PURCHASE, N.Y. – The Manhattanville College Department of Athletics has announced the re-addition of men's and women's tennis as varsity programs beginning with the 2018-19 season, Director of Athletics Keith Levinthal announced on Wednesday.
 
Manhattanville previously sponsored both men's and women's tennis until 2012. The return of tennis at Manhattanville will increase the number of varsity sports at the school to 22, the most sports sponsored by the Department of Athletics at one time in school history.
 
Along with the reinstitution of the sports, Manhattanville will completely renovate its current tennis courts this summer with a brand-new DecoTurf surface, the official tennis surface of the Intercollegiate Tennis Association and the surface of all U.S. Open courts. Manhattanville is also proud to announce a new partnership with the United States Tennis Association (USTA) that will bring a Professional Tennis Management (PTM) degree program to Manhattanville, making the College one of only seven NCAA institutions to offer the program.
 
"I am thrilled that Manhattanville will be bringing the men's and women's tennis programs back to varsity status," Levinthal said. "As a Department, we are always looking to provide more opportunities for our students, and tennis is a natural fit for our campus and our community. Our tennis student-athletes will not only have the opportunity to play on our brand new tennis facility but they will also have the option of earning a PTM degree from the USTA. I am confident that our tennis teams will be able to compete for a MAC Freedom championship very quickly."
 
A national search for the next head coach of the men's and women's tennis programs will begin immediately, with the new coach anticipated to begin in July in order to have a full year of recruiting in time for the start of the 2018-19 school year.
 
The Valiant men's tennis team reached the MAC Freedom Tournament semifinals in each of its first five seasons with the MAC Freedom, boasting four straight conference Players of the Year and 16 All-Conference selections during its run. Despite not participating since 2011, Manhattanville's six singles and four doubles titles at the MAC Individual Championships still rank second among all MAC schools since Manhattanville joined the conference in 2007-08.
 
The Valiant women's tennis team made two MAC Freedom Tournament appearances in its first five years with the conference and previously won three straight conference championships as a part of the Skyline Conference from 2004-06.
 
"I'm very excited about the return of the tennis to Manhattanville," said Michael Capozzi '12, a three-time MAC Freedom Player of the Year and two-time CoSIDA Academic All-American on the courts. "The tennis program added a lot of value in my academic career at Manhattanville by providing me to the discipline to excel on and off the court. Seeing the commitment of the College to the success of the program, I'm certain that the tennis team will have a significant impact on our campus and the culture, while also coming back strong as a leader in the conference and Division III tennis."
 
About Manhattanville College:
Manhattanville College (www.mville.edu) is an independent, co-educational liberal arts institution dedicated to academic excellence and social and civic action. Manhattanville prepares students to be ethical and socially responsible leaders in a global community. Located just 30 minutes from New York City, Manhattanville serves 1,800 undergraduate students and over 1,000 graduate students from more than 50 countries and 40 states. Founded in 1841, the College offers more than 90 undergraduate and graduate areas of study in the arts and sciences, education, business, creative writing, as well as continuing and executive education programs.