The tournament continued showcasing the top individual talent in the country until 1983, when several NCAA coaches voted to change the format to team play. The Blue-Gray has continued to be one of the top team tournaments in the nation since that time.

The Crimson's biggest challenges could come from the nation's No. 2 team Illinois, No. 10 Wake Forest or No. 18 Texas A&M. Of the three powerhouses, only Wake Forest is in the Crimson's half of the draw.

Despite the change to the team format the tournament has not lost its ability to attract the nations' top individual players.

Five of the nation's Top 10 singles players will be in attendance.

In addition to No. 1 Blake, No. 2 Ryan Sachire of Notre Dame, No. 4 Oliver Freelove of Illinois, No. 6 Francisco Rodriguez of Alabama and No. 10 Ignacio Hirigoyen of Southern Methodist University are vying for the prestigious singles title.

The doubles field is no less competitive, and Blake and Majmudar will have a hard time in the first singles position.

That draw will showcase the No. 1 team in the nation, Dumitru Caradima and Shuon Madden of Texas A&M; the No. 3 team, Gavin Sontag and Jeff Laski of Illinois; and the No. 5 team, Dustin Mauck and Keith Pollack of SMU.

The Classic runs until Sunday at the Lagoon Park Tennis Center in downtown Montgomery.