If you live in Houston and you play tennis, you should join the new Rice Tennis Club at the George R. Brown Tennis Center.

  Rice-Tennis-Complex.gif (Size: 213.57 KB / Downloads: 27)
This is not a country club -- no shoe buffing machine, no jar of blue stuff with combs in it, no putting it on the Underhills' tab. But from a purely tennis point of view, the GRB will be one of the best-surfaced, best-lighted, best-maintained hardcourt facilities not just in Houston, but in this part of the country. Membership benefits include:
- Reserve courts online up to a week in advance
- Adult classes, private lessons and group lessons available
- Showers and day lockers on-site for club members
- Free admission to Rice varsity tennis matches
- Your dues support Rice tennis!

And compared to other private clubs, the Rice Tennis Club is a bargain.

The application form is attached.

  Club Registration Form 2015.pdf (Size: 85.49 KB / Downloads: 18)
And this is cool: once you pay your 2015 dues, you will get the remainder of 2014 for free. The sooner you join, the more tennis you get.

If you have questions beyond what is on the form, please contact club director Joel Peters at (423) 366-0444 or tennisclub@rice.edu

Go Owls!

Update: the six dual-match courts are almost ready to play:

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...and the other courts are not far behind.

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Join the club!

The courts are ready! Both Rice teams have been practicing on them this week. Here's a picture of the men stretching on the courts after practice:
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And a picture of the very nice locker room that club members will be able to use (special guest appearance by some Rice tennis greats):[attachment=6020]

I drove by the new courts last night - the facility is looking pretty good.

Will there be stands to watch the north courts along Rice Blvd? It looks like it has the space to put them in, but they're not installed.

edit:grammar

(10-03-2014 07:50 AM)lou Wrote:  I drove by the new courts last night - the facility is looking pretty good.

Will there be stands to watch the north courts along Rice Blvd? It looks like it has the space to put them in, but they're not installed.

edit:grammar

This is indeed a planned option for future expansion, but not an immediate need.

Last night was my first chance to play at the G.R.B. Tennis Center -- in the "pro-am" of the professional Futures tournament Rice is hosting this week (see other thread). Great courts, great backdrops, excellent lighting, and a nice cool clean locker room to change in. The deck adjacent to the courts is the perfect place to relax after playing, and club pro Joel Peters is on the ball.

Some of the best weather of the year is right now. Join the club for 2015 and start playing this fall!