Mars Area debuts new tennis courts
ADAMS TWP — Members of the Mars Area High School girls tennis team stepped out onto a gleaming blue surface for the first time on Friday, Sept. 26, as the district officially opened its new tennis courts.
Serving as one of the district’s most significant facility upgrades in recent years, the project delivered five new courts built to the latest United States Tennis Association standards and marked by the school’s blue and gold colors.
“The fact that we got this done is a huge, huge benefit and a testimony to everyone who was involved,” said Mars athletic director Zach Matusak. “The coaches, the administration — there were just so many people that had to keep pushing for this and did so much legwork behind the scenes to make sure this was done the right way and at a high level. Everyone did a great job here.”
The monthslong project carried a price tag of about $639,000, according to the district. Dun Rite Construction and Paving performed the construction after being awarded a $537,600 contract, while Westmoreland Electrical Group received a $101,400 contract for electrical work.
Previous courts at the district were dotted with cracks after multiple decades of wear and tear, increasing the risk of potential injury. Many of the nets were also burdened with sizable holes, making it more difficult to conduct practices and matches.
“There’s no cracks in them now, so from an injury standpoint, there’s no new worries on that end,” Matusak said. “We talk about doing things at an elite level and now we have a tennis court facility that can replicate that.”
While the courts were under construction, the girls tennis team commuted to nearby Pine-Richland High School in Allegheny County for practices and matches.
The most frustrating part about that situation, veteran coach Mark Varlotta noted, was having to work around Pine-Richland’s schedule. That’s no longer an issue.
“We’re psyched,” Varlotta said. “We got five (courts) to play complete matches, which we’ve never had the opportunity to do before. They’re looking great and we’re just really excited to get rolling on them.”
One of the more noticeable benefits of the new facility will be shorter match times.
With five courts, all of the players for the boys and girls teams will be able to compete simultaneously. That began on Monday, when the team hosted Blackhawk for its senior night.
“The matches almost always took double the length of time with less than five courts because you had to wait for one (match) to get done in order to put the fifth one on,” Varlotta said. “Just from a competition standpoint — everyone playing at the same time — it just puts it all together.”
Due to budget constraints, officials were forced to decide between constructing an additional court or adding lights during the planning process.
While officials ended up opting for the extra court, the facility has access to electricity, leaving open the possibility of lights in the future.
“I don’t think that anything like that is going to happen in the near, near future but we left the potential for that,” Varlotta said. “As a coach for the last 25 years, we’ve never needed to utilize the lights for high school play. The priority was having the fifth court opposed to the lighting, so that’s kind of what we were focused on.”
-
Mars senior Lacey Kern walks with her family during senior night at the new Mars Area Senior High School tennis courts, Monday, Sept. 29, 2025. Matthew Brown/Butler Eagle
-
Mars senior Grace McMichael walks with her mother during senior night at the new Mars Area Senior High School tennis courts, Monday, Sept. 29, 2025. Matthew Brown/Butler Eagle
-
Mars senior Grace Getsy walks with her family during senior night at the new Mars Area Senior High School tennis courts, Monday, Sept. 29, 2025. Matthew Brown/Butler Eagle
-
Mars senior Grace Getsy play at the new Mars Area Senior High School tennis courts, Monday, Sept. 29, 2025. Matthew Brown/Butler Eagle
-
Mars senior Gracie McMichael plays at the new Mars Area Senior High School tennis courts, Monday, Sept. 29, 2025. Matthew Brown/Butler Eagle
-
Mars senior Gracie McMichael plays at the new Mars Area Senior High School tennis courts, Monday, Sept. 29, 2025. Matthew Brown/Butler Eagle
-
Members of the Mars girls tennis team play at the new Mars Area Senior High School tennis courts, Monday, Sept. 29, 2025. Matthew Brown/Butler Eagle
-
Mars senior Grace Getsy play at the new Mars Area Senior High School tennis courts, Monday, Sept. 29, 2025. Matthew Brown/Butler Eagle
-
Mars senior Gracie McCarty walks with her family during senior night at the new Mars Area Senior High School tennis courts, Monday, Sept. 29, 2025. Matthew Brown/Butler Eagle
-
Members of the Mars girls tennis team play at the new Mars Area Senior High School tennis courts, Monday, Sept. 29, 2025. Matthew Brown/Butler Eagle
-
Members of the Mars girls tennis team play at the new Mars Area Senior High School tennis courts, Monday, Sept. 29, 2025. Matthew Brown/Butler Eagle
