Nov. 3, 2008
NEW HAVEN, Conn. - Over 200 hundred people were in attendance for the dedication of the new Cullman-Heyman Tennis Center Saturday. The fabulous eight-court facility complete with a spectacular viewing area and lobby will be the new home of Yale tennis.
The Cullman-Heyman Tennis Center was made possible by the generous leadership gifts from Sam Heyman '60 and the estate of the late Joseph Cullman III. The project includes a new building with four new courts that are attached to the existing four Cullman Courts. Additionally, the renovation includes team locker rooms, a team room, and coaches' offices. The new spacious lobby has been named by Larry Leeds `50 in honor of his son Cary '79. The eight courts have been named to recognize great figures in Yale Tennis history.
Athletics Director Tom Beckett, Yale University President Richard Levin, Edgar Cullman `40, Larry Leeds `50, and Sam Heyman `60 addressed those in attendance at the event. The event was sandwiched by play at the Yale Invitational tournament hosted by the Ivy League Champion women's tennis team.
Women's tennis head coach Danielle Lund McNamara said the dedication was a big success.
"The dedication of the Cullman-Heyman Tennis Center was a truly memorable event," McNamara said. "To have so many of the major donors to the project, alumni, friends and family of Yale tennis in attendance to celebrate our new facility was very special. We are incredibly thankful and proud to have one of the nicest collegiate indoor tennis centers in the country and we look forward to celebrating many more successful seasons in the new home of Yale tennis."
Alex Dorato, the Cary Leeds Head Coach of Men's Tennis, said the new center provides Yale with an elite tennis facility.
"The Cullman-Heyman Tennis Center will usher in a new era in Yale Tennis," Dorato said. "The facility is arguable to finest indoor collegiate facility in the country. The Cullman-Heyman Tennis Center will enable us to host major events and attract blue chip recruits."
Court Names
• MEGHAN McMAHON - Coach: 7 years (86-55; 26-23 IVY) Athlete: 3-time MVP; 3-time Ivy League Champion; 3-time All-American; 3-time Lisa Rosenblum Award; 4-time Yale Letterwinner; Member of U.S. National Team which was first amateur tennis team to travel and compete in the People's Republic of China; Prentice Cup team member; 1984-85 playing record (18-1 singles), National ITCA Ranking #23; 1985-86 National ITCA Ranking #49; 1985-86 playing record (24-5 singles); 1986-87 (26-13 singles); Member of U.S. Professional Tennis Association and Intercollegiate Tennis Coaches Associaction
• JOHN SKILLMAN - Coach: Tennis 30 years (245-103; 124-64 IVY); 23 winning seasons in tennis; 4 undefeated seasons; 6 New England Championships and 1 EITA title; Squash 39 years (401-82; 124-54); 38 winning seasons in squash; 8 undefeated seasons; As a player he competed in 5 national professional squash championships winning 3 of them, the other two he was runner-up
• WILLIAM CRANSTON - 2-time Yale Letterwinner; Played America's First Ranked Tennis player Tony Trabert in a hard fought match before losing 7-5, 5-7, 1-6 in 1955; Captained freshman team (7-1) and varsity in senior year; won Hutchinson Award in 1954; his sophomore year team was (11-2; 6-0 IVY) and Eastern Collegiate Co-Champions; junior year team repeated as EITA and finished with a (12-1; 6-0 IVY) record; Captained the Yale-Harvard tennis team to a Prentiss Cup victory over Oxford-Canbridge in 1954; Although captain of the 1955 team, he saw no playing time due to a car accident; was Southern California high school singles champion and was runner-up for two years in the national junior doubles championship; was a member of the U.S. Junior Davis Cup team in 1951 & 1952; he was ranked six in the nation by the NCAA in his junior year
• DONALD DELL - 3-time Yale Letterwinner; 3-time All-American; won the James Abbott Hutchinson Award for sportsmanship, leadership and understanding; member of the 1959-60 undefeated (13-0) EITA/New England Championship team; lost only one Ivy League match in his entire Yale career; advanced to the NCAA championship match in 1959; in senior year he defeated Alex Olmedo, Vic Seixas (8-6, 6-3) and Ashley Cooper amongst others; in 1953 he was the national boys champion and a member of the national junior Davis Cup team; became the first American allowed to play tennis in the former Soviet Union; he was ranked 4th in singles and 1st in doubles; was captain of the U.S. Davis Cup team in 1968-69 and played in 5 U.S. Davis Cup's
• GENE SCOTT - 9-time Yale Letterwinner (3 tennis, 3 hockey & 3 soccer); winner of the George A. Phelps Memorial Award for the greatest improvement shown in tennis; inducted into the International Tennis Hall of Fame in Newport, RI in 2008; member of the 1959-60 undefeated (13-0) EITA/New England Championship team; Five times ranked in U.S. Top 10; New England Collegiate Champion in 1960; All-America in 1960; compiled a 40-1 career dual match record at Yale and was 10-0 in junior year; member of the U.S. Davis Cup team; at time of his graduation, Scott was second on the all-time scoring list in soccer with 23 goals and 7 assists; founder and editor-in-chief Tennis Week Magazine
• ALAN SCHWARTZ - Captain of his freshman team that finished the season 6-1; junior season team was 13-1 and ranked 6th in the nation; was captain and #1 player in senior year; won the Illinois State and Chicago city championships while in high school; with his father, he won the Chicago Father & Son Tennis Doubles and then won it a second time, this time with his son; won 8 national tennis titles; was a member of the Yale freshman swim team; was president of the United States Tennis Association
• ALAN ENGLANDER - 3-time Yale Letterwinner (1 squash, 2 tennis); was a member of the Yale freshman team (5-1); sophomore team was 10-3; 4-2 IVY; junior year team were EITA Champions and had an 11-2; 6-0 IVY record and in his senior year they were repeat EITA Champions with a 12-1; 7-0 IVY record; NY State High School Champion in senior year
• 1967 TEAM - Coach John Skillman; Captain Jack Waltz; EITA Champions (9-0; 6-0 IVY); Big Three Champions; 1st in Eastern Intercollegiate Team Standings; Jack Waltz received the James A. Hutchinson Award and Mike Brooks received the George A. Phelps Memorial Award
• 1988 TEAM - Coach: Steve Griggs; Captain Bill Benjes; (13-10; 6-1 IVY); Finished 2nd in the EITA Standings with a 7-2 record; Bill Benjes winner of the James A. Hutchinson Award, Cameron Ragen the George A. Phelps Award and Robin Selati the Stuart D. Ludlum, Jr. Award
Report Filed by Steven Horn '10, Yale Sports Publicity
