Southwestern Magazine | Fall 2019

AView to aWin 12 SOUTHWESTERN T H E C O MM O N S SOUTHWESTERN HOSTED the Intercollegiate Tennis Association (ITA) Southwest Regional Cham- pionships for Division III Men’s Tennis for the first time September 26–29, 2019. The ITA Regional Championships feature some of the topmen’s andwomen’s players in the nation. And thanks to the generosity of theHenderson family, longtime supporters of SU’s tennis program, fans of theUniversity’s student–athletes were able towatch real-time coverage of the tournament via Southwestern's newPlaySight video platform. Billy Porter, head coach of themen's andwomen's tennis teams at Southwestern, says he and his athletes “are beyond grateful for the Hendersons’ generous contribution, giving us cutting-edge technology that nobody else in Texas at the Division III level has.” He adds that PlaySight has already had a positive impact on recruiting new players, who are attracted by SU’s newly elevated facilities. “The fact that nobody else in our conference has this resourcemakes Southwestern tennis something exclusive,” Porter comments. “The addition of PlaySight has boosted theMarvin D. Henderson Tennis Center from one of the nicest facilities in Texas to the premier venue in the state.” The state-of-the-art video equipment appeals to new recruits and current student–athletes alike because the cameras enable family and friends who can’t attend in person to livestream the matches. Now, parents in Canada and former doubles partners in Florida no longer have to wait on tenterhooks for scores to be announced by text or on Twitter. “We are truly grateful for this most recent investment in Southwestern’s tennis program by the Henderson family,” says Kent Huntsman, associate vice president for development. “The video system gives families and friends of our student–athletes the opportunity to see them compete when traveling to campus is simply not an option.” Huntsman adds that having recorded video of practices and competitions also a”ords Porter the opportu- nity to enhance his coaching, allowing himand his players to reviewand evaluate their performance. Porter agrees: “It gives us the opportunity to teach our players by them seeing what they are doing well and what they need to work on…. PlaySight has been an absolute blessing for our programs.” Vesko Lekovic ’22, a business major and economics minor from Houston, TX, is a member of the Southern Collegiate Athletic Conference All-Tournament Team.