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For members of the Lawndale Lizards swim team, the laps they swam Monday morning were tougher than usual.

The team members and coaches, practicing at the Lawndale Swim & Tennis Club, towed tennis balls, each representing someone who has had cancer, to raise money for the American Cancer Society.

In all, they raised more than $3,500 , bringing their total after four years of the event to more than $20,000.

The event is part of Greensboro's Swim for Cancer, which has raised more than $2 million during 30 years, said Nicole Krasowski , a mother of one of the team members. Krasowski helped organize the event.

Krasowski had the idea for the tennis ball tow after her father died of lung cancer. She originally planned for the team to tow rubber duckies, which proved costly.

Towing the tennis balls, she said, gives the children a better idea of what those with cancer go through while educating them about the wide variety of diseases.

"It gives the kids a tangible burden," Krasowski said. "The first year I towed 40 tennis balls, and it was like swimming with a tumor on your back."

All of the balls are decorated to represent someone who has survived cancer or has died of it. Different colored markers are used to signify different types of cancer, helping the children learn along the way.

Blue Lizard Sunscreen also donated 50 free samples and 50 $1-off coupons.

Krasowski said the goal was to teach the children on the team how to protect themselves from skin cancer.

Austin Vass , 13, towed tennis balls for the fourth year. She and her sister, Whitney, a coach, raised about $300.

Vass said the tow helped her relate to the fight that those with cancer face.

"I carried 12," she said, adding that it wasn't as hard as the 99 balls another swimmer towed.

"After doing 40 laps with 12 tennis balls, it was difficult."

Contact Kavita Pillai at 373-7157 or kavita.pillai@news-record.com