CAMPAIGN NEWS

Gift Will Build Outdoor Tennis Stadium

Nov. 6, 2001

Duke University's outdoor tennis courts will be improved and housed in a new stadium, the result of a $1.57 million gift from Duke alumnus C. Merrill Ambler Jr., university president Nannerl O. Keohane announced Tuesday.

Ambler, a tennis enthusiast and former Duke baseball player, said he made the gift to give Duke's nationally ranked men's and women's tennis teams a "nice place to play."

In February Ambler, who lives in Abington, Pa., gave the university Amico Island, located at the confluence of Rancocas Creek and the Delaware River. He stipulated that its value, combined with his additional gifts of cash, be used to make Duke's outdoor tennis facilities among the best in the country.

About six months later, Duke found a buyer for the island -- Burlington County, New Jersey -- which intends to incorporate it into the county's park system. According to the Burlington County Times, the county's board of freeholders approved the purchase of the island on Oct. 10, 2001. The paper quoted board member William Haines Jr. as saying that the island, with its view of the Philadelphia skyline, "will make a great gateway to our parks system."

For 30 years Ambler owned and managed Amico, a Philadelphia-area company engaged in mining, contracting and real estate management. During that period, he was also a highly successful tennis player, frequently competing in national and regional tournaments and earning a national ranking in his age group.

"Athletics have always been vital in my life, and I intended my gift to Duke to enhance significantly the tennis facilities," said Ambler, a member of Duke's Class of 1964. "It was also my strong hope that the gift would lead to the citizens in the Philadelphia area having a spectacular park on the Delaware River -- two wishes in the same dream."

Duke athletics director Joe Alleva said: "Merrill Ambler is a generous, caring person who loves Duke University and its tennis programs. The tennis stadium will be beautiful and we are extremely grateful for his gift."

In 1999, Ambler gave $200,000 to name an indoor court in Duke's new Sheffield Tennis Center.

A plaque to be located at the new Duke stadium will read, "The tennis stadium is dedicated to the memories of all the Amblers who loved Duke." Merrill Ambler's late uncle, Wayne H. Ambler, Class of 1937, was a star baseball player at the university who is enshrined in the Duke Sports Hall of Fame.

Work is well underway on the outdoor stadium, which will include seating for 700, lights, new restrooms and state-of the-art sound and electronic systems. The six existing courts will be resurfaced, lighted and extended to comply with NCAA tournament specifications. It is expected to be ready for Duke's 2002 outdoor tennis season and will be named for Ambler.

The new 11,000-square-foot facility on the south side of Towerview Road will have an area for announcers, television and other press. There also will be direct electronic connection between the umpire and the scoreboard, allowing direct posting of match scores.

The new stadium is part of an upgrade of Duke's intercollegiate and student-centered facilities that has been a part of the Campaign for Duke, the university's $2 billion fund-raising effort.

Duke's intercollegiate tennis program is a national power. The women's team has won 13 consecutive Atlantic Coast Conference championships and advanced to the NCAA Final Four in four of the last six years. In the 2001 season, the Blue Devils, led by All-Americas Ansley Cargill, Kathy Sell, Megan Miller and Amanda Johnson, notched a 27-2 record.

The men's team has advanced to the NCAA Tournament for 10 consecutive years and has won nine of the last 11 ACC championships, including four in a row. In 2001, the Blue Devils, led by All-Americas Ramsey Smith, Andres Pedroso and Phillip King, had a 24-4 record.

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