Is Tennis Returning to Centenary?

With 13 NCAA affiliated sports on campus and about half of the student body being athletes, Centenary is heavily invested in athletics. By recently adding football, the pandora’s box has been opened for new or returning sports to Centenary.

Rumors about a tennis team returning to Centenary recently started to circulate. Centenary last had a tennis team in 2019 and was paused as the college recovered from covid. Centenary’s tennis team troubles started before this with the struggle to keep coaches.

            Athletic Director David Orr explained, “we had such high turnover in coaches in tennis. A lot of that has to do with the misunderstanding that college coaches earn a lot of money.” On top of having very little monetary incentive, it is hard to keep coaches due to the small number of them and highly competitive pay offered by local and national tennis clubs.

            “We’ve been very close to hiring one over the past couple years, which just hasn’t worked out.” Orr does not just want anyone though, stating, “I need a champion. I need someone who’s going to redevelop our tennis program.”

            While there have not been any new developments, tennis hopefuls should not give up just yet. Orr was hired as Athletic Director after the tennis pause and said, “it’s been my mission to bring back tennis.”

However, Orr says the right conditions have to be met first. Despite Centenary’s transition from D-I to D-III ending in 2012, Orr believes they still are not fully there yet. “I say we’re still transitioning because I just want to get better. The most important thing we can do in order to set ourselves up for getting better is we need to have a solid foundation.”

            Sophomore and fencer, Kian Webber, took a different route to bringing more sports to campus. Starting with a petition, and following the student handbook, Webber is hoping to start a fencing club on campus. With fencing being an unconventional sport, Webber said, “I’m serious about it, and almost through with the process to officially be recognized as an official club on campus by Centenary.”

           While tennis may not have an official return to campus for a few more years, now is as good a time as ever for Centenary students to pursue their athletic passions.