Tessa Joy Invitational Tournament

Tessa Joy Invitational Tournament

In honor and memory of Tessa Joy Davis, the Tessa Joy Invitational was created in 2015 by Coach Don Appleton. The tournament has been held at 2 pools, Los Gatos High School and Mt. View High School.

Teams are invited to spend the weekend playing polo with their normal competitive nature. The tournament games don’t contribute to their league standings, so the girls can relax a bit more and just have fun. All teams come to play with an extra Tessa Joy spark, often wearing a bit of purple, and definitely smiling and appreciating their time in the pool.

Welcome to the 2019 Tessa Joy Invitational Tournament! As you play water polo this weekend, you might notice the LGHS coach, Don Appleton has retired cap #7 in his back pocket with the strings out, and you might hear the LGHS team’s enthusiastic pre-game cheer as “Team TJ!”

In January 2015, Tessa Joy Davis left our lives. Tessa was 17 years old and was an inspirational LGHS student and varsity water polo player. She was voted Team Captain as a sophomore and Homecoming Queen as a senior. During 2014, she was diagnosed and learned to live with a rare form of cancer with zest, hope, joy, and humor.

Whether you knew Tessa or not, she had a way of igniting joy and warming the people around her. She was the perfect blend of comical, logical, athletic, theatrical, and musical. She held friends of every age from peers to parents to toddlers and grandparents. Tessa had a way of connecting people because she saw no reason to divide. Her life was short, but the lives she touched were many.

Tessa loved water polo and was happiest when she was in the pool. She loved being around her friends, her teachers at LGHS, and her team and coach. This tournament has been named in her honor and memory. We hope you enJOY your games and play with Team TJ spirit.