Two retired accomplished touring pros, Dick Stockton and Brian Gottfried, will play exhibition matches as part of Baylor School's dedication of its Zan Guerry Tennis Center on Saturday.
Gottfried is a 1969 Baylor graduate who followed an outstanding junior career and All-America collegiate career with 25 singles championships and 54 doubles titles as a pro, including two French Open doubles, a Wimbledon doubles and four consecutive Italian Open doubles titles. He once was a French Open singles runner-up and rose to the world No. 3 ranking in 1977.
Gottfried won a 12-under national doubles title with Stockton in 1963, a year after teaming with Jimmy Connors for the championship. Stockton, now the University of Virginia tennis coach, was ranked as high as No. 8 in his ATP career and reached the singles semifinals at both Wimbledon and the French Open and the quarterfinals twice at the U.S. Open. He was on the U.S. Davis Cup team five times in the 1970s.
Guerry, Baylor's tennis captain from 1965 to '67 and the Mid-South champion from 1962 to '67, was a three-time All-American at Rice University and is in the College Tennis Hall of Fame. He has more than 20 national pro titles, but most of his adult life has been devoted to running the internationally renowned Chattem company. He has been chairman of the board of trustees at Baylor.
The tennis center bearing his name is next to the indoor/outdoor center named for his father, and Saturday has a full schedule there. That includes an alumni round-robin tournament from 10 a.m. till noon, an alumni lunch from noon to 1 p.m. and the dedication ceremony from 1 to 1:30. Gottfried and Stockton then will take the court, and a youth clinic also will be included before the event concludes at 4:30.
Baylor and McCallie in Decoturf
Last week, the Baylor girls' team and GPS went to the Decoturf National Tennis Championships and finished first and second. This week it's the boys' turn, but similar results shouldn't be expected.
The Chattanooga teams are in the same bracket for the event starting this morning in Louisville, Ky., and they potentially could meet in the semifinals. The Blue Tornado (1-0) will face Barron Collier from Florida at 9 a.m., and Baylor will face Beacon at 10:30.
Wishart to Sewanee
Ooltewah senior Callum Wishart will sign this afternoon to continue his soccer career at Sewanee.
Wishart was chosen second-team Best of Preps last season, helping the Owls to the District 5-AAA championship and a runner-up finish in Region 3. They won 11 matches before falling 1-0 to Riverdale in a state sectional.
He's been a key piece in the 2012 Owls' 6-1 start and No. 5 state ranking.
"They really want him up there, and he's looking forward to going," Ooltewah coach Rick Adolph said. "I think he'll do great."
Wishart led the Owls in goals and assists last season and is among the area leaders in both categories again this year.
"He's always been good with the ball; he's very technical," Adolph said. "He's had a lot of training and spent the time to develop his game. He's always been challenged with his speed, but he understands his role on the team.
"He's a good kid, a captain and a good leader. He's been outstanding for us and will do well at Sewanee."
88 Stitches set to go
McMinn County is hosting seven other softball teams this weekend in the 88 Stitches tournament at Athens Regional Park.
Pool play is scheduled to begin at 5 p.m. today with two games, followed by three games each at 6:30 and 8. Bracket play is set to start Saturday at 10 a.m. Opening-game bracket winners advance to the championship side, while losing teams are placed in the consolation side. Single-elimination play begins at 11:30, and the championship and consolation finals are slated for 3:30.
The complete schedule for today may be found on D2.