Mapp-Whitelow Tennis Courts

The Mapp-Whitelow Tennis Courts are located adjacent to Nininger Hall with the facility featuring six courts.

In the summer of 2015, the courts were repainted with Eagle crimson and gold. New wind screens were added the next year.

The courts were dedicated on April 13, 2014 in honor of Bridgewater College Athletic Hall of Fame member Laura S. Mapp. Mapp coached the women's tennis team from 1961-97 and led the Bridgewater women to 161 wins during that period.

“Laura Mapp spent nearly four decades at Bridgewater College, teaching women to be leaders in the game, the classroom and the community,” said Bridgewater College President Dr. David W. Bushman. “She left an unparalleled legacy at Bridgewater College. We are honored to preserve that legacy into the future by naming the College’s tennis courts after her.”

During the 2021-22 academic year, the courts were renamed the Mapp-Whitelow Tennis Courts with a re-dedication ceremony on October 8, 2022 as the College added the name of BC Athletic Hall of Famer Carlyle Whitelow. Whitelow was a pioneer in athletics not only at Bridgewater College, but in the Commonwealth of Virginia.

Carlyle lettered two years in football, basketball and track at Bridgewater and was the first black athlete to participate in intercollegiate athletics at the college. He was also the first black athlete in the state to play at a school that was not a predominantly black college. After graduation, he taught in the Staunton Public School System for 10 years before spending the next 28 years as a faculty member at the College. In addition, Whitelow spent time as a football, basketball and tennis coach, including earning the 1979 ODAC Men's Tennis Coach of the Year honor.