GREENVILLE, S.C. -- The 42nd-ranked Furman women's tennis team will compete at the prestigious Blue Gray Tournament Friday and Saturday in Montgomery, Ala.

In addition to the Paladins, this year's Blue Gray women's field features No. 26 Alabama, No. 66 Arizona, Troy, No. 10 Oklahoma State, No. 24 Texas Tech, No. 18 Wake Forest, and Yale.

Teams were seeded according to this week's ITA national rankings, and fifth-seeded Furman will square off against fourth-seeded Alabama Friday at 9:30 a.m. ET in the tournament's opening round at Lagoon Park.  Matches will run concurrently at the O'Connor Tennis Center throughout the two days of competition. 

Furman will take on either top-seeded Oklahoma State or eighth-seeded Yale at 3:30 p.m. ET Friday in the tournament's second round.  Times and opponents for Saturday's contests will be determined following Friday's competition.

The Paladins  enter the weekend at 7-4 after defeating Virginia Tech, 4-3, on Sunday in Greenville.  Paladin senior Julia Adams is currently ranked 54th nationally in singles, while Adams and sophomore Ellie Schoppe are ranked 23rd among the nation's top doubles teams.  

The Crimson Tide (9-0) is riding a nine-match winning streak and defeated Memphis and Minnesota last weekend.  Petra Sedlackova and Loudmilla Bencheikh rank 33rd as a doubles team, and Sedlackova ranks No. 124 in singles.

Saturday's match marks the fifth meeting between the two programs.  Furman defeated Alabama, 4-3, in Tuscaloosa last season to even the series at 2-2.

For over 70 years, some of the finest tennis players in the world have descended upon Montgomery in early spring to do battle.  During the first 30 years, the Blue Gray tournament was an individual contest rather than the present day team competition. In the beginning, the tournament was held at The Montgomery Country Club.  In 1969, the site was moved to Huntingdon College for a few years until it was moved to the present locations of Lagoon Park and O'Connor Tennis Centers.  

Since becoming a team sport, the top tennis programs in the country have played the Blue Gray.  Storied tennis programs such as the Furman men's team, Pepperdine, Notre Dame, Harvard, Illinois, Florida, Michigan, Georgia, Alabama, and Auburn, have participated.

Many of the players from the current era have gone on to great success in the professional ranks. Some of the more notable former Blue Gray players would include Paul Annacone, Mikael Pernfors, Richey Reneberg, Murphy and Luke Jensen, Mali Vai Washington and current stars – Mahesh Bhupathi and James Blake.

In all, there have been seven Grand Slam (Wimbledon, US Open, French Open and Australian Open) single finalists and over thirty Grand Slam double champions that can trace their careers back to Montgomery and the Blue Gray.

Fans can follow the Furman women's tennis team throughout the season by logging onto http://www.FurmanPaladins.com.  Live stats and live video of select matches will be available online.