By Bob Nuse, Sports Editor
For Colleen Cosgrove and Judy Vogt, the approach has been simple since they began running the Princeton Racquet Club.
“We’re just trying to make sure we have the top facility we can have in terms of facility and staff and following the new trends of the industry,” Cosgrove said. “Whether it is the USTA 10-and-under program, which has changed the approach and has had a positive impact on them to be more complete players by the time they are 15 and 16 years old, or any of the other trends in the game.”
In addition to working to do the best they can to make players better on the court, the two have also made an effort to keep the PRC facility on the cutting edge as well. Cosgrove and Vogt have co-owned the club, located on Raymond Road in South Brunswick, for the last 20 years. Last month, Princeton Racquet Club was one of 13 facilities presented with the USTA Outstanding Facility Award.
“The award is a facility award,” Cosgrove explained. “There is a criteria that has to be met. The second aspect is you need to have programs that are furthering the growth of tennis. We have over 50 USTA League teams here. We have the 10-and-under program. We host 22 USTA Junior tournaments.”
The club has been honored in the past by the New Jersey District and the Middle States. But adding a national award is something special.
“This is our first time being nominated for a national award and we were selected as one of 13 in the country so it is pretty exciting,” Cosgrove said. “We are in the large club category, which is what you are in if you have 10 or more courts. We don’t really consider ourselves large but we were up against places like Indian Wells and the Trump Golf and Tennis Club in Potomac, Md. So we were pretty excited and it is a real honor for us and our staff and people who are part of the club.”
Over the course of their 20 years at PRC, Cosgrove and Vogt have made a commitment to go solar and their facility is powered by solar panels. There is a Memorial Garden they have and gone to great lengths to make the club as ‘Green’ as possible.
Cosgrove is a member of the Mercer County Tennis Hall of Fame and Vogt will join her when she is inducted in January. The two took over PRC from former owner Alex Molner 20 years ago and have spent those years working to keep their mission of tennis for everyone alive.
“He made it available to us,” Cosgrove said. “We would never have been in a position to do it if not for his generosity and he wanted it to work out for us. So we still have the same philosophy of programs. We’ve put in 10 outdoor courts and renovated the facility. Several years ago we made a commitment to solar. It’s been fun.”
The facility includes the main building as well as ‘The Barn,’ a structure that has a legendary status of its own.
“We had an awning installer here from North Jersey and he said he played in the barn in the 1970s,” Cosgrove said. “That was where Princeton University used to practice before any indoor facilities were available. We redid the barn and updated it. It seems no matter who you are you have played in that barn at one time or another.”
In addition to the tennis facilities, Cosgrove and Vogt are proud of the Memorial Tree Garden and what it means to the club and its members.
“When (Princeton High School teacher and coach) Becky Mackey retired she came here and played and helped with teaching the little kids,” Cosgrove said. “She had cancer and all the while she had a tennis racket in her hand. She was so inspirational. When she passed we had a Memorial service here and a tree was planted in her memory about 15 years ago. The tree is huge now and we have had several other people who were friends of the club and have planted trees in their memory. Now we have a PRC Memorial Club.”
For Cosgrove and Vogt, that is all part of making the facility what it is. And over their 20 years they have never strayed from their mission or motto.
“One thing people like to say is it is a homey place,” Cosgrove said. “They say it is like a home away from home so we try to foster that attitude. Our motto is ‘Pride, Respect and Character.’ That is what we try to instill in our kids and adults. No matter how things are going on the court you have to have respect for each other. That is what it is all about.”
