Even though the new tennis courts were slated to be finished this summer, they are still a work in progress. Mud and debris cover the backside of MHS, but all of the construction is for a good cause, according to varsity girls tennis coach Joshua Hyde.

“The fences were originally built too close to the courts and they were beginning to break away from the foundations,” he said. “We also had several large cracks running through multiple courts which needed constant attention.”

Although new courts are a necessity, the delay in completion proved especially difficult for the girls tennis team to work around this season. It restricted practice and playing time, which added some additional pressure on the team. 

The girls had to designate extra time for travel and traffic while also having to play without proper warm up time, Hyde said.

The delays also limited the amount of spots on each team. 

“Varsity and j.v. had to play matches at the same site and this limited how many girls could play at the j.v. level because of time constraints and court space at other schools,” Hyde said. 

Activities director Shane Matzen attributed the delay to weather issues and the landscape of MHS. Since there is a creek running through part of the land where the tennis courts are being built, the builders and planners had to diligently work alongside the Metropolitan Sewer District.

“The bottom line is this: we’d rather have delays and have a fantastic facility for years and years than try to go shortcut and get it done quickly,” he said.

Lauren Marren, junior, said that the setback was less than ideal. 

“It was inconvenient to have to travel from school to school, not getting home until after 6 p.m. most nights we had matches,” she said.

Although the extra travel time could have been spared if the courts were finished on schedule, Marren said the delay did not hinder the performance of the tennis team, but rather, it made them more unified.

“Since we had all away games, most of us carpooled on the way to the matches which brought the team closer,” she said.

Sophomore Nora Dean said her dad had to take time from his work day to drive her and her sister, who is also on the team, to practices and games. 

She said another reason she is upset about the courts being unfinished is because she feels the girls’ team missed out.

“The boys are going to have nice new courts to play on while the girls didn’t have any,” she said.

Junior Rohan Devraj said he hopes to play with the boys varsity tennis team this spring. 

“It’s a bit frustrating because we all have this anxious feeling about wanting to get back on the Marquette courts and see how they are,” he said. 

Although the courts are still in progress, Devraj is confident they will be finished by the start of the boy’s season. 

“There’s an excitement about getting to play on brand new courts, especially since Marquette has had some issues with them over the past years,” he said.