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Ashland, Oregon HOME Valley & State Sports Nation & World Opinion/Editorial Classifieds Business Columnists Local Issues Obituaries Weather Archive Revels Etcetera Backpage Hot Topics Most Viewed Forum Photo Galleries Video Readers Polls O-Zone Online Games Movie Preview Special Sections Real Estate Guide Menu Guide Shakespeare Subscribe Contact Us Rate Card Place an Ad July 14, 2005 Big Al’s turns 30, still a hit regionally Tennis tournament attracts 330 players to Ashland for 30th annual event By Joe Zavala Ashland Daily Tidings The Big Al’s Tennis Tournament turns 30 Friday, and it hasn’t lost a step. ANDY OAS IS ONE of 330 players who will compete in this year’s 30th annual Big Al’s Tennis Tournament, which begins Friday. File photo | Ashland Daily Tidings The annual event, which began in 1976 with 150 players in 16 divisions, will attract 330 players this year, according to tournament operations director Steve Sacks. They’ll be packed into 25 brackets, with championship matches scheduled for Sunday morning at Hunter Park. Early round matches will also be played at the Southern Oregon University tennis courts and at Lithia Park. Sacks, who said he’s helped run Big Al’s for about 15 years, is ecstatic that the three-day event attracted so many players from the Rogue Valley and beyond — only one of the nine players in the men’s open singles division hail from Ashland — but not surprised. “I just think it’s amazing,” he said. “It’s become a tradition and people are maintaining it. Also, Ashland is a nice place to come.” The men’s and women’s open singles divisions are the premier events and both feature local players vying for the tournament’s traditional pottery creations that go to the winners. Seven-time champion Todd Stanley of Folsom, Calif., is the No. 1 seed in the men’s bracket and is the heavy favorite to win his eighth title overall and second in a row. On the other side of the bracket is former Ashland High No. 1 singles player Evan Schleining. Stanley, a serve and volley specialist, will open against Mike Wilson of Medford at 1 p.m. Friday, while Schleining opens against Nicholas Millan of Medford at the same time. Also in the men’s open bracket is 2000 Big Al’s champion Chad Wilson (Eugene), who will take on David Johnson in the first round. Only seven women make up the women’s open division. The No. 1 seed is SOU tennis coach Gail Patton, who gets a first-round bye and will face the winner of a first-round match between Courtney Collins (La Quinta, Calif.) and Casey Schein (Ashland) in the second round. Patton’s opener is scheduled for 9 a.m. Saturday. On the opposite side of the women’s open bracket is Ashland High alum Justine Bowen-Jones, who has a first-round match with Hillary Collins at 11 a.m. Friday. The seven-team men’s open doubles tourney could turn into rematch central, since many of the same players that make up the open singles division are there. Stanley and partner Patrick Rutz form the top-seeded team, while Andy Oas and Leo Young of Medford are on the bottom half of the bracket as the No. 2 tandem. Chad and Jason Wilson could meet Stanley and Rutz in the second round, while duo Schleining and David Johnson are one round removed from facing Oas and Young in the semifinals. Only two teams make up the women’s open doubles bracket. Hillary and Courtney Collins of La Quinta, Calif., will face AHS alums and former high school partners Jessica Baker and Bowen-Jones in the finals at 11 a.m. Sunday. Brackets will be updated daily at www.pnw.usta.com. Results can be accessed by clicking on “tournaments,” then typing in the Big Al’s code: 600102205. Sports editor Joe Zavala can be reached at 482-3456 ext. 3020 or [email protected]. --> Copyright © 2006 Ashland Daily Tidings and Ottaway Newspapers. All Rights Reserved.