Wheatley senior honors fallen friends

Continued from Page 1 driven home from a tennis match celebration.

Their car was hit by Roslyn resident Amandeep Singh, who prosecutors allege was under the influence of alcohol and cocaine and driving 95 mph on the wrong side of the road.

Raja was close friends with Hassenbein and had played tennis with him since he started at the age of nine. He said they both trained at Robbi Wagner’s tennis training center, which is where the their friendship and friendly tennis rivalry began.

Three days before Hassenbein’s death, Raja and Hassenbein had battled against one another in a high school tennis match.

After losing his friend, Raja began planning a fundraiser for the teens. He presented the idea to his school’s athletic director, who approved the tournament event.

Since it was close to the conclusion of the school year, and Raja had to secure permits for the event, the fundraiser was delayed until August. This also helped increase attendance, Raja said, as students would be returning from summer camps and be local again.

(From left to right) Rahul Dawar, Aaron Raja and Riya Mittle assisted in putting on the tourna-

The fundraiser was also supported by the Wildcat Athletic Foundation, which helped Raja conduct the event by designing T-shirts and gathering supplies. He said the help of foundation members Susan Marasco and Bernadette Quinn was essential.

“Without it, I couldn’t have pulled this off,” Raja said.

Rain was predicted to begin at the time the tournament was scheduled, but inclement weather was not going to stop the event.

Instead, the tournament was pushed two hours earlier in the day to evade the weather. Despite the last-minute change, Raja said everyone who signed up for the tournament arrived to support the cause.

“You could really see how much we all cared as a community,” Raja said. “That even though they had to get up a little bit earlier, it didn’t matter because of the cause they were playing for.”

The tournament included about 80 participants, Raja said, with a mix of adults and kids playing in either a beginner or advanced tennis bracket. Additional patrons showed up in support of the players in the tournament.

Tournament players included tennis players from Roslyn, Syosset, East Williston, Port Washington and all over the county, Raja said.

“Everyone who was impacted by Drew and Ethan’s legacy had paid their respects by coming to the event and donating,” Raja said.

Raja also played in the tournament, battling against Hassenbein’s father on the court where his son had beaten him just months prior.

Raja said he opted for a low registration fee of $10 in order to boost participation and still raise money for the teens’ foundations. Tournament players were granted at least two matches and two hours on the court.

T-shirts were sold for $20 each at the event that featured a wildcat and a bulldog, the mascots of The Wheatley School and Roslyn High School, respectively.

Raja said feedback from the event was overwhelmingly positive. He said an added benefit of the fundraiser is that it brought the tennis community together.

“People don’t really see each other in high school tennis except for the high school season,” Raja said. “So [it was] old friend catching up, chatting about Drew, talking to me… Ev-