OAKLAND CITY – On Tuesday, Oakland City University broke ground on a new Tennis Center on their Oakland City campus.
The new Tennis Center is named for Drs. Donald and Mary Ann Wilder Tennis Center. Don Wilder is a 1963 graduate of Oakland City College. The Wilders are lifelong friends and contributors to OCU. Dr. Donald Wilder is an avid tennis player, having won numerous tournaments across the United States.
OCU President Dr. Ron Dempsey stated, “Upon arriving as President in August 2019 I have been laser-focused on upgrading our facilities and providing scholarships to meet today’s student-athlete needs. In 2020 we joined the National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics and the River State Conference. And we implemented the New Era of Excellence Athletic Campaign, a multi-facility project and endowed scholarship program that provides for all 13 sports and 215 student-athletes.”
The OCU Tennis program has realized great success over the past three years. In 2021, the Lady Oaks ascended to the pinnacle of tennis royalty, playing in the NCCAA National Champion game, and bringing home the Runner-up hardware. The Might Oaks men’s team claimed the River States Conference Championship. Women’s coach Colin Dixon was named the River States Conference Tennis Coach of the Year. His Lady Oaks swept the conference awards. All the while, the men’s and women’s teams were named to the Intercollegiate Tennis Association All-Scholar Teams. To be named an All-Scholar Team, the team’s GPA must be 3.2 or greater. The OCU women’s GPA was 3.53 while the men’s team GPA was 3.26.
OCU’s Athletic Director, T-Ray Fletcher added, “Philanthropic contributions from generous donors like Drs. Donald and Mary Ann Wilder have proven to help our teams be competitive and elevate the student-athlete experience on campus. This new Tennis Center, will help us increase our recruiting and retention efforts. We are grateful to Don and Mary Ann.”
