Many of the nation’s top players, including Oklahoma State’s Oleksandr Nedovyesov, will be in Montgomery this weekend for the Blue-Gray National Tennis Classic. (Staff Photo)

By Graham Dunn
RRS Editor
(March 18, 2010)

Dave Fish had to pause for a moment and consider the time that had elapsed since his Harvard Crimson tennis team had played in the annual Blue-Gray National Tennis Classic.

He thought about it and realized it had been longer than he realized.

“I’ve been here for 150 years so I should know,” said the veteran coach actually of 35 years. “It’s been that long since our exam period has interfered with our visit to Montgomery. So I finally marched into the president’s office and demanded that he change the exam times.”

All kidding aside, Fish and the Crimson is one of 16 teams scheduled to play in this year’s tournament, which begins Thursday at Lagoon Park. 

Fish was unsure when he last brought a team to Montgomery. No records provided the exact answer but he figured it was in the mid 1990s.

“We’ve missed coming,” he said. “It’s one of the few tournaments where so many great teams can gather and play in a terrific tournament. In my opinion, it’s one of the best events in college tennis. Now that our exam period has shifted, we are excited to have an opportunity to play.”

As for a favorite, the field is wide open. Texas Tech enters as the top seed and has a 16th national ranking. Oklahoma and new coach John Roddick is the second seed. The up-and-coming Sooners’ program has put together a solid season early under the new coach, who has a famous brother named Andy.

“I feel like this program is on the cusp of being special,” Roddick said. “We are 9-1 this year and moved up from 45th to 17th in the rankings. We are getting consistent in our wins but we still need to be tested.”

The field includes some of the top players in the country including former No. 1 singles player Oleksandr Nedovyesov of Oklahoma State, which was part of the field last year.

The field does not include last year’s defending champion, Tennessee. The Volunteers along with Alabama and Auburn and other SEC squads are not in the tournament this year due to a schedule conflict.

“You certainly would like to have those teams here due to how competitive they are, coming from what is the top tennis conference in the country,” said Roddick, a former University of Georgia standout. “You understand the schedule conflict but I think if you asked the players and coaches, they would want them in the field.”

Harvard has two players with a rich tradition in the sport. Christo Schultz is the son of former top 50 player Bud Schultz while Will McNamee’s father, Paul, was a former No. 1 ranked player in doubles along with Paul McNamee during the early 1980s.

“The history of this tournament is marvelous,” Fish said. “We’ve got some players with a little history on their side but you look at the quality of the teams… you would have to schedule years in advance to create such a schedule. We are excited to be back.”

The event continues through Sunday with the finals. All matches will be held at Lagoon Park and are free to the public.