University of Alabama Team Page

TUSCALOOSA, Ala. – The Alabama women’s tennis team will host the 25th annual Roberta Alison Fall Classic this weekend, welcoming 14 teams from across the nation to Tuscaloosa. All matches will be played at The University of Alabama Tennis Stadium or the Student Recreation Center courts.

Included in this year’s field are Auburn, Clemson, Florida State, Georgia State, Georgia Tech, Kentucky, Middle Tennessee, Michigan, Mississippi, Mississippi State, Northwestern, Samford, UAB and Vanderbilt along with the Crimson Tide. Of the 15 teams participating in the tournament, six of them finished in the top 25 nationally and eight in the top 50 last season.

Three Tide players will be competing in the tournament including Maya Jansen, Natalia Maynetto and Emily Zabor.

Match play is slated to begin on Friday at 9 a.m. CT with the first round of doubles followed immediately by the first round of singles. The second round of singles will be played after breaking for lunch. Saturday will also begin at 9 a.m. with the final two rounds of doubles and the last round of singles following a lunch break.

The annual tournament is named after one of the pioneers in collegiate women's tennis. Roberta Alison was the first woman to compete on a varsity men's team at Alabama after a 1963 decision by the Southeastern Conference that allowed women to compete on men's varsity teams. This was the first step toward opening the door for women's varsity athletics by the SEC member schools.

During her time at Alabama, Alison claimed the prestigious Blue Gray championship four times and the Southern Tournament championship three times. She was inducted into the Women's Collegiate Tennis Hall of Fame in Williamsburg, Va., and in 1988, she was one of three inaugural inductees into The University of Alabama Tennis Hall of Fame. On April 28, 2012, Alabama’s brand new, six-court indoor facility was dedicated in her honor and named the Roberta Alison Baumgardner Tennis Facility.