Friday, February 22
Montgomery, Alabama
9:00 AM
Rice University
vs
#32 Texas Tech
Owls Set for Blue Gray Classic
2/21/2019 3:21:00 PM | Men's Tennis
71st annual event starts Friday morning
The Rice men's tennis team will continue their month of competition away from home this weekend when they compete in the 71st Blue Gray National Tennis Classic in Montgomery, Alabama on Friday and Saturday.
Rice opens play at 9 a.m. Friday when they face 32nd ranked Texas Tech in an opening round match at the Lagoon Park Tennis Center. The winner of Friday morning's match will take on the winner of the match between 38th ranked Arizona and Auburn in doubles later on Friday as will the losers of the two opening matches. The singles portion of each match will be held on Saturday morning, followed by a final dual match with one of the four teams in the second half of the bracket (No. 16 Alabama, Fresno State, Ole Miss and Princeton).
This is the third consecutive year the Owls (6-4) have competed in the Blue Gray Classic and the seventh time since 2000. Led by tournament MVP Eric Rutledge, Rice captured the team title in 2017 and head coach Efe Ustundag is excited to have his team once again headed to Montgomery.
"It's one of those tournaments that any time you are invited, you find a way to make your way there. It's prestigious and the people of Montgomery are fantastic. They really make the tournament. In addition to knowing it's going to be great competition, it's also a great experience for all the student-athletes involved. I think the guys are excited about going back. It's an outdoor event and we are at a point where the temperature should be an issue, we just have to hope that it will be dry. You hope you can string a few matches together because it can really turn your season around."
Ustundag pointed to the Owls experience two years ago as a prime example of the impact the event can have on a team.
"That tournament (in 2017) really gave us a boost into the top 30. The thing is, it is such quick tournament that you can't get caught dwelling on the previous match. You have to get off the court, dry your sweat, put a sandwich in your stomach and get back out there and battle again. You can have a phenominal 48 hours and change the direction of your season."
The draws for the field were determined by the first Oracle/IT team computer rankings, which were released on Wednesday. Alabama is the top seed, followed by Tech, Arizona and Ole Miss. Rice and Texas Tech were already scheduled to continue their long-running dual series in late March when the Red Raiders will join with Dartmouth and Utah State in the field for the Wyndham Rice Invitational.
"Because we are already playing them later in the season, I wish we had a chance to play somebody else," Ustundag noted. "There are seven great teams in the field and each one brings their own challenges. You'd like to have your team face as many different opponents as you can. We've had some great battles with Tech in the last several years and they have some solid additions to their team. This is a stronger team than the one we saw last year."
The Owls have dropped three straight after opening the season at 6-1 and Ustundag is ready to see how his team handles the competition this weekend.
"I'm excited about the challenge, excited about the competition. I know I sound like a broken record, but we're yet to really play lights out across all six courts. If that can happen this weekend, then we can turn some heads. But the field is too deep for us to only have great play on most of the courts and expect to have a successful weekend."
Rice opens play at 9 a.m. Friday when they face 32nd ranked Texas Tech in an opening round match at the Lagoon Park Tennis Center. The winner of Friday morning's match will take on the winner of the match between 38th ranked Arizona and Auburn in doubles later on Friday as will the losers of the two opening matches. The singles portion of each match will be held on Saturday morning, followed by a final dual match with one of the four teams in the second half of the bracket (No. 16 Alabama, Fresno State, Ole Miss and Princeton).
This is the third consecutive year the Owls (6-4) have competed in the Blue Gray Classic and the seventh time since 2000. Led by tournament MVP Eric Rutledge, Rice captured the team title in 2017 and head coach Efe Ustundag is excited to have his team once again headed to Montgomery.
"It's one of those tournaments that any time you are invited, you find a way to make your way there. It's prestigious and the people of Montgomery are fantastic. They really make the tournament. In addition to knowing it's going to be great competition, it's also a great experience for all the student-athletes involved. I think the guys are excited about going back. It's an outdoor event and we are at a point where the temperature should be an issue, we just have to hope that it will be dry. You hope you can string a few matches together because it can really turn your season around."
Ustundag pointed to the Owls experience two years ago as a prime example of the impact the event can have on a team.
"That tournament (in 2017) really gave us a boost into the top 30. The thing is, it is such quick tournament that you can't get caught dwelling on the previous match. You have to get off the court, dry your sweat, put a sandwich in your stomach and get back out there and battle again. You can have a phenominal 48 hours and change the direction of your season."
The draws for the field were determined by the first Oracle/IT team computer rankings, which were released on Wednesday. Alabama is the top seed, followed by Tech, Arizona and Ole Miss. Rice and Texas Tech were already scheduled to continue their long-running dual series in late March when the Red Raiders will join with Dartmouth and Utah State in the field for the Wyndham Rice Invitational.
"Because we are already playing them later in the season, I wish we had a chance to play somebody else," Ustundag noted. "There are seven great teams in the field and each one brings their own challenges. You'd like to have your team face as many different opponents as you can. We've had some great battles with Tech in the last several years and they have some solid additions to their team. This is a stronger team than the one we saw last year."
The Owls have dropped three straight after opening the season at 6-1 and Ustundag is ready to see how his team handles the competition this weekend.
"I'm excited about the challenge, excited about the competition. I know I sound like a broken record, but we're yet to really play lights out across all six courts. If that can happen this weekend, then we can turn some heads. But the field is too deep for us to only have great play on most of the courts and expect to have a successful weekend."
Players Mentioned
/ Men's Tennis
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