CofC Athletics Receives $1.5 Million Gift in Support of Tennis

The College of Charleston Athletics Department on Monday, June 13, 2022, announced it has received a generous, program-changing $1.5 million gift from Robb and Lydia Turner to fund the renovation and new construction of its current tennis facility at Patriots Point in Mount Pleasant. CofC’s Board of Trustees unanimously approved the construction project and renaming of the facility to the Turner Tennis Center.

Robb and Lydia Turner are ardent supporters of the College of Charleston as their daughter, Ava Turner, spent four years competing for head coach Angelo Anastopoulo’s CofC Women’s Tennis program. Ava graduated from CofC in the spring of 2021 with a bachelor’s degree in communication.

“The College of Charleston has made a difference in many young people’s lives including our daughter Ava,” Robb Turner said. “My wife Lydia and I are happy to provide the major gift for an expanded and improved CofC Tennis center. As we saw with Ava, CofC is a wonderful place to be a tennis student-athlete. This project will improve the experience of the players on and off the court and make CofC a school of choice for top student-athletes.”

The major gift from the Turner family continues the strong fundraising momentum for the College of Charleston’s campaign to improve its athletics facilities at the Patriots Point Athletic Complex. In addition to the $14 million goal for baseball capital improvements, the fundraising goal for the newly named Turner Tennis Center is $2.5 million.