SALEM, W.Va. (WBOY) — Salem University held a dedication ceremony on Monday to recognize the college’s brand-new tennis courts.

Over the last seven years, Salem University’s tennis teams were unable to host matches on campus as the previous courts were deemed unusable.

Head coach of both Salem’s men’s and women’s tennis teams, Dr. Dennis McNaboe, said that when he started three years ago, his first priority was accomplishing playable courts, though he couldn’t do it alone.

Image of one of the new tennis courts
Images of what previous tennis courts used to look like.

With the help of eleven green and white donors and one platinum donor who all contributed at least $1,000, the university was able to refurbish two tennis courts and one pickleball court, located across from where the university’s administration building used to stand.

12 News spoke with Dr. McNaboe on what these new courts mean for the future of Salem University’s tennis teams.

“One of the things that we’re really excited about is looking forward to joining the conference. At some point, we would need to have a minimum of five courts to be able to play home matches against conference tournaments. We have these three courts and then two courts that are on the upper part of the campus, that will allow us to be able to have home matches, not just one or two but actually enough to run a full conference schedule,” said Dr. McNaboe.

Not only is the new addition beneficial to the college, but to the community as well, as the public will also have access to the courts.

Salem University’s tennis teams’ championship season begins in January and will feature a total of 20 players from all over the world.