival junior tennis tournament, which began Thursday and ends today at the Oxnard Tennis Center.

Top-seeded players include Westlake Village’s Jason Weiss (boys’ 18s), Ventura’s Michelle Palmisano (girls’ 18s), Ventura’s Steve Wang (boys’ 16s), Somis’ Sandi Burkhart (girls’ 16s), Westlake Village’s Todd Campbell (boys’ 14s) and Oxnard’s Donella Bernado (girls’ 14s). Others include Oxnard’s Mike Marquez (boys’ 12s), Miko Yokoi (girls’ 12s and 10s), Westlake Village’s Nicholas Weiss (boys’ 10s) and Oxnard’s Brucil Dorsky (girls’ 8s).

Junior Open: Thirteen local players won titles in the 21st Junior Open at the Thousand Oaks Racquet Club last weekend.

Camarillo’s Mark Ellis (boys’ 18s), Northridge’s Chris Minor (boys’ 16s), Simi Valley’s Nick Varvais (boys’ 14s), Camarillo’s Molly White (girls’ 18s), Agoura’s Kriston Hamilton (girls’ 14s), and Oxnard’s Leslie Balta (girls’ 12s) won singles titles.

Hamilton, who is only 11, lost only one game in eight sets.

Doubles winners included Ellis and Newbury Park’s Mike Bannister (boys’ 18s), Agoura’s Jason Cook and Roman Braslavsky (boys’ 14s), Westlake Village’s Kim Stuart and Claudia Muhlinghaus (girls’ 18s), and Camarillo’s Kristen Gross and Shera Wiegler (girls’ 14s).

Ventura County championships: Entry deadline for the 27th Ventura County tennis championships, which will be held at several locations, is Aug. 9.

The tournament, which is sponsored by Pierpont Racquet Club and the Ventura Parks and Recreation Department, will be held Aug. 17-18 and Aug. 24-25.

Information: 805-658-4743.