Tennis great's prized trophy found in Harvey debris

HOUSTON (KTRK) -- River Stone subdivision looked like a real river a few days ago.

Neighbors canoed down streets lined with furniture and sheetrock.

"All of this had to come out," former tennis star Zina Garrison said.

She left her home before the water got in.

"All of this was carpet. As soon as I step, all the water was hitting me up here," Garrison said. "Splash, splash."

Garrison came back to everything soaked and ruined.

"Unfortunately I had all of my shoes down here," Garrison said. "I cried. I had no idea, but if I turned the corner what I was going to see."

Volunteers spent the weekend helping Garrison clean out her home.

"It just warms your heart that people like that will help you in your time of need, especially young people," Garrison said.

While a lot of keepsakes were destroyed, amidst all the waterlogged stuff, volunteers stumbles upon this: the tennis great's 1996 Tournament Cup.

"I sent the picture to Pam Shriver and Billie Jean King," she said.

Garrison is also still sharing her love for tennis through her foundation, the Zina Garrison Academy. Even before she was able to come back to her own flooded home, she visited shelters at her church and at the George R. Brown, setting up nets and taught kids about tennis.

"That was the most enriching thing that I could've ever done in my life," Garrison said. "Those kids were so happy."

A bright spot, in a dark time, and a treasure found in waves of rubble.

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