printable versionMen's and women's tennis championships to be played on Farm
Junior tennis player James Pade, known for his big serve and overpowering forehand, could be one of the 620 athletes, coaches and affiliates who will participate in the NCAA men's and women's championships at Stanford.
This year's NCAA men's and women's tennis championships will be held at the Taube Tennis Center May 18-29. It will be the first time in NCAA history that the Division I men and women will compete simultaneously, and it also will be the longest NCAA championship run on consecutive days, according to Stanford's tennis director, Dick Gould.
Competing will be 16 men's teams and 16 women's teams, with a total of 620 athletes, coaches and other team affiliates participating. The tennis facility can seat up to 3,500 spectators, but Gould said on a few days big matches could draw as many as 5,000 people. Throughout the 12 days, a wide array of community events, outdoor displays and banquets exclusively for the teams also will be held on campus.
Preceding the championships, a family festival called "Splendor on the Grass" will be held in Arrillaga Plaza on Mother's Day, Sunday, May 14. The free public event will feature a hitting clinic (bring a racket) and continuous exhibitions by past and present Stanford tennis greats, including Jared Palmer and Dan Goldie. Other attractions, including community concerts, exhibits and a video collage running around the clock on the track-and-field scoreboard, will contribute to a "Grand Slam atmosphere," Gould said.
Alumna Sally Ride, the first woman in space, and Mark Hurd, chief executive officer of Hewlett-Packard Co., will speak at private banquets for the teams. Free late-afternoon concerts will be held on Sunday, May 21, in Frost Amphitheater and the next day in Arrillaga Plaza (both at 4 p.m.). Gould added that the tournament also promises to be a major boost for Bay Area tennis and the local economy. Already, every double-occupancy room is booked at the four designated team hotels in the area, Gould said.
The Athletics Department has reserved Galvez Field to accommodate parking during the tournament, which Gould said could bring an estimated 600 additional cars onto campus at any one time—with vehicles expected to come and go throughout the day.
The $20 million tennis center, which began construction in 1986, has 17 outdoor courts and was designed to eventually host an NCAA tennis championship, Gould said. Twelve courts will be used throughout next month's tournament, with games to be played from about 9 a.m. to 9 p.m. daily. The facility's most recently completed feature is the capability for live, streaming online video and scoreboards updated by the judges from their chairs courtside, all viewable by clicking on the "Stanford Tennis Live Video & Scoreboard" thumbnail on the Men's Tennis homepage accessed through http://gostanford.com/.
Donors have bought about 2,500 tickets that will be made available free to underserved youth on official field trips with their school or youth group. Groups may show up at the ticket window on the day of their trip to take advantage of the offer, Gould said. Field-trip organizers can arrange to have Gould give a brief educational talk by contacting him in advance at 723-1160.
For a downloadable brochure listing ticket prices and game times, go to http://gostanford.com/. All-tournament tickets are on sale now—$125 for reserved-section seating, $75 for general admission and $35 for students, children and seniors. Tickets for students in groups of 10 or more are $2 each. Single-day tickets will go on sale May 1.