Tar and pitch currently covers the campus tennis courts after a long-awaited upgrade. The new courts are emerging from the early stages of construction.

In April of 2000, the campus gym was built with the addition of four new tennis courts. Each court cost from $12-14,000.

?The original building plans had two courts,” George Freeman, girls’ tennis coach, said. “It was not enough for home matches and P.E. classes of 30, though, and the courts were facing the wrong direction. Thanks to the work of Don Brower and others, we ended up with four of the nicest courts in our league.?

According to head tennis pro and director of Dan Gamels, Mike Pearson, tennis courts should be resurfaced every 5 to 6 years.

?There are potential problems in resurfacing courts such as bubbling,? Pearson said. ?This is caused by courts not being cleaned properly when resurfaced; companies usually offer a guarantee for courts that bubble under their care.?

Tennis courts often require resurfacing due to the sand in the court. After five years, the sand begins to wear off and cracks appear in the surface of the court.

?The sand in the courts control the speed of the ball,? Pearson said. ?When the sand begins to wear off the speed of the ball becomes faster and harder for beginners to hit. This makes it important to create a good mixture of sand.?

Although the girls’ tennis season is already over, they played on cracks, chipped edges and dirty courts.

?The third court has a big crack in it, but compared to teams in our league we have one of the nicest courts other than Liberty’s new courts,? Jaclyn Blackwell, ?07, said. ?I was surprised to hear the courts were being redone; they didn?t seem that bad to me.?

Repair complications create concern, spurn other improvements

Athletic director Scott Callisch has overseen the tennis courts since the start of the resurfacing. Weather complications such as rain and freezing, temporarily delayed the process and now may force the boys’ team to practice and play games elsewhere.

?I am glad that we are redoing the courts because they were pretty beat up,? Matthew Nickel, ?08, said. ?Callisch mentioned that the courts should have been done by now. I do not think they will be done in time for our season because it starts next week.”

The improvements to the tennis courts sparked desires for an updated baseball program. There will be an auction held on Feb. 17 on campus to raise money for baseball improvements.

New head coach Bill McGowen plans to lay astro turf in the batting cage in addition to fixing the pitcher’s mound. Also, crushed brick will be spread in the infield by home plate. He also hopes to build a bullpen for the visiting team by the weight room as well as another batting cage next year.

“I think it is cool that the school wants to make a better place for us to play and practice,” Paige Powell, ’10, said. “With all the improvements on sports programs, I am hoping that they will improve the soccer program as well.”

For more information on the baseball improvements check out Coleton Hutchens’s Feb. 2, article, Baseball coach revives program.