Whitewater tennis star brings childhood dream to life

WHITEWATER, Wis. - Reese Brantmeier has played on some of the most famous tennis courts in the world — but the ones she stared at through classroom windows as a child are the ones that captured her heart.

Now, the 20-year-old University of North Carolina tennis standout has helped revitalize those same courts in her hometown of Whitewater, Wisconsin.

What they're saying:

"I always make sure to work at least one week of the UW-Whitewater tennis camps. I played in them growing up," Brantmeier said. "So, I always try to get home for that, at least for a little bit."

This summer, Brantmeier did more than just work the camp. She led the restoration of two long-neglected courts near Washington Elementary School — the same ones she dreamed about as a child.

"This has been a dream of mine since I was 8 years old," she said. "I picked up a racket for the first time when I went to this elementary school about 20 feet up that way. I would look out the window of those classrooms and wish that I could play here at home."

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At one point, she said, the courts were barely recognizable.

"These courts, not too long ago, had full trees in the middle," she said. "They were not level. They had no nets. They barely had paint anymore. They’ve been pretty unplayable for decades."

Now, through the Reese Brantmeier Project, the courts have been fully resurfaced, repainted and brought back to life — thanks to $160,000 in fundraising.

"Standing on these glowing blue courts and seeing everyone smiling and so excited for this opening — it’s been one of the coolest experiences of my life," Brantmeier said.

Her college team, coaches and others helped her reach the goal.

"This is a huge thing," said UNC tennis coach Bryan Kalbas. "I mean, for Reese to do something for her community — our program’s all about family, so, we’ve done a bunch of fundraisers, clinics and different auction items, events for Reese. We feel this has been a project that she’s been going for quite some time."

Brantmeier also wanted to honor the courts’ original roots — built decades ago by former Washington Elementary School principal Tom Christofferson.

Local perspective:

"I’m so honored that the Christofferson family and Tom Christofferson — he was the principal at Washington Elementary, I think he started in the ‘60s — and he was the one who built these courts initially," Brantmeier said. "He had the same message as us."

"I felt that it was important that we had courts here," Christofferson said. "And between the athletic director at that time, who was Tom Barnes, and myself, we talked the school district into putting these new courts in."

Tom Grosinske, the school’s current principal, said seeing Brantmeier bring the courts back has been inspiring.

"She dared to dream it to become a reality, and it did. And it’s exciting," he said.

Brantmeier’s dream began just steps away, and now she hopes it sparks something in others.

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"Just seeing there’s like-minded people across generations in this town who want to see these courts busy and full of life," she said. "I’m just happy to be a person to step up and make it happen."

"Obviously, as an 8-year-old, I didn’t have a concept of what it would take to get this process done," she added. "But I would always tell my mom, ‘Someday those are going to be fixed. Someday I’m going to bring tennis back here.’"

She did — and now she’s moving forward, both on and off the court.

Brantmeier and her doubles partner have qualified for the U.S. Open and finished the college season ranked No. 2 in the nation. She was also named ACC Player of the Year and the NCAA’s Academic Player of the Year.

She plans to return to Chapel Hill for her senior year before turning professional.

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