PENN TWP — It may have been the luck of the draw, but Sarah Dieffenbach and Jack Boros let their skills shine through.

The duo teamed up to capture the ninth annual Butler Country Club Dave Barnes Pro-Am on Sunday.

Dieffenbach is an assistant tennis professional at the club and Boros is a senior at Knoch High School and a club member.

“I actually taught Jack this past summer along with some of the varsity team when they practiced,” said Dieffenbach, a recent University of Pittsburgh graduate. He's an amazing person and amazing player.

“It was a random draw but everyone's competitive. It was fun because I taught him all summer. We knew each other's game,” Dieffenbach added.

“Whenever you play in an event like this, it's all high-level tennis players here,” said Boros of Saxonburg.

Dieffenbach and Boros went 5-2 during the round-robin format and tied Grayson Geller and Kristen Petcash with the best record, but the aforementioned team won the head-to-head match, which was the third match.

“We won the first five matches,” Boros said. “Maybe we were kind of getting confident because we dropped the last two matches.

“Whitney (Snyder, the BCC pro) kind of lets us play as long as he wants, about 15 minutes every match. It was shortened sometimes because of the rain. We played in between the rain,” Boros added.

Others competing in the pro-am were Jack Barkley and Rachel Diehl; Kit Barkus and Brian Miklavic; Caroline Haser and Rob Ojeda; Kenny Nieser and Dick Yoder; Trent Goerk and Annie Succop; along with Dana Bilowich and Trevor Heck.

“It was a new format this year,” said Snyder. “In the past, we had one pro, one adult male member and one adult female. This year, we made it 16 players. After so many years you want to mix things up a bit.

“The stronger juniors play it, the staff members play it. It's an honor to be asked. It's invite only. You don't sign up for it, you're hand-picked,” Snyder added.

Barnes began the tennis program at Butler Country Club in 1975 and spent more than 30 years as the Butler High School tennis coach.

“It's nice to come back and see the facility,” Barnes said. “It is a first-rate facility as nice as any court can be.

“Whitney's work at the country club through the years is unmatched. With area tennis, the longevity and quality, you combine those two and it's tough to beat,” Barnes added.

Said Snyder, “It's paying tribute to Dave and what he's done. The goal is to get good team players, men and women. Other members come out and enjoy.”

Dieffenbach and Boros both know the privilege of playing in such an event.

“It was an amazing experience,” said Dieffenbach, 22, in taking part. “It's nice to see prior pros compete and everyone is tough here.”

“I don't know coach Barnes but I've played with Whitney 13 years,” said Boros, “and I think I'll take Whitney's word when he's saying coach Barnes is a very good coach.

“It's an honor to play in this event,” Boros added.

Barnes also enjoys seeing the matches in the competitive spirit he enjoys.

“It's nice to see the camaraderie,” Barnes said. “It's competitive, yet it's a relaxed atmosphere.”

The country club was to follow up Sunday's Pro-Am Monday with the third annual “The Jamie” Adult-Junior — a doubles tournament honoring the memory of Jamie McCandless, who was a 10-year member of the club who passed away three years ago.

“You can't be related,” said Snyder. “You like to see a 10-year-old boy play with someone he's not related to. They'll ask someone to be their partner. And, it's nice to see the adults reciprocate.

“Last year, we had 100 people. We put the U.S. Open on to get them in the mood. There's food, wine and beer, homemade ice cream. It's really a good way to end the summer, with a lot of momentum.

“Really, it's the ultimate tribute to the McCandless family.”