Ground broken for Mary Lynne Smisson Cumiskey Tennis Complex

It was a process 12 years in the making, but finally the Mary Lynne Smisson Cumiskey Tennis Complex is becoming a reality for Brookstone School.

The school held a groundbreaking ceremony on Monday at the school, beginning development of a 10-court tennis complex that will make Brookstone one of the premier hubs for the sport statewide.

The process began in 2004, but there were a handful of obstacles, not least of which was an economic downturn nationally, that the school had to clear to find funds to support the $2-3 million price tag. Now, over half of the funds are in hand, according to head of school Dr. Frank Brown, and they finally have some momentum.

The playing surfaces themselves, Brown said, will be ready by late January or early February of 2017, in time for the 2017 spring tennis season. Landscaping, paving and some of the other “niceties,” Brown said, would be completed some time after that.

The complex, of course, gets its name from former Brookstone player and current girls coach Mary Lynne Cumiskey. Cumiskey won four state titles as a player and has gone on to lead the girls program to 10 titles during her 35-plus years as a coach.

Cumiskey said on Monday that she was honored to have her name associated with the program long into the future.

“It was certainly a surprise and a wonderful honor,” she said. “I was lost for words when they said they would name it after me.”

Her name will be on the front of the complex, but boys coach Jim East will have his name attached as well. The championship court, which will be at the front of the complex, will be named after East, who has led the boys program to two state titles.

“It was kind of a stunning surprise in the context of working with Mary Lynne Cumiskey over these 20-plus years,” he said. “It’s so just the reward she’s earning. So to be added on to that was just gravy. It was just wonderful.”

Both coaches agreed that the complex is a long time coming for Brookstone and will be a wonderful boon for the programs.

“We’ve been waiting for this for quite some time,” Cumiskey said. “It’s something that’s been needed for a long time, and we’re thrilled to finally get it. It’s going to greatly help the tennis community in a lot of ways. We can have tournaments here, we’re thinking of having some alumni tournaments. It will just greatly impact Columbus.”

“Great athletes tend to gravitate toward good facilities and good programs,” East said. “We’re really proud of this program. Everyone knows the name Coach Cumiskey. To have a complex rise to the standards of a coach like her is a win-win.”

Few programs outside of Atlanta have the kind of stature that Brookstone has, and Brown said he and others are hoping that a facility like this one will help improve that recognition even more.

“To be truthful, we’re anxious to get our courts completed and start bringing some of those big guys down here,” he said.

The development will be completed by Thayer-Bray Construction.

This story was originally published April 11, 2016 at 3:51 PM with the headline "Ground broken for Mary Lynne Smisson Cumiskey Tennis Complex."