After two years of inactivity, the six tennis courts at Massachusetts College of Liberal Arts soon will reopen following their $180,000 renovation, giving MCLA and Drury High School teams and members of the Northern Berkshire Community Tennis Association a place to play again.
The courts will be ready for use on Oct. 13, according to Reynolds Thompson, MCLA director of facilities. That means MCLA’s women’s tennis team will compete at home for two of the three remaining home matches this season, Lyndon State College (Oct. 14) and Castleton State College (Oct. 18).
Thompson expects the final piece of the project – a walkway between the parking lot and the courts – will be completed over the next few days, weather permitting.
Rundown fencing, nets and a cracked blacktop that was often wet due to poor drainage are among the items that have been replaced, said James Stakenas, MCLA’s vice president of administration and finance.
“First and foremost, we would like our tennis team and the high school team to use the courts. But, the renovations give us a wonderful new facility that we can use for tennis camps and clubs,” Stakenas said.
MCLA Assistant Athletics Director Dorothy Houston said it has been four or five years since the College’s tennis team has been able to compete on the courts and two years since they practiced at the West Shaft Road facility.
Instead, the team – which competes in September and October – practiced on the courts owned by the city of North Adams at Noel Field. Competitions this year have been held at Williams College and at Lee High School, Houston said.
Having the courts completed is highly beneficial to the College, Houston said.
“They’re a tremendous asset to not only the women’s tennis program, but also, from a recruitment asset – anybody driving in to utilize the Joseph Zavattaro Athletic Complex – the first thing you see will be those courts,” Houston said. “Now that they’re beautiful, it’s just a wonderful sight and enhances everybody’s programs.”
|
