The six Athletic Center Courts and five Rivers Street Courts are now refurbished as part of routine maintenance, Eddie Simmons, associate director for University Recreation, said.

All 11 courts were refurbished, and the six Athletic Center Courts have new nets. The Rivers Street Courts will have the best old nets from the Athletic Center Courts.

The refurbishment was need to keep the courts “safe and useable,” Simmons said, which is required for outdoor tennis courts every three to five years, due to weather and use.

Two of the Rivers Street Courts had large cracks that made them unsafe to play on, Simmons said.

The Athletic Center Courts refurbishment began Oct. 15 and finished Oct. 23, and the Rivers Street courts refurbishment started Oct. 23 and finished last Friday.

UREC, Physical Education and the Athletic Department split the project’s costs, which totaled $47,750.
UREC will pay for new nets on the Athletic Center Courts.

Junior finance and banking major John Finlayson plays on the Rivers Street Courts two times a week, if weather permits, to keep his game in check, he said.

Finlayson said he “wasn’t happy with the courts, in all honesty.”

With the large cracks on two of the courts, Finlayson said he could really only play on three courts.

The nets were also in bad condition due to soccer tennis players, he said.

While Finlayson said he hasn’t seen the courts finished, he saw the construction crew filling in the cracks.

“I’m definitely excited to see now that they are finished,” he said. “I’m definitely excited to see new nets as well, that aren’t sagging.”

Junior history and secondary education major Matthew Alexander plays on the Rivers Street Courts three to four times a week if it’s nice outside and has time.

Before refurbishment, Alexander said the courts were in “pretty bad” condition.

“As a tennis player, I hate people who play soccer tennis,” Alexander said. “It just makes me so mad because they mess up the nets.”

Alexander said as well as bad nets, the cracks on the courts caused the tennis ball to “bounce every which way.”

“They definitely needed to be refurbished,” he said.

Finlayson and Alexander are both involved with a tennis club that plays on the Rivers Street Courts Monday and Thursday at 6 p.m.

Story: KELLI STRAKA, News Reporter

Photo: AMY KWIATKOWSKI, Intern Photographer