I wanted to make a mention of a couple of events that are coming up over the next few months with one of them getting started tomorrow (Friday).
Six men’s and six women’s teams will converge on Montgomery, Alabama for the Blue Gray National Tennis Classic. The Classic stated all the way back in 1949 and has evolved over the years from an individual event to a team event. One of the things that makes this such a unique event are the host families that take in the teams every year. The players and coaches love coming to Montgomery which is why several teams have been participating in this event for years and will likely keep coming back. There are a slew of positives testimonials that you can read over which talk about all the finer points of the weekend experience.
For those that saw the draw and were wondering how the semifinals work since there are only six teams here is the answer I got from the tournament director Geoff Waring, “The fourth semifinalist will be a lucky loser or the best scorer of the three losers”. So if I understand that correctly, if South Florida were to beat Boise State 4-3 while Oklahoma State beat Alabama 4-2 and Princeton beat Auburn 4-1 then Boise State and South Florida would play again due to Boise State having the highest losing total. If there is a tie then as of this minute the tiebreak would be fewest games lost but that may change according to Geoff.
The 2016 BNP Paribas Open Collegiate Tennis Challenge presented by Oracle (that’s a mouthful) which will take place from March 18th to 20th at the Indian Wells Tennis Garden. Last year the event was an 8-team tournament but this year they’ve condensed it down into a round-robin format to avoid having teams from the same conference play each other. There will be one women’s match taking place on Saturday between Baylor and USC so that is a slight change from the past.
Daily Schedule:
Friday: Illinois vs. Baylor
Saturday: Cal vs. Baylor, USC vs. Oklahoma, Baylor vs. USC (women)
Sunday: Cal vs. Oklahoma, USC vs. Baylor
There will be two courts that will have live streaming via PlaySight – I remember last year one of the matches came down to a court that was beside the streaming court so I was watching the corner of the court and listening to audio to see who won each point – sometimes you take what you can get!
The full release for this event is below and here – should be a nice event. The only concern I have is to see the event you are required to have tickets to the main ATP/WTA Master Series event. I’m just wondering how many people are going to mozy over to see these matches in between or before or after the main draw pro matches because the Saturday/Sunday matches will be going up against the semifinals and finals.
In my opinion they’d draw more fans to see the college matches if they played it on the previous weekend when the early round matches are taking place all across the complex. If you do it then there would a much larger pool of people to draw from since they sell general admission/grounds passes to the early rounds. Just my two cents on the subject.
The other event I wanted to highlight is the National Alumni Championships which will take place at TCU from June 3rd-5th. This will the third year that the event has been held with Tom Hand (LSU ”99) leading the charge as tournament director.
Below is from the NAC’s website
Tournament Director Tom Hand explains how the NAC began…
How did the NAC start?
One of my current players read something about Georgia and asked me how my LSU team had done against them when I was playing. I didn’t know, so I looked it up. I discovered that I had played 8 dual matches against them in my 4 years. It turns out we were 4-4. I remember thinking, “We have to settle this.” I wondered what it would take to find enough of my teammates to field an alumni team. The answer was about 30 minutes on Facebook. I thought that there must be a ton of other guys like me that still love to compete and who would love the chance to represent their team again. Why not make that happen?
What was the response like?
When I initially started calling players and coaches to gauge interest levels, I wasn’t entirely sure what to expect. After about 3 calls, I realized this was something that had to happen. Everyone I spoke to was excited about the idea.
What does that say about college tennis?
I think it says a lot about what college tennis means to those fortunate enough to have been through it. There are plenty of guys that went on to play on the ATP tour, but are still really excited to compete for their college team again. It’s not often that life gives you a chance to go back and do it all over again, even just for a weekend.
How did TCU get involved?
I spent a lot of time thinking about where we should host this event. I knew it would be on a college campus rather than a resort or country club. I wanted it to feel like a college dual match and not just like every other tennis tournament. I entertained a bunch of different places, but ultimately chose TCU for a number of different reasons: they have a fantastic facility, an active fan base, it’s an easy location, indoor backup, and the list goes on. Coach Roditi jumped in with both feet immediately and has been an enormous help making sure this event is a success.
How well do players from different teams know each other?
In many cases the answer would be pretty well, especially teams in the same conference. There is so much respect among these guys, and I have had a number of players say how much fun it will be to see so many of their old rivals again. I know a lot of schools host their own alumni gatherings, but there is nothing like this that will bring everyone together. The NAC will be a long overdue reunion for a very special group of athletes.
How does the NAC dual match format work?
Each dual match will consist of 2 doubles followed by the reverse doubles. Teams may make any number of direct substitutions for the second round of matches. If the score is tied 2-2 after all four doubles matches, a deciding tie break will determine the winner. Each team may nominate any 2 players to compete in the deciding tiebreak.
The NAC is proud to partner with Tennis Australia to pioneer the new Fast4 format. Each doubles match will be 2 out of 3 sets, with a tiebreak en lieu of a third set. Each set will be first to 4 games with a tiebreak at 3-3. All tie-breaks (including the deciding match tiebreak) will be 9 point, ie first to 5 wins, with a sudden death point at 4-4.
There are a few key rules that make Fast4 an exciting experience for both players and fans:
If the serve clips the tape and lands in the service box, there’s no let, it’s game on. What’s more, if you’re playing doubles either the receiver or their partner can take the return.
As soon as a game gets to deuce it’s a Power Point. The receiver chooses which side will take the serve. This applies to doubles too with the receiving pair deciding who returns the point.
At 3 games all a short tie-break is played, first to 5 points. A Power Point determines the winner at 4 points all.
Hence the name FAST4. It doesn’t matter how you get there, just make sure you get to four before the competition does. No advantage games.
How to enter a team?
The National Alumni Championships is open to all college tennis programs. However, spaces are limited and priority will be given to teams based on the following:
1) Previous participation in the NAC
2) Performance history as a program
3) Timeliness of entry fee* payment
The format requires a minimum of 4 players.
Each player must:
Turn at least 25 in 2016 (the Tournament Director reserves the right to grant a waiver to this rule in exceptional circumstances).
Be a letter winner at that program (regardless of how many times or transferring)
What can you do?
Tom is looking to get as many teams added as possible so if you are a former player and still have that competitive drive make some phone calls/texts/tweets/whatever and get the gang back together again for old times sake. The University of Georgia has won the event both times so I’m sure they’d like to see some strong competition on the other side of the net.
If your team meets the criteria above click here to enter your team or if you have any questions send Tom an email at tom@nationalalumnichampionships.com.
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