By Jimmy Hyams
If you’re a Tennessee guy getting compared to an Alabama coach, you could do worse than Nick Saban.
That’s what some members of the Tennessee contingent playing in the annual Senior Southern Cup in Huntsville, Ala., called “coach’’ John Fritts after he made a rather intriguing lineup move.
Fritts “benched’’ Chris Groer in singles on the 35 team after Groer had won about 95 percent of his singles matches the previous nine years. Fritts’ hands were tied a bit since a lineup error did not allow Fritts to put Groer at No. 1 singles. Rather than play Groer at 2 singles, Fritts wanted to play doubles with Groer and deliver the deciding point if Tennessee were able to split singles against Georgia in the final.
No need.
Tennessee won each singles match to capture the title with John Chesworth of Knoxville winning at No. 1 over former Colombia Davis Cup player Eduardo Rincon 6-1, 6-4, and Sam Shorelucke of Memphis taking the No. 2 singles in three sets.
With the team title clinched, Fritts and Groer lost their doubles match 6-3, 6-3 to Mauirio Rovera and Brad Sceney, a former UT recruit who won the Australian Open Junior doubles title in 1992. Sceney is the all-time winningest player in Pepperdine history.
“I thought Chris and I were the best combo in doubles,’’ said Fritts, a former UT player.
Groer said team members gave Fritts a hard time about sitting Groer in singles.
Georgia “actually put in a different lineup than we expected, so it worked out perfectly,’’ Groer said. “We were calling Fritts the Nick Saban of adult team tennis.’’
Tennessee’s 35 team got a first-round walkover North Carolina, which withdrew two days before the event.
In the semifinals, Tennessee beat Alabama 2-1 as Chesworth (former Furman All-American) lost at No. 1 singles, Groer (former Vanderbilt star who played at Farragut High School) won at 2 singles and Fritts (who played at West High School) and Shorelucke won in doubles 7-5, 6-2.
Tennessee faced Georgia in the 35 final for the fourth year in a row. The teams have split at 2-2.
Tennessee won the team competition for the first time in at least a decade. Each of nine states entered teams in the 35, 45, 55, 65 and 75 divisions. The format called for two singles matches and one in doubles.
Tennessee had eight wins: two in the 35s, three in the 55s, one in the 65s and two in the 75s. Tennessee won the 35s and 55s.
Georgia had seven team wins to fall one short.
Besides Groer, Fritts and Chesworth, other Knoxville players competing were Bob Williams, John Gibson and Taylor Hamilton in the 45s, and Chuck Maland in the 65s.
Groer’s next competition will be the national 40 indoors in Cincinnati in August, where he has won singles three years in a row.
In July, Groer will find out if he’s made the U.S. World Team for the third time. He played two years ago in Croatia and last year in South African.
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