A World-Class Tennis Facility

On September 5, Columbia hosted a dedication ceremony in honor of the Philip & Cheryl Milstein Family Tennis Center at the Baker Athletics Complex. Located at the upper tip of Manhattan, the center, which opened in spring 2023, offers a state-of-the-art facility for the Columbia and Barnard communities. Barnard’s President Laura Rosenbury joined the interim president of Columbia, Dr. Katrina Armstrong, along with faculty, staff, and alumni, for the celebration.

“As the only women’s college to compete in NCAA Division I Athletics, Barnard offers its students a special opportunity to learn from top coaches, play beside talented teammates, and develop lifelong skills,” said Cheryl Milstein ’82, P’14, chair of Barnard’s Board of Trustees. “Philip and I are so happy to be able to support these impressive scholar-athletes from Barnard and Columbia.”

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Also in attendance was former alumnae trustee Philippa Feldman Portnoy ’86, ’90 BUS. Portnoy played tennis during the nascent days of the Columbia-Barnard Athletic Consortium, which provides Barnard student-athletes the opportunity to compete alongside their Columbia peers in NCAA Division I and the Ivy League. Portnoy called tennis the most “important aspect of her undergraduate experience” in a 2019 article in Barnard Magazine. She started her college career in Division III playing as a Barnard Bear against Seven Sisters athletes, but by the time she graduated, she was playing Division I in the Ivy League.

“We’ve come a long way, and this facility is amazing,” she said at the dedication. “Columbia has been a family for me. My father and I both played here, and now my son practices here every Monday.”

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Portnoy added that she is excited to see the program welcome future generations of tennis players. At 112,000 square feet, it’s more than equipped to accommodate them, holding 12 tennis courts: six indoors and six atop the roof. The facility also holds coaches’ offices, conference rooms, meeting spaces, a strength and conditioning area, a student-athlete lounge, locker rooms, and hospitality areas with sweeping views of Inwood Hill and Spuyten Duyvil, where the Harlem and Hudson rivers meet.

From an architectural standpoint, the facility’s built-in “resilience features” address issues all New York City waterfront buildings face. The architecture firm Perkins&Will designed the building’s ground-level composition to withstand sea-level rise, severe storms, and flooding for 100- and 500-year events. Integrated flood vents and resilient construction materials are intended to toughen the design and protect the structural integrity, essentially making it “floodable” for years to come. The center, which Architectural Record described as “thoughtfully planned and carefully detailed,” has been designed to meet and anticipate future needs of the Columbia and Barnard athletes.

“I’ve had the chance to get to know Philip and Cheryl over the last year,” said Armstrong. “[I’ve learned] about their support for Columbia and Barnard and to truly understand what it means to put an institution first at all times. It’s a truly extraordinary facility, worthy of the Milstein name, and a fitting tribute for all they’ve done for this wonderful institution.”