By Tom LaDue and Jeff Sikes

When Dayna Guizzetti (Southwest Section) took the court against Jennifer Schneider (Eastern Section) at the 5.0 USTA Adult League National Championships presented by Chrysler, little did they know what they had in common.

In April 2006, Dayna and her husband, Mike, started the long process of trying to adopt a little boy from Vietnam. Overseas adoption can be an exhaustive and drawn out process. Once the paperwork was completed, Dayna and Mike received a letter saying the process had begun but could take up to 10 months to get a boy. They were No. 74 overall but No. 29 for families adopting a boy.

While waiting for a boy, the Guizzetti’s started looking at the Waiting Children section of the adoption agency’s website, and they absolutely fell in love with a little girl who was born premature. They immediately e-mailed the adoption coordinator for Vietnam to see if she was available but were told that there was one family ahead of them that had already expressed an interest in adopting the young girl. The next day Dayna and Mike’s dream came true when they found out that little Hannah An Guizzetti (Tran Khanh An – Vietnamese name) would become part of their family.

It wasn’t until May 2 of last year that the surreal dream of finally being able to hold their little girl came true when Dayna and Mike traveled to Ho Chi Minh City (Saigon), Vietnam, to meet their new daughter, Hannah.

“It was just amazing. I really was at a loss of words what it was like to finally hold Hannah,” Dayna said. “For people who want to adopt internationally, don’t let the paperwork intimidate you. The agony is the waiting.”

Before their match at the National Championships, Jennifer spotted Dayna coming through the host hotel lobby with Hannah and asked her if she needed any help getting Hannah’s stroller through the door. After talking in the hallway, they found out that they shared an incredible link – both had adopted children from Vietnam in the past year. Jennifer brought her twin girls, Tylie and Zoe, home last December.

The trip to Indian Wells, Calif., to play in the 5.0 USTA Adult League National Championships presented by Chrysler was the first time Jennifer had been away from Buffalo, N.Y., without the girls. Seeing Hannah in the hotel was an emotional moment for her, if only because it reminded her of that fact.

After their hotel hallway conversation, both had to cut the conversation short, since they both had pool-play matches Saturday, including against one another’s teams. When both women arrived on Court 4 for the No. 1 doubles match, the two were surprised to see each other standing on the opposite side of the net.

In the end, Dayna’s team fell short, 2-6, 6-3, 1-0 (10-8 in the super tiebreaker). But both women forged a special link because of their unique experience.

“It was a knock-down, drag-out match. We had some great points,” Jennifer said. “It could not have been much closer.”

Both women intend to stay in touch, as they each plan on adopting from Vietnam again. Next time, each wants a little boy.

“It’s a small world. We will definitely be in touch,” said Dayna.

To read more about the Guizzetti’s story, click here.

Photo Attributions:

Photo 1: Dayna Guizzetti and Jennifer Schneider forged a special bond at the 2007 5.0 USTA Adult League National Championships presented by Chrysler (Photo courtesy of Adam Davis)

Photo 2: Dayna Guizzetti and daughter Hannah (Photo courtesy of Adam Davis)