Oklahoma Tennis Ground Breaking

Nov. 20, 2007

JOE CASTIGLIONE

On the ground breaking of the new indoor facilities:
"We are glad to finally get to this day. I use the phrase "leap of faith" because this is truly a testimony to people having faith that something can happen. Projects like this, while they might scream at you in terms of need, they don't always rise up to a level to getting people focused on getting a mission completed. This one is really special because now we have state-of-the-art facilities indoor and outdoor. We are able to put the men's and women's tennis programs in a better position to be competitive. They certainly have been the most competitive that we have in the classroom and now we can help them grow and improve in the tennis program."

"We took a leap of faith with the outdoor courts and they have been fantastic in everyway. They have been highly appreciated. We always receive great reviews from the teams we play and the tournaments we have hosted and now we are going to have this indoor facility that I am absolutely certain will be one of the more respected places on a college campus in terms of intercollegiate tennis."

On the architecture of the building:
"It is not only going to be functionally outstanding. But it is a beautiful building that will really compliment this area of our campus, particularly the way things interface with the other facilities over here. It is just a great situation."

On the decision to build the facility:
"If we are committed to having a men's and women's tennis program, why not give them the facilities to practice and compete. If you are in a position to make it state of the art, then take the opportunity to make a major statement. This is not about being better than someone else. It is a situation where we evaluated what we needed to be successful in sponsoring men's and women's tennis at Oklahoma."

PAUL LOCKWOOD

On the new indoor facility:
"We had a vision for many years. Mark Johnson and I would come out to these fields two decades ago and pace off land and dream what it could be like someday and sure enough with the wonderful donors that have stepped forward it is now becoming a reality. We are very thankful to the Wadley's and the Sarkeys, the Bravers and the Headingtons. We are very blessed and very excited."

On how the drawings of the indoor facilities began:
"It starts with a dream and then you recruit good players, the Tommy Garrison's that we have had, and they go out and meet the Wadley's and people who say `hey I want to give back to tennis, not because they are winning every match they play but because they have quality athletes.' I couldn't be more proud of the former players and current players. They see something to believe in."

On the patience he and Mark Johnson had in getting the indoor courts built:
"It has been a long time coming. At one point I wasn't sure it was going to be here while I was still coaching, but Thank God it is and we can now leave the next generation of coaches and athletes something to really proud of."

MARK JOHNSON

On the opportunities the new facility will bring:
"It is amazing the opportunities this opens up for your team as far as recruiting, giving your players the opportunity to practice better, bringing in better teams and hosting more matches early in the season. It is just a major, major benefit for the program."

On the dream of the indoor courts:
"This has been something we have dreamed all along. My first year here we had some meetings where we through this idea out. Asking what it would take to get indoor courts. This is something we have talked about on a daily basis for almost twenty years, so to see it really finally happen is an amazing feeling."

On the tournaments that the new facilities could bring:
"This facility will open up the opportunity to host anything. With the 12 outdoor, and the six indoor next to it will mean you can always get your matches in. I think it opens the door to put bids in for everything, Big 12, NCAA. I think then we will start getting a tournament or two every couple of years, which in turn helps with recruiting too. The more interest you can draw to your program and the more people that see your facilities, the better. It is a snowball effect for sure."

University of Oklahoma Athletics

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