GREENVILLE, S.C. -- The Furman women's tennis team will compete at the prestigious Blue Gray National Tennis Classic Friday and Saturday in Montgomery, Ala.

In addition to the Paladins, this year's Blue Gray women's field features No. 36 Alabama, No. 43 Arizona, No. 24 Illinois, No. 22 Texas Tech, Tulsa, Wake Forest, and No. 26 Yale.

Teams were seeded according to recent ITA national rankings, and Furman will square off against Texas Tech Friday at 1:30 p.m. ET in the tournament's opening round at Lagoon Park.  

Furman will take on either Wake Forest or Yale Friday at 6 p.m. ET in the tournament's second round.  Times and opponents for Saturday's contests will be determined following Friday's competition.

The Paladins enter the tournament at 2-5 overall after defeating Liberty, 4-3, on Monday.  Furman scored at singles flights three through six for the victory.  Texas Tech, which is coached by former Paladin head coach Adam Herendeen, is 5-3 this season after beating Kansas, 4-3, on Saturday. 

Friday's match marks just the second meeting between the two programs.  The Paladins won the only meeting between the teams, 4-2, in the 2022 Blue Gray Tournament.  

For over 70 years, some of the finest tennis players in the world have descended upon Montgomery in early spring to square off.  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 tournament by logging onto http://www.FurmanPaladins.com.  Live stats for each match will be available online.