Last tennis season, varsity tennis athlete Samantha DiMaio won the FHSAA state tennis title in the singles division and later won the state doubles division with Trinity alum Lindsey Greenwood. Trinity is not letting its tennis team’s success go unnoticed. In order to breed more success, Trinity has taken on renovations of the tennis courts behind Hubbard field as its most recent infrastructure project. Efforts to resurface the courts have given the facilities a new breath of life. The potholes and ripples in the surface’s pavement have been removed, meaning players can begin playing on high-quality courts this season.
These upgrades have been facilitated under Trinity’s Strategic Plan lasting from 2017 until 2022. This stage is called the “Campus Master Plan.” This phase in Trinity’s history entails renovating older buildings built at the beginning of the school’s opening in 1968, and the building of new facilities for the future growth of the school.
The most recent additions to the campus have been a new-and-improved middle school building, an across-campus trail that wraps behind Holloway and Stuart Halls, and most recently, the tennis court upgrades. These campus upgrades will continue in the coming years.
Tennis players on both the junior varsity and varsity teams believed collectively that the courts were in disrepair with abnormal holes and ripples being scattered all across the court’s surface.
“We’ll be able to get out there and play a lot better without the bumps which definitely slow us down when we run down the court,” junior and varsity tennis player Sarah Persaud said. “It made it a lot harder to run on the courts because you had to run around [the holes and ripples] or else you might trip.”
The repair was also necessary because, in conjunction with the holes harming athletic performance, the dilapidated court surfaces were a safety issue.
“The repairs were needed because a lot of leaves and water could collect on the courts [and act] as an obstacle during practices. Trying to get to the ball [was difficult] with the holes [obstructing our path,]” freshman and junior varsity tennis player Emily Wilhelm said. “If someone ran down the court they [could] twist their ankles.”
Students who participated in middle-school P.E. classes also encountered the ripples and holes in the court’s surfaces.
“I remember running in 6th and 7th grades, and we had to run around the courts and I would fall and twist my ankles in the holes and it would really hurt,” senior Kurt Loiseau said. “They were dangerous for the little ones.”
Another concern with the courts prior to their repair was Trinity’s reputation amongst other competitors.
“We want to portray a good image of our athletic fields and courts because that shows quality,” junior Sarah Persaud said.
This new era of improvements is wanted by the student body. Some people believe that updating the school’s facilities—be they academic or athletic—will bolster Trinity’s reputation publically.
“I think all improvements for athletes and academics are needed,” Loiseau said. “The tennis court upgrades are important because [they are] in the front of the school.”
Students so far are happy with the aesthetics of the newly completed courts. The freshly redone facilities are boosting the morale of some players in anticipation of the beginning of practices.
“Now we’ll be much more confident, and we’ll be able to show off our courts and have pride,” Persaud said. “I’m definitely very happy—they look super nice.”
Though the school still has improvements to make for the bettering of Saints athletics, these improved tennis courts are well received by the players.