Embry-Riddle Dedicates New Tennis Complex

NEWS RELEASE

Communications and Marketing Office
600 S. Clyde Morris Blvd.
Daytona Beach, FL 32114-3900

For more information, contact:
Phone: 386-226-6157
Fax: 386-226-6158

Tennis Pro Tom Gullikson and Embry-Riddle Team Up to Dedicate New Tennis Complex

Daytona Beach, Fla., March 17, 2004 -- Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University will double up with former ATP Tour tennis pro Tom Gullikson April 5 to dedicate the new Ambassador E. William Crotty Tennis Complex at its Daytona Beach campus.

The new complex will provide on-campus facilities for Embry-Riddle's successful tennis program and the local community. Until now, the university's men's and women's teams have played on the tennis courts at the Pelican Bay Country Club in Daytona Beach.

The dedication ceremony will begin at 6:30 p.m. at the edge of the new complex. At 7 p.m., Gullikson will play doubles on the new tennis courts in three sets to include members of the Crotty family, a Daytona Beach area tennis pro, and members of the Embry-Riddle tennis team.

The new tennis complex features nine lighted tennis courts, three sets of bleachers for 50 spectators each, and an electronic scoreboard that can show set scores for six matches simultaneously.

Plans for a second phase of the complex call for the construction of a clubhouse with locker rooms, restrooms, and hospitality area and a stadium court bleacher with seating for 400 spectators.

"Having these facilities on campus brings our students and our fans from the community closer to the tennis program," said Scott Linn, tennis coach at Embry-Riddle. "It will also help us with recruiting and fund raising. When the second phase is completed, the Embry-Riddle complex will be one of the top five small-college facilities in the country."

Linn said the Crotty Tennis Complex is already enabling the university to attract tennis tournaments from both the Florida and national levels. The first will take place April 8-10, when Embry-Riddle hosts the NAIA Region XIV Men's and Women's Tennis Championship at the new complex.

Last season, men's and women's tennis squads at Embry-Riddle combined for a 35-16 record and earned bids to the NAIA national tournaments, while four members of each team were named all-Americans. This year, the teams are ranked in the top 10 in the nation and poised to be strong contenders in the post-season tournaments. Off the court, both squads received NAIA scholar-team recognition in 2003 and the men had the highest cumulative GPA of any NAIA team. Six athletes received all-American scholar-athlete honors.

E. William Crotty, who died in 1999, was an attorney, civic leader, father of seven, U.S. ambassador to Barbados and the Eastern Caribbean, and a trustee of Embry-Riddle. During his life, he also contributed his ideals and enthusiasm to the game of tennis, happy when he played and happier still when he watched young people compete.

Embry-Riddle, the world's largest, fully accredited university specializing in aviation and aerospace, meets the needs of students and industry through its educational, training, research, and consulting activities. Embry-Riddle educates more than 28,000 students annually through the master level at residential campuses in Daytona Beach, Fla., and Prescott, Ariz., through the Extended Campus at more than 130 teaching centers in the United States and Europe, and worldwide through distance learning.