McCarthy Gym reopened its doors Tuesday after closing for a second set of renovations this summer.

The renovations include new locker rooms, a training room and a team room for members of both the men and women’s soccer teams and the women’s softball teams.

Katy Scherer, a sophomore on the women’s soccer team, is pleased with the new additions to McCarthy Gym.

“It’s so nice,” she said. “Overall, it’s a lot nicer and so much easier to have this closer to the field.”

Last year, the team’s locker room was located in the Anderson Athletic Recreational Center. Scherer said the team had to get dressed there, walk over to their game on South Campus, then walk back to the AARC and change again.

Injuries and medical evaluations also happened in the AARC.

In addition to the new locker rooms and training room, other installations were put in over the summer.

John Tschida, the director of McCarthy Gym and the softball coach, knows how busy the gym can get during the school year. He said dividers were put on the court so more students could use the facility. A new entrance and elevator were also installed.

While Tschida still wishes to expand to accommodate more people’s desires to use the gym, he is happy with the finished product after the renovations.

“They made use of the facility really well,” he said.

The second phase of renovations comes one year after the first phase. The swimming pool was removed for a hardwood basketball court along with new cardio and strength equipment.

Although its location on South Campus is not convenient for all, some students said McCarthy Gym is a promising facility to work out at.

“The McCarthy Gym’s more private than the AARC,” sophomore Elizabeth Phyle. “It usually isn’t as busy but still has nice equipment.”

Freshman Austin Booher uses the facility because he lives on South Campus.

“I will come here to work out more because it’s closer than the AARC,” he said.

Hayley Schnell can be reached at schn3912@stthomas.edu.