Bill Rice, Jr., Montgomery Advertiser

Put this one in the confession category: Until last year I'd never attended the Blue Gray Tennis National Classic. In fact, I'd never attended a college tennis tournament at all. Or, for that matter, a professional tourney.

Well, I'd been missing out and now I want to do what I can to help others experience this truly special event themselves!

While I don't play tennis, I am a fan of the game and have long followed the pro game. I'm also a fan of Montgomery and recognize our community has several hidden gems many of us might take for granted.

The Blue Gray National Tennis Classic certainly qualifies as one of these gems.

Thanks to my good friend John McWilliams, "Mr. Tennis" in our community and state, and Paul Winn, the director of the Blue-Gray, and Leslie Davis, who is helping with publicity with this year's Classic, I've become even more educated about the unique features of what is, simply put, one of the most prestigious college tennis tournaments in America. And has been for an amazing 60 years!

Let's start with the calibre of the players.

In this year's tourney, 16 top college teams (from 13 states from Hawaii to Pennsylvania) will each bring 10 players to Montgomery where they will compete for four days (and stay in our city for at least five days).

"These are world-class tennis players. Winn told me in a recent conversation in his office at Smith-Barney.

How good?

"All of them are good," Winn said. "A few are exceptional."

Winn estimates that of the 160 players in Montgomery, about half will one day play on one of several professional circuits. About 10, he guesses, will make it to the "Major League" level where they will play in the Grand Slam events.