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| Sophomore Dan Wott and the Bluffton men's tennis team had their best-ever showing at the Heartland Conference championships on April 20 and will be playing on new courts in 2003. |
The tennis courts on the campus of Bluffton College will get a much needed facelift this summer thanks to a generous gift from Ray Ramseyer x43, who has pledged $15,000 to refurbish Bluffton’s six outdoor courts.
“For some time our tennis courts have been in need of repair,” said athletics director Carlin Carpenter. “This gift from Ray Ramseyer is the initiative we’ve been needing to begin this project.”
The project will likely cost near $65,000, with construction beginning soon after the close of the 2001-02 school year on May 5. The new courts should be ready for use by August 15.
“Ray Ramseyer’s commitment was the catalyst for this project to become a reality,” said Dr. Stan Clemens, vice president for advancement. “This project has been on our capital improvement list for a number of years, but the expense has been too great for us to take on alone.”
Carpenter added that the tennis courts are used by a variety of people and that an improvement in their condition will reflect well on the college. “These tennis courts are used not only by our varsity tennis teams, but by other students and community members, too,” he said.
Willis Sommer, vice president of fiscal affairs, and Darrell Huber, director of buildings and grounds, identified six phases of the project, beginning with the removal of the existing perimeter fence, removal of the existing light poles and then patching the cracks and light pole holes with a liquid rubber material and a rubber patch. A new layer of asphalt will then be applied over the entire surface, followed by resurfacing, painting and finally installing a new fence.
