Frustrated with their inability to schedule court time, Birnbaum and Gest say they decided to take their case to University President Lawrence H. Summers in late October. After an office hours visit, Summers instructed Birnbaum and Gest to send him an e-mail message explaining the problem.
In their e-mail to Summers, the captains wrote that “we have never received treatment that befits an equal…Shouldn’t we get as much time on the top-quality Murr Center courts as recreational players who have made impromptu or casual reservations there?”
Summers forwarded the e-mail to Athletic Director Robert Scalise, adding “Bob, I hope you will refer it to your people and try to make a fair decision given the needs and desires of club tennis and the other things you have to balance.”
According to Birnbaum, Summers’ e-mail had no immediate effect, but he says Summers’ influence might have helped them win time at the Palmer-Dixon courts four months later.
The Last Straw
Birnbaum and Gest say that even though they failed to secure court time at the Murr over the winter, their relationship with the athletic department remained cordial until February, when the club team returned to Gordon after its renovation to find the courts worse than ever.
Birnbaum says he again complained to Gibson about not being allowed to block time in the Murr. When Gibson asserted that the courts in question were already being used, Birnbaum said he asked for evidence, at which point he says Gibson “interrupted” him and accused him of “presenting a court case” to the athletic department.
“He basically tried to lay a guilt trip on me,” Birnbaum said of the meeting.
Gibson also says he was surprised that the two captains had gone to Summers because “I felt that we were working with them to resolve the situation and its been a very open line of communication.”
After the meeting, Birnbaum says the athletic department granted some of his wishes. The team was moved to the Palmer Dixon courts, which Birnbaum said he initially considered a slight upgrade.
He says he was unpleasantly surprised, however, when the team arrived at Palmer Dixon to find that one of the three courts was being used by the baseball team as a batting cage and nets on the other courts were sagging below their proper levels and couldn’t be fixed.
“Now we’ve got two courts instead of the three we expected and they are defective,” he says.
Gibson says he disagrees with Birnbaum’s characterization of the courts.
“Over the winter, we’ve had intercollegiate tennis competitions going on at Palmer Dixon,” he says. “We certainly don’t hold the same view that they are not quality tennis courts; we think they are.”
Wentzell says the athletic department is trying to do all it can for the club team, but is constrained by “through the roof” demand for space. He said that the team should be content with less than the best.
“Is it a world class facility? No. Is it a place to hit a tennis ball? Yes,” Wentzell says.
But Birnbaum says the team won’t be content until it books regular time in the Murr.
“This fight isn’t over,” Birnbaum says.
—Staff writer William M. Rasmussen can be reached at wrasmuss@fas.harvard.edu.