Cary woman finds being a vegetarian can be sexy

People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals, known for its "I'd rather go naked than wear fur" campaign, has set its sights on a Cary woman who is now a finalist in its sexiest vegetarian over 50 contest.

Linda Smith, 52, credits her newly svelte figure with exercise and her vegetarian diet - she has shed 38 pounds from her petite frame and has never felt sexier in her life.

"I get guys looking at me like you wouldn't believe," Smith said this week.

Smith was out of town last week when I phoned her for the story, so I wasn't able to get her input for the original article that ran.

In case you missed it, she is one of 20 finalists in the Web-based voting contest that ended Monday.

The winners - one man and one woman - will be announced next week and they score a basket chock-full of vegan goodies.

That the married mother of two was even a contender came as a complete shock to her.

Her oldest daughter Taylor entered her into the contest, sending a recent photo of her to PETA.

Soon after, PETA was on the phone, wanting to know everything about the local substitute teacher.

"She told me she did it and I laughed and it was OK," said Smith, who turns 53 at the end of the month. "I wasn't mad at her or anything."

Smith said Taylor and her other daughter, Maggie, inspired her to go vegetarian, as the two of them rarely eat meat.

She was also looking for natural ways to ease herself into menopause, to lose weight and to lower her cholesterol.

After extensive research, she decided a vegetarian lifestyle was for her and has kept it up for two years.

"People are looking for pills ... and they want to take a pill and be in good shape," Smith said. "You didn't get out of shape that way and you won't get in shape that way."

Elgin - the next tennis town? The Elgin Showdown tennis tournament Aug. 8 had all of the drama of a grand slam tennis final, complete with 95 degree temperatures, rain delays and, in one case, on-court tantrums that rivaled John McEnroe.

This year, 32 people from all across the region signed up for the men's and women's singles tournament, with 16 players alone competing in the top men's division.

Last year, organizers actually had to cancel the tournament because not enough people signed up. I'm delighted to see that wasn't an issue this year.

There were so many people this time that the six courts at Judson University just weren't enough - play continued on the four courts at Wing Park and on the two recently resurfaced ones at St. Francis Park.

The abbreviated "showdown" format means you'll spend a few hours rather than an entire weekend playing a tournament - it's popular in other parts of the country and made its debut in the Northern Illinois District, which includes Elgin, at this tournament.

At least two people pulled out due to the extreme heat - the humidity made it feel like it was 100 degrees on court. But, thankfully, organizers provided plenty of food and drink for the players throughout the day.

Because of the overnight rain, matches were pushed back several hours. The women, originally scheduled to play at 9 a.m., didn't take the court until well after 3 p.m.

Tournament director Kone Chansey, a community outreach and special events coordinator for Elgin, said he might consider adding doubles to draw more women next year - just five registered, and four ultimately took the courts after one pulled out.

Pam Delnagro, executive director of the Northern Illinois Tennis Association, affiliated with the United States Tennis Association, said she was impressed with the overall turnout.

"Other than the rain and the heat, I think this was a great beginning," she said via e-mail.

The winners were:

• Brian McGinnis of Chicago, men's A (4.0 and above) winner

• Zim Rattnavongkoth of Pingree Grove, men's B (3.5) champion.

• Thanh Quoc Phu of Elgin, men's C (3.0).

• Megan Joyce of St. Charles was the women's A singles round-robin winner, and yours truly won the women's B singles round robin.

• Lenore Adkins covers Algonquin, Lake in the Hills, Cary, Fox River Grove, Pingree Grove and McHenry County College. To reach her, call (847) 608-2725 or send an e-mail to ladkins@dailyherald.com