The University of Alabama at Birmingham Athletics
Blazers to Play in Historic Blue Gray Tennis Classic
11/12/2017 4:03:00 PM | Women's Tennis
BIRMINGHAM, Ala. – The UAB women's tennis team has been selected to play in the history Blue Gray Tennis Classic Feb. 24-25th at the O'Connor Tennis Center in Montgomery, Ala.
The Blazers will face competition from a strong field that includes Alabama, Auburn, Denver, Texas Tech, Tulane, Tulsa and Utah.
"It is such a great honor to be invited to play in this historic and prestigious tournament," UAB head coach Mark Tjia said. "I was lucky enough to be a player in this tournament many years ago and it was such a great college memory for me. I am beyond grateful for the opportunity to expose our girls to this same experience and for the privilege to compete against some of the best teams in the country."
For over 60 years, some of the finest tennis players in the world have come to Montgomery in early spring to do battle. In 1949, Mr. Jack Bushman, a Montgomery resident, was the President of the Southern Lawn Tennis Association. He wanted to tie-in a world class tennis tournament to the prestigious Blue Gray football classic. He envisioned starting an event similar to the world renowned Sugar Bowl junior tennis tournament that is played in conjunction with the Sugar Bowl football game. However, he decided the tournament should feature top college players rather than juniors.
In 1983, Mr. Bushman went to the NCAA Championships and approached top college coaches about the possibility of changing the event to a team competition. The coaches liked the idea of playing in a team tournament to prepare them for the season ending NCAA team championships. Thus, the tournament was reborn as a team event and remains so today.
Many of the players from the current era have gone on to great success in the professional ranks. Some of the more notable former Blue Gray players would include Paul Annacone, Mikael Pernfors, Richey Reneberg, Murphy and Luke Jensen, Mali Vai Washington and current stars – Mahesh Bhupathi and James Blake.
In all, there have been seven Grand Slam (Wimbledon, U.S. Open, French Open and Australian Open) single finalists and over thirty Grand Slam double champions that can trace their careers back to Montgomery and the Blue Gray.
For more information on UAB women's tennis, follow the Blazers on Twitter (@UAB_WTN). For more on all Blazer sports teams follow the official social media accounts of UAB Athletics on Twitter (@UAB_Athletics), on Facebook (Facebook.com/UAB.Blazers), on Instagram (@uab_athletics).
The Blazers will face competition from a strong field that includes Alabama, Auburn, Denver, Texas Tech, Tulane, Tulsa and Utah.
"It is such a great honor to be invited to play in this historic and prestigious tournament," UAB head coach Mark Tjia said. "I was lucky enough to be a player in this tournament many years ago and it was such a great college memory for me. I am beyond grateful for the opportunity to expose our girls to this same experience and for the privilege to compete against some of the best teams in the country."
For over 60 years, some of the finest tennis players in the world have come to Montgomery in early spring to do battle. In 1949, Mr. Jack Bushman, a Montgomery resident, was the President of the Southern Lawn Tennis Association. He wanted to tie-in a world class tennis tournament to the prestigious Blue Gray football classic. He envisioned starting an event similar to the world renowned Sugar Bowl junior tennis tournament that is played in conjunction with the Sugar Bowl football game. However, he decided the tournament should feature top college players rather than juniors.
In 1983, Mr. Bushman went to the NCAA Championships and approached top college coaches about the possibility of changing the event to a team competition. The coaches liked the idea of playing in a team tournament to prepare them for the season ending NCAA team championships. Thus, the tournament was reborn as a team event and remains so today.
Many of the players from the current era have gone on to great success in the professional ranks. Some of the more notable former Blue Gray players would include Paul Annacone, Mikael Pernfors, Richey Reneberg, Murphy and Luke Jensen, Mali Vai Washington and current stars – Mahesh Bhupathi and James Blake.
In all, there have been seven Grand Slam (Wimbledon, U.S. Open, French Open and Australian Open) single finalists and over thirty Grand Slam double champions that can trace their careers back to Montgomery and the Blue Gray.
For more information on UAB women's tennis, follow the Blazers on Twitter (@UAB_WTN). For more on all Blazer sports teams follow the official social media accounts of UAB Athletics on Twitter (@UAB_Athletics), on Facebook (Facebook.com/UAB.Blazers), on Instagram (@uab_athletics).
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