SMU opens new tennis complex
SMU dedicates its new 45,000-square-foot, competition-level tennis complex.
Ribbon-Cutting at the Dedication: (l. to r.) Brad Cheves, SMU vice president for Development and External Affairs; Dr. Kenneth Altshuler; Ruth Collins Sharp Altshuler, member of SMU Board of Trustees; Mark Styslinger; Lee Styslinger; Jack Turpin; Edwin l. Cox, SMU trustee emeritus; Wood Brookshire; Trent Brookshire; Cliff Brookshire; Ann Brookshire; Brad Brookshire, member of SMU Board of Trustees; SMU President R. Gerald Turner; Michael Boone, chair of SMU Board of Trustees; Rick Hart, SMU director of Athletics; Holly Verner, member of Women’s Tennis team; Kati Gyulai, Women’s Tennis head coach; and Carl Neufeld, Men’s Tennis head coach.
DALLAS (SMU) – SMU dedicated its new 45,000-square-foot tennis complex February 20, opening a competition-level facility for practice, training and tournament play. The complex will be home to SMU's top-ranked men's and women's tennis teams and will provide a premier venue for tennis fans.
Completion of the tennis complex represents the tenth of 16 capital projects initiated during the SMU Unbridled: Second Century Campaign. To date, more than $942 million in gifts and pledges has been raised to support student quality, faculty and academic excellence and the campus experience.
"SMU is committed to creating opportunities for student success in all of their pursuits," said SMU President R. Gerald Turner. "The new tennis complex will enable us to recruit top-ranked student-athletes and develop programs that perform at the highest levels, building on SMU's legacy as home to world-class tennis events."
The SMU Tennis Complex, located on the southwest corner of Mockingbird Lane and North Central Expressway, includes the Turpin Stadium, with six outdoor courts and the Styslinger Grand Viewing Terrace, and the Brookshire Pavilion, with six indoor courts and a patron balcony. The courts feature individual scoreboards, and officials will use handheld remotes to update scores wirelessly. Court surfaces are covered with Plexipave, optimum for practice and top-level competition, and the same surface used at the home of the U.S. Open, the USTA National Tennis Center in New York.
Multilevel outdoor seating for 300 enables spectators to watch six matches simultaneously on the side-by-side courts. More than 280 can view matches on the six indoor courts. In addition to spectator seating, the Styslinger Family Grand Viewing Terrace includes space designed for special events or temporary seating. The third-floor Edwin L. Cox Club Suite includes both outdoor and indoor court viewing areas, an entertainment area and a catering kitchen.
The SMU Tennis Complex also features a training center that houses locker rooms for home and visiting teams, classrooms, team meeting rooms and coaches' offices. In addition, the training center includes a fitness room and training room for student athlete treatment, injury prevention and rehabilitation with hot and cool hydrotherapy tubs.
About SMU Tennis
SMU Tennis has a strong history of success and is consistently ranked among the top collegiate tennis programs in the United States for both men and women.
The men’s team has won 13 conference championships, appeared in 21 NCAA tournaments, finished in the top 25 for 23 seasons and amassed 47 All-America honors. The women’s program has accumulated 574 wins since its creation in 1973. In that span, players have made 11 NCAA tournament appearances, finished in the top 25 in 14 seasons and had eight student-athletes earn All-America honors.
SMU student-athletes continue to earn awards both on and off the court. The average GPA of the men’s and women’s tennis team members ranks among the highest within the University’s athletic programs. In the last four seasons, the men have had 45 student-athletes on the conference Commissioners Honor Roll while the women have had 26 academic honorees.
"The practice and training facilities in the new SMU tennis complex will play a key role in helping Mustang tennis players meet their athletic potential," said Rick Hart, director of athletics. "In turn, SMU and Dallas tennis fans will enjoy the highest levels of competitive tennis in this outstanding facility."
Donors
Leadership donors to the SMU Tennis Complex include the Altec/Styslinger Foundation, the family of Ann Warmack Brookshire ’77 and Brad Brookshire ’76; Edwin L. Cox, Sr. ’42; and the Jack A. Turpin family.
Other donors include Kenneth Z. Altshuler and Ruth Collins Sharp Altshuler '48; Kit Carson '04, '13; Shirley Williams Crow '82 and Stuart M. Crow; Richard L. Dennie '60 and Shirley Dennie; C.J. "Don" Donnally, Jr. '67, '68 and Carol G. Donnally; Al G. Hill, Jr.; Clark K. Hunt '87 and Tavia S. Hunt; Daniel L. Hunt '00 and Toni Munoz Hunt; Roman J. Kupchynsky, II '80, '84 and Ruth Irwin Kupchynsky '80; Marget Reneberg ’88 and Richey Reneberg; Charles Wear and Janet Mitchell Wear ’83; the Tripplehorn Family and the Cash Family; and King R. White '95 and Nicole Hunt White '96.
"The gifts from these generous donors will enhance the preeminence of SMU and Dallas in the sport of tennis," said Brad Cheves, SMU vice president of Development and External Affairs. "We are grateful for their support of student-athletes and Mustang fans."
Altec/Styslinger Foundation
Tennis is not just a sport for the Styslinger family. Brothers Lee, Mark and Jon Styslinger have been avid tennis players since childhood and have passed a love for the sport onto the next generation. Mark J. Styslinger ‘87 is senior vice president of Altec Inc. He graduated from SMU with a B.B.A. from Cox School of Business. Mark played tennis for the SMU Mustangs from 1983 to 1986, earned 81 individual victories and played in four NCAA team championship finals. The team won three Southwest Conference titles during his tenure. Mark ranked among the top 20 players nationally in 1984 and was selected as an All American in 1984-1985. It was at SMU that Mark met his wife, Jennifer Overstreet Styslinger ‘86. Jennifer also earned a B.B.A. from Cox School of Business. Mark and Jennifer are members of the Mustang Club. They reside in Birmingham, Alabama, and have four children: Mac, Claudia, Stella and Lydia.
Lee J. Styslinger, III is chairman and chief executive officer of Altec, Inc., and is married to Kelly Scott Styslinger. Lee and Kelly reside in Birmingham, Alabama, and have three sons: Paul, Scott and Leo. Scott Styslinger is a sophomore at SMU and is pursuing a degree in mechanical engineering at Lyle School of Engineering. Lee and Kelly are active in the Birmingham community, serving on several corporate, university and civic boards.
Jon C. Styslinger is president of Altec, Inc. He earned a degree in engineering from Brown University in 1985. Jon Styslinger is married to Babbie Styslinger, the owner of a small business. They are the parents of four children.
Ann and Brad Brookshire Family
Three generations of the Brookshire family of Tyler, Texas, have attended and supported SMU for more than 50 years.
Ann Warmack Brookshire earned a B.B.A. in accounting from Cox School of Business and is a certified public accountant and community leader. Active in the Texas Rose Festival, she has chaired its gala, rose show and coronation. She is a past director of both the Pi Beta Phi Fraternity and the Pi Beta Phi Foundation, the President-elect of All Saints Episcopal School and a member of the Tyler Junior College Board of Trustees. At SMU she is co-chair of the Second Century Campaign Steering Committee for Central University Libraries and a member of the Central University Libraries Executive Board.
Brad Brookshire earned a B.B.A from Cox School of Business. His mother and two siblings also hold SMU degrees. Chairman of the board of Brookshire Grocery Company, he also serves on the board of directors of the Food Marketing Institute and numerous community boards. At SMU, he is a member of the Board of Trustees, the Second Century Campaign Steering Committee for Athletics and the Cox School of Business Executive Board.
Ann and Brad Brookshire met in a tennis class taught by Barbara Camp, longtime director of SMU's women's sports program. Their sons continue the SMU legacy. Trenton "Trent" Brookshire '01, '14 earned a B.B.A in finance and real estate and an M.B.A. from Cox School of Business as well as a B.A. in Italian from Dedman College, Anderson "Wood" Brookshire '05, '11 earned a B.B.A. and an M.B.A. in finance from Cox School of Business and Clifford "Cliff" Bradley Brookshire will graduate in spring 2015 with a B.B.A. in finance from Cox School of Business and a B.A. in Spanish from Dedman College.
Edwin L. Cox, Sr.
Edwin L. Cox, Sr. '42 is the chair and chief executive officer of the Edwin L. Cox Company. He is the former chair of Cox Oil & Gas Inc., SEDCO Inc. and Keebler Company. He has been an SMU supporter for many years, including serving as chair of the Board of Governors and the Board of Trustees. He was named a trustee emeritus of SMU in 1991. In 1978, SMU's Business School was named the Edwin L. Cox School of Business in recognition of his many contributions to the University. He has endowed the Cox B.B.A. Scholars program, the Cox Distinguished M.B.A. Scholars program, the Business Leadership Center for graduate students and Cox B.B.A. Leadership Institute for undergraduates. Cox was honored with the 1974 SMU Distinguished Alumni Award, the 1985 SMU Volunteer of the Year Award and the 1996 Mustang Award in recognition of his extraordinary philanthropy to the University. He is a member of the Cox School of Business Executive Board and honorary chair of the Second Century Campaign Steering Committee. Mr. Cox has been an avid amateur tennis player throughout his life and enjoys following professional and amateur tennis.
Jack A. Turpin Family
The Turpin family shares a passion for tennis. Jack Turpin is founder of Hall-Mark Electronics Corporation and T Bar M tennis clubs and resorts and president of the Jack and Sally Turpin Foundation. Jack graduated from Rice University where, as a member of its 1949 tennis team, he was a NCAA doubles semi-finalist, Southwest Conference champion and the National Junior Indoor doubles champion. Active in developing tennis in public parks and schools, he was influential in the building of Dallas' Samuell Grand Tennis Center, host to the 1965 Davis Cup. His awards include the 1963 Marlboro Award, the 1964 W.T. Caswell Service Award, induction to the Texas Tennis Hall of Fame and winner of multiple city, state and national titles. He is a member of the Second Century Campaign Steering Committee for Athletics.
Mr. Turpin’s late wife, Sally Poe Turpin '54, attended SMU. Their eldest son, Scott Turpin, played tennis for Rice University. Younger sons, Mark Turpin '79 and Jeff Turpin '82, were members of two of the highest-ranking tennis teams in SMU history. Both Mark and Jeff received All-America honors for SMU and enjoyed successful pro tennis careers. Ashley Turpin '12, daughter of Mark and his wife, Kathleen Shea Turpin '83, was a member of the SMU tennis team. Jeff's wife, Lori Carrell Turpin ‘82, and son, Jack Turpin ’11, hold SMU degrees.
SMU is a nationally ranked private university in Dallas founded 100 years ago. Today, SMU enrolls approximately 11,000 students who benefit from the academic opportunities and international reach of seven degree-granting schools.