By Marisa Dawson
The Bennington High School girls tennis program reached a milestone Friday afternoon as players, coaches, school administration, parents and community members gathered to celebrate the opening of the school’s first on-campus tennis courts.
The ribbon-cutting ceremony marked a long-awaited moment for a program that has grown steadily in recent years. With 53 players on this season’s roster, the team now has a home base for practices and competitions for the first time in the program’s history, thanks to the recent bond passing.
Head coach Jennifer Christensen said the new courts represent both progress and opportunity for the program. “We are very excited to have these courts,” Christensen said. “They’ve been a long time coming. This is the sixth year for our Bennington team and we’ve never had our own courts, and so it’s very nice to have them on campus.”
The growth of the program has been evident this season. Christensen noted that all 53 girls who signed up are on the team. “We are no cut sport, so everybody gets to play,” she said. “We want to really encourage tennis as a lifelong sport, so we want everybody to get a chance to play.”
To accommodate the large roster, the program will field multiple teams this season. “We’re going to have four teams: a varsity team, a JV team, a Reserve 1 team, and a Reserve 2 team,” Christensen said. “And we’re just so excited with the enthusiasm and excitement for the sport.”
The new courts also allow the Badgers to host matches for the first time, something that had previously not been possible.
Assistant coach Hannah Martin, who previously served as the team’s head coach, has seen the courts develop from an idea into reality over several seasons. “It’s super cool,” Martin said. “We’ve been wanting them for a really long time and the team has been super resilient. It’s not easy to drive 15 minutes to practice every day when you’re a high schooler. Half the girls can’t even drive.”
For years, players traveled to nearby schools like Mt. Michael to practice, making daily logistics challenging. “Getting to be a part of that process in my fourth season- it’s been really cool to see the different stages,” Martin said. “The anticipation has been building for a really long time. Now to see them here and see all the girls enjoying them and having a blast on them, it’s been really cool to see.”
Senior players said the moment feels especially meaningful after years of commuting to off-campus courts. We spoke to a group of seniors including Ariel Crawford, Maysen Holdorf, Hanna Wageman, Ava Houser, Addie Foltz, Zoe Nelson, and Hanifa Mahamane-Kosso (pictured below). “I feel like it’s very sentimental for us just because I feel like we’ve never had the opportunity to have our own space,” one senior said. “These are our home courts.”
For seniors who have spent their entire high school careers traveling for practices and matches, the new facility feels like a fitting conclusion to their time with the program. “This is a really great experience, especially for us seniors, because we all started when we were freshmen,” another player added. “So we’ve dealt with driving to courts and coming home. I feel like this is a very big opportunity for us.”
Players also believe the courts will help them improve their skills by giving them more consistent access to practice space. “I think that it’s a huge thing that we have access to these courts, because we all live in Bennington and have a space where we can practice on our own,” a player said. “It’s convenient for these courts to be here.”
Beyond competition, many athletes said the sport has helped build friendships and a strong sense of community within the team. “I feel like for some of us this is our main thing, but for most of us, it’s just something fun that we can all come together with,” one player said. “We made our best friends out of it.”
Another player said the relationships built through the sport have become some of her most meaningful connections. “Most girls I don’t get to see during the school day, so it’s really brought me a lot closer to people in a more unexpected way,” she said. “Tennis is my favorite thing to do to blow off steam and just have fun.”
As the senior class prepares to graduate, several players said they hope the next generation of athletes continues the culture of support they helped build. “I hope that people get the same sisterhood aspect of tennis,” one senior said. “I feel like we’ve all grown together… and it shows the empowering women aspect of it.”
Christensen said the new courts are also a sign of the strong community support behind Bennington athletics. “We appreciate the community support,” she said. “We were able to have the courts because of bonds and things that the community helped with.” She also pointed to the enthusiasm from parents and supporters, noting how quickly volunteers stepped up to help organize the ribbon-cutting celebration. “Just that level of support, and everybody’s just so excited,” Christensen said. “So I just really appreciate that.”
The momentum surrounding the girls program is also helping expand opportunities for students. With the new facility in place, Bennington plans to add a boys tennis program beginning next fall. “They are hiring for a boys coach for next fall program,” Christensen added with enthusiasm.
For Martin, the courts represent a full-circle moment for the team and the athletes who helped grow the program. “I hope they take away that hard work means something and it will get you places,” she said. “You just have to stay determined and work hard and when you do, good things happen.”
Following the ceremony, the celebration quickly transitioned into action as players and visitors stepped onto the courts to begin rallying, officially opening a new chapter for Bennington tennis.
