Tennis center sold to Cotter High

By Karina Rajtar
Copy Editor

The Saint Mary’s University tennis team does not have a home court it can call its own anymore.

The team recently learned that the tennis center at the Saint Teresa campus no longer belongs to the university. The building containing the six indoor tennis courts was sold to Winona Cotter High School last spring.
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SMU Athletic Director Nikki Fennern, who was approached by the university president’s office and cabinet before they made the decision, said the team will still have the same access to the facility. The facility is run by the Winona Area Tennis Association, which rents space to the university to use. Fennern said the team will still have sufficient time for practices and matches.

Abby Cooper, a junior on the tennis team, disagrees. She said that the team has had to give up practice space to the public. Although the team is not obligated to do so, it is aware that the space must be shared now. “We don’t want to be rude; we still want to be able to use the space,” Cooper said.

Vice President for Student Development Chris Kendall, who was the athletic director when the tennis center was acquired, said the team went from having nothing to the “best of everything,” as matches were played in Gostomski Fieldhouse before SMU had access to the tennis center.

Fennern said the team, which still gets to use the tennis center courts, is “still in a better situation than many conference schools” and is still “on-par” with the conference.

Cooper said the move will affect the future of the tennis team as well as recruitment efforts. “We can’t tell them (recruits) we have a home court,” Cooper said. “One of the selling points was that we had one of the best tennis facilities in the MIAC (Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference).”

Another concern among tennis players is a rumor that Cotter may decide to turn some of the tennis courts into basketball courts, limiting playing space further.

“No, it’s not true at all,” said Dr. Craig Junker, president of Cotter schools. Junker said the Winona Area Tennis Association has leased the space with plans to expand its business by offering more tennis options in Winona. Junker said there are “no plans or discussions” about basketball.

Fennern said the university has a good relationship with Cotter and expects that the change will not harm the team. Fennern said she is always confident in the administration’s decisions and believes they act in the students’ best interests.

Financial issues played a large part in the decision to sell the building.

“We lost a lot of money on the tennis center,” said Cynthia Marek, vice president for financial affairs.

Marek said the university bought the building containing the tennis center as part of a package deal when it bought the entire Saint Teresa’s campus about five years ago. Marek said the university acquired eight or nine buildings at a “good price” because there were concerns about running out of space for new programs. At the time, Marek said, SMU was in “growth mode,” but the need for more space is now diminished.

Kendall said the sale will ensure the courts will be “used better without losing money.”

The university has sold off all but three of the buildings on the Saint Teresa campus, retaining ownership of the chapel, Valencia Arts Center and Alverna Conference Center.