Net News - February 26
2/26/2016 12:00:00 AM | Men's Tennis
Hello from our state's capitol, Montgomery, Alabama.
So fun to be back at our favorite event of the year - the Blue Gray National Tennis Classic. An event that dates back to 1949 when Mr. Jack Bushman, a Montgomery resident and President of the Southern Lawn Association, wanted to tie in a world class tennis tournament to the prestigious Blue Gray football classic. He envisioned starting an event similar to the Sugar Bowl junior tennis tournament that was played in conjunction with the Sugar Bowl football game. The main difference was that he wanted this tennis tournament to feature top college players rather than juniors. Alas the Blue Gray National Tennis Classic was born.
For the first 30 years, the BG was an individual event unlike the present day team competition. Many of the top college players came to Montgomery to compete in the tournament prior to becoming top professional players in the world. This list included Stan Smith (USC), Tony Trabert (Cincinnati), Barry McKay (Michigan), Charlie Pasarell (UCLA), Tim and Tom Gullickson (Northern Illinois), Kevin Curren (Texas), Steve Denton (Texas) and Bob McKinley (Trinity). Blue Gray also brought in top players for exhibitions such as Pancho Gonzalez, Frankie Parker, Jack Kramer and Bobby Riggs.
In 1983, Mr. Bushman went to the NCAA Championships in order to speak with top college coaches about the possibility of changing the BG to a team competition. The coaches liked the idea of playing a team format to prepare them for the season ending championships so the BG changed to a team competition. Since changing its format, the Blue Gray has seen the likes of USC, Pepperdine, Notre Dame, Harvard, Illinois, Florida, Michigan, Georgia and the two in-state rivals, Alabama and Auburn.
In addition to the tremendous competition we face in Montgomery each season, one feature that stands head-and-shoulders above everything is the southern hospitality that the tournament offers. Families in the community open up their homes to all the players which have in turn created life long friendships. This is my 3rd Blue Gray and it's so nice to be back in town to see our returning host families - Brooke & Melissa Lawson, Brooks & Jennifer Seale, Will & Amy Chapman and Spud & Nancy Seale - and I'm excited to meet a new family hosting a pair of Bama players, Peter & Margaret Ann Selman. The players look forward to catching up with each family as well as carry on traditions like intense ping pong matches, 3-point shooting contests, a trampoline bounce-a-thon, air hockey battles, steady putting on a backyard green and the tasty meals that include Conecuh sausage.
Back to the tournament...as we also have some tennis to play this weekend. This year's field includes Oklahoma State, South Florida, Boise State, Princeton, and our neighbors, Auburn. We will face the #9 Cowboys of Oklahoma State who are a strong and talented team. We're pumped for the opportunity and can't wait for our 12:30pm match at Lagoon Park. Because of a 6-team field this year, our second opponent will be determined tomorrow evening after all results are in.
We've had our toughest and most focused week of practice after returning from Ann Arbor on Sunday morning. Becker O'Shaughnessey wore the black shirt and we're ready for a strong performance all day/weekend long. If you're in town or close to Montgomery come on over to Lagoon Park to see some great tennis action. Our women's team face Princeton at 10am. Here's to getting stronger and better.
Roll Tide, George
