Taking a bus to practice every day is never ideal. Spending a fourth of your practice commuting to the necessary facilities is a hassle for both the players and the coaches. For the last two years, the tennis team has been shuttled off site for practices at Landon in the fall and to the roof of Bethesda Sport and Health in the spring. Although the turf field is fantastic and has greatly benefited soccer, lacrosse, and field hockey, the tennis team seems to be hindered by the construction on campus and the resulting lack of tennis courts.
Before the construction began, Stone Ridge had four courts that were located in between the gymnasiums and what is now the turf field. Even though the tennis team plays off campus at the moment, the tennis courts will definitely be making a reappearance on campus in the future. According to Mr. Osberg, Director of Finance and Operations, they will be relocated toward the back of campus, closer to the student parking lot.
Previously, we only had four courts, but we will soon have seven, making it easier for the team to play in both matches and tournaments. Mr. Osberg also notes that the exact timeline is still unknown, but the courts are certainly still a couple of years away. In terms of the cost, the courts themselves will cost less than the turf field, but our hilly campus impedes easy construction. Montgomery County also has a lot of requirements, such as limitations on cutting down trees, that make it more difficult. It is uncertain how much everything will cost, because the school still needs to do a lot of financial planning to fund the courts. Hopefully the courts will be worth the wait!
Olivia Mullaney, ’18, prefers practicing at Landon because “there are more courts [than at Bethesda Sport and Health], and the facilities are nicer.” Mullaney says the most inconvenient thing about going off campus is that “more people are unable to come to matches because [they] are always off campus.” Mullaney believes that the biggest benefit of having courts on campus would be “having more support for Stone Ridge tennis, especially since we had a really good season this year, and people don’t really know about us and our accomplishments.” Mullaney is excited for the future of Stone Ridge tennis, especially for those who will be able to play on the courts when they return to campus. 