Net News - Feb. 22
2/22/2019 9:20:00 AM | Men's Tennis
Greetings from our state capital – Montgomery, Alabama!
The Crimson Tide have rolled into town and return to action this weekend in the 71st playing of the Blue Gray National Tennis Classic. We face Fresno State on Friday, February 22 at 12:30pm at Lagoon Park in our first of three dual matches over the weekend. Before reviewing the ins and outs of the Blue Gray, its history, format and schedule, let me quickly touch on our "California Dreamin'" road trip. What a fun time it was to compete in a part of the country we don't regularly see, as well as face a pair of teams in San Diego State and Pepperdine in a couple of beautiful beach towns. It was our first steps outside the friendly confines of the Roberta Alison Baumgardner Indoor Tennis Facility (the R.A.B.) in Tuscaloosa and a return home to a couple of old stomping grounds for myself and Coach Robbie Weiss. I got to see the apartment and campus that I called home while an Aztec (at San Diego State) and Robbie got to lay his eyes once again on that million dollar, Malibu ocean view which he saw on a daily basis while representing the Waves (of Pepperdine). It was a nice homecoming that had cooler temperatures than we expected but the sun, sand, coastline and air were a treat for us all.
The Aztecs presented a tricky challenge for us. They had a new-look lineup and competitive spirit about them, not to mention a very nice outdoor facility with slow courts that we were not accustom to. They had a good crowd that cheered on the Black and Red throughout the doubles which was ultimately decided on court #3 with Edson Ortiz and Zhe Zhou winning and giving us the opening point of the match. Point Bama! Roll Tide! We had a few cheerleaders ourselves as my former college roommate was in attendance, along with a former player, parents of a current Alabama student-athlete, a few friends and my family as well. So I guess you can say we traveled well for this contest. Moving onto the singles portion and it was El Toro (Edson) leading the way with teammates Zhe, Mazen and Thibault following suit. Final…Alabama 5, SDSU 2. Match Bama! Roll Tide!
The next morning we cruised, or should I say, worked our way through typical weekend traffic up the coast, along the Pacific Coast Highway and ultimately to beautiful Malibu. We enjoyed a nice team lunch outside and under the sun at the popular John's Garden Deli at the Country Mart before arriving at Pepperdine for practice. Wet weather was forecasted for the following morning so we kept our fingers crossed and got used to playing at another outdoor facility. Robbie showed everyone the dorms where he lived as the team explored a bit of campus. They also wondered if there was a better view for any other college student in the country. Truly stunning. Well, Mother Nature did her part to delay the start of the Tide vs. the Waves and our 1pm match didn't begin until 5pm. Due to the delay both coaches agreed to play singles first and only play doubles should the match require it to determine an outcome. During the pre-match announcements, Robbie was honored with a plaque to recognize his two All-American honors and 1988 NCAA Singles Championship while playing at Pepperdine. A class act by new Waves head coach, Adam Schaechterle, and certainly a moment that our guys could learn from…hard work and dedication can have its rewards.
When the match kicked off the familiar cheers of "Let's Go Waves" echoed throughout the Ralphs-Straus Tennis Center. I had heard them countless times while coaching at Santa Clara and USC as had our guys when Pepperdine visited Tuscaloosa last season. Six singles matches began the evening and the quest for four points. Alexey Nesterov was first off for us as he chalked up a win on court 5. Zhe doubled up his singles win total for the weekend and pushed our lead to 2-0 while Mazen equaled that feat to give us a 3-0 advantage. Our Southern California opponents displayed courage and tenacity in the remaining three matches as Edson and Patrick were locked in 3-set battles on courts 2 and 3. Riccardo jumped ahead of his opponent but was forced to a 2nd set tiebreaker which made things rather interesting. Another opportunity existed for our team to buckle down and focus on execution. Riccardo clawed his way to victory and secured the win with a 7-4 TB victory. Match Bama! Roll Tide!
Following the match, which turned out to be a really cold weather experience, the team warmed up and headed south to LAX for our red-eye flight back to Alabama…but not before an In n' Out burger feast. I don't recall seeing so many burgers being eaten before by our guys. They love their food and that display at In n' Out was noteworthy. We jumped on the plane with full bellies and two team victories from a challenging, rewarding, filling, memorable and picturesque trip to California.
That brings us to this weekend and the Blue Gray. For seventy years, some of the finest tennis players in the world have come to Montgomery in early spring to do battle. How did Montgomery come to host one of the most prestigious tournaments in the country? The answer lies in Montgomery's "Mr. Tennis"– Jack Bushman. In 1949, Mr. Bushman, a Montgomery resident, was the President of the Southern Lawn Tennis Association. He wanted to tie-in a world class tournament to the prestigious Blue Gray football classic. He envisioned starting an event similar to the world renowned Sugar Bowl junior tennis tournament that was played in conjunction with the Sugar Bowl football game. He decided, however, that the tournament should feature top college players rather than juniors. Mr. Bushman had been the captain of his tennis team at Louisiana State University and his memories of the excitement and color of college tennis was no rooted deeply with his decision.
For the first 30 years, the Blue Gray tournament was an individual contest rather than the present day team competition. In the beginning, the tournament was held at The Montgomery Country Club. In 1969, the site was moved to Huntingdon College for a few years until it was moved to the present locations of Lagoon Park and O'Conner Tennis Centers. During the time of individual competition, some of the finest college players in the country came to Montgomery to play the Blue Gray, many of whom went onto become some of the top professional players in the world. A brief list of names would include Stan Smith, Tony Trabert, Barry McKay, Chuck McKinley, Charlie Pasarell, Tim and Tom Gullickson, Kevin Curren, Steve Denton and Vince Van Patten.
The tournament continued to bring in top players such as exhibition matches by Pancho Gonzalez, Frankie Parker, Jack Kramer, and Bobby Riggs. In 1983, Mr. Bushman went to the NCAA Championships and approached top college coaches about the possibility of changing the format to a team competition. The coaches liked the idea of playing in a team tournament to prepare them for the season ending NCAA team event. The tournament was then reborn as a team event and remains so today.
Perhaps the most unique feature of the Blue Gray is the southern hospitality it offers. Tennis fans across Montgomery open up their homes and keep the players throughout the tournament. Life long friendships have developed between players and host families. Our team has been fortunate to have had the same housing families during my seven seasons at Alabama. I'd like to recognize and thank Brooks and Jennifer Seale, Spud and Nancy Seale, Brooke and Melissa Lawson, Will and Amy Chapman, Peter and Margaret Ann Selman. Roll Tide and many thanks to all of you!
Our BG journey begins with Fresno State on Friday at 12:30pm. Following this match the format calls for us to start a second match with doubles only at the end of the afternoon. On Saturday we will finish match #2 with the singles portion before taking a break and then playing a third match in the midday. So there's lots of tennis in a 48-hour period that features Alabama, Auburn, Arizona, Fresno State, Ole Miss, Princeton, Rice and Texas Tech. On the women's side the teams include Alabama, Auburn, Fresno State, Illinois, Oklahoma State, Texas Tech, Wake Forest and Yale.
So come down to Lagoon Park where the atmosphere is fun and festive while the tennis is simply terrific. Mr. Bushman's legacy and spirit live on in this great sporting event. If you can't make it, live scoring is available at www.bluegraytennis.com. Here's to another exciting BG and building lasting relationships along the way.
Roll Tide,
George
