Largest Gift to Tennis Programs in School History
7/15/2021 2:42:00 PM
We can’t thank Kim Strauss enough for her generous gift to our tennis program. This gift will help us transform the teams’ locker room and create an amazing lounge space, giving our student-athletes two facilities where they can feel at home and prepare to play to the best of their abilities. This gift is just one step toward a planned reinvigoration of the Tom Oxley Center that serves so many of our Owl student-athletes.
Brian White, FAU Vice President and Director of AthleticsTennis Lounge1 of 18
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Philanthropist Kimberly V. Strauss has made the largest gift ever to the Florida Atlantic University tennis programs. Her generosity will allow the Owls’ programs to continue their ascent among the nation’s elite, as her gift will be used to enhance the Owl’s facilities and their overall intercollegiate athletics experience.
In 2020, the men’s and women’s tennis coaching staffs moved into the Tom Oxley Center, affording them the opportunity to take advantage of a suite-like atmosphere, including upgraded office space, a players’ lounge, a video/analytics area and a spacious racket stringing station. Strauss’ gift has transformed these spaces.
“We can’t thank Kim Strauss enough for her generous gift to our tennis program. This gift will help us transform the teams’ locker room and create an amazing lounge space, giving our student-athletes two facilities where they can feel at home and prepare to play to the best of their abilities. This gift is just one step toward a planned reinvigoration of the Tom Oxley Center that serves so many of our Owl student-athletes.”
While FAU coaches were able to move into the Oxley Center in the fall of 2020, time with their student-athletes and the opportunity to take full advantage of the facility was limited due to the health and safety protocols. At the conclusion of the 2021 season, upgrades and construction began on the suite and locker rooms, with the new-look facility on track to welcome the teams upon their return to campus in August.
“It is my heartfelt privilege to furnish FAU Tennis with this gift. Upon visiting with the team and their coaches on the courts, I came away awed by their outstanding talent and even more so by the exemplary character of each mentor and student-athlete, along with their athletic and academic accomplishments. My hope, for these newly refurbished facilities is to embody and inspire the teams’ collective spirit, to enhance their coaches’ exceptional dedication, leadership and capabilities with a transformation that comes on the heels of the most unprecedented challenges in recent history. To that effect, this gift represents the resilience of these teams, their will to overcome, and to attain even greater heights. I am only too proud to support FAU Tennis in this effort, of which its constituents are so utterly deserving.”
The FAU tennis programs have greatly benefitted from the generosity of Boca Raton and surrounding communities. In 2017, the on-campus FAU Tennis Complex opened. Since that time, the two programs have begun a rapid ITA rankings ascent. The new courts were instrumental in 2018 when Aliona Bolsova chose to attend FAU. Bolsova climbed to a No. 2 national singles rank that season and was the Conference USA Newcomer of the Year and Player of the Year, C-USA All-Academic team member, and a two-time C-USA Athlete of the Week. The Dean’s List honoree would earn a national championship invite but declined it in preparation for a professional tennis career. She has since participated in each of the major championships, including a quarterfinal finish in the 2019 French Open. In 2021, the Owl women achieved a No. 52 national ranking, the highest in program history.
The men’s team posted six straight seasons of double-digit victories prior to the pandemic-shortened 2020 spring campaign and abbreviated 2021 season. Despite the challenges and adversity of 2021, the Owls climbed as high as No. 55 in the national rankings and advanced to the Conference USA semifinal round. Individually, Kevin Huempfner was named C-USA Newcomer of the Year – the program’s third in a row. The team’s highest national showing in nearly two decades came in 2019, when the Owls were ranked No. 45. That season included a flawless 9-0 record at the FAU Tennis Complex and the No. 1 seed in the C-USA Championship.
The recent success for both teams can be directly attributed to the on-campus facility, constructed through donations and community support, surrounded by the signature beautiful South Florida palm trees. Strauss’ gift will give the two programs beautiful facilities to call home when they are away from the courts.
We are so grateful for this gift and all the support that has enabled us to grow our program. FAU women’s tennis is a very diverse program and the enhancements to both the Oxley suite and locker room provides a place for the student-athletes to relax and recover and meet and review film. But more importantly, it is a place where connections can be made among teammates and coaches which are vital to strengthening any program, large or small.
Caroline Wheelen, Head Women’s Tennis Coach
Our teams are humbled for this generous donation towards our programs and thankful for believing our mission. This kind of support means the world to us, and the kids can’t wait to come back and see the new improvements in their locker rooms and tennis suite. Their student-athlete experience will be that much better. These are the details that will help our programs tremendously, especially with recruiting. Both our men and women have been top-50 programs in the country for the last few years and we are hungry to keep climbing in the rankings. We are definitely taking steps in the right direction, and I am excited for the future of our tennis programs.
Ricardo Gonzalez, Head Men’s Tennis Coach
