OAKLAND CITY – Doctors Don and Mary Ann Wilder have served up the winning point in constructing a new Tennis Center on the campus of Oakland City University.
In August, the couple donated $800,000 toward completing the tennis center that bears their name. This latest contribution brings their total donation to close to $1.1 million.
“Tennis great Chris Evert-Lloyd once said, If you’re a champion, you have to have it in your heart. Don and Mary Ann Wilder are OCU champions and, again, have given to this university from their heart. The construction phase has now begun.” stated OCU President Dr. Ron Dempsey.
Don Wilder is a 1963 graduate of Oakland City College. The Wilders are lifelong friends and contributors to OCU. Don is an avid tennis player, having won numerous tournaments over several decades of competing across the United States.
The OCU Tennis program has realized great success over the past six years. In 2021, the Lady Oaks ascended to the pinnacle of tennis royalty, playing in the NCCAA National Championship match and bringing home the Runner-up hardware.
In 2023 and 2024, the Mighty Oaks Women’s team claimed back-to-back River States Conference Titles, and Women’s Coach Joe Epkey won River States Conference Coach of the Year. Both years, they advanced to the National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics (NAIA) National Tournament. The Mighty Oaks men’s team claimed their Third Straight River States Conference Championship.
Men’s coach Colin Dixon was named the River States Conference Tennis Coach of the Year for the second year. The Men’s team has had back-to-back-to-back Conference Player of the Year Winners and two players named NAIA All-Americans. In 2023, the Men’s team became the first OCU team to advance past the first round at the NAIA Nationals with an upset over #12 ranked Cumberland (TN).
In 2023, the men’s and women’s teams were named to the Intercollegiate Tennis Association All-ScholarTeams. To be named an All-Scholar Team, the team must achieve a 3.2 or greater grade point average (GPA). The OCU women’s GPA was 3.58, while the men’s team GPA was 3.64.
