Tar Heel state has a great history in tennis

By: John Delong | Winston-Salem Journal
Published: July 19, 2008

The Davis Cup returned to North Carolina yesterday, on display in Wilmington for a day at the Junior Team Tennis state championships.

The United States is still the defending Davis Cup champion, so the nationwide tour to show off the trophy will continue at least until the U.S. plays at Spain in the 2008 semifinals in September.

But for long after that, the Davis Cup will continue to have a spot in North Carolina tennis lore.

Members of the Winston-Salem Organizing Committee are putting together a multi-media display to give to the North Carolina Tennis Hall of Fame in Greensboro that will chronicle the three Davis Cup ties that have come to Joel Coliseum this decade.

The U.S. beat France in a 2008 World Group quarterfinal in April at Joel Coliseum to advance to the semifinals against Spain in Madrid. Last year, the U.S. beat Spain at Joel Coliseum in another quarterfinal en route to winning the Davis Cup. In October 2001, the U.S. beat India at Joel Coliseum in a relegation match that kept it in the World Group for the 2002 competition.

The display will include photographs, a highlight film and printed accounts of the three ties and Winston-Salem's connections with the Davis Cup in general.

The N.C. Tennis Hall of Fame had its grand opening in May at the Harold T. And Mildred F. Southern North Carolina Tennis Center in Greensboro. The building also houses the N.C. Tennis Foundation and the N.C. Tennis Association's executive offices.

Kelly Gaines, the executive director of N.C. Tennis, was in Wilmington yesterday for the Davis Cup display.

She is obviously pleased with the contribution of the Winston-Salem Organizing Committee and said it will add to items already in the Hall of Fame concerning the Davis Cup in North Carolina. One of the U.S. players in the World Group qualifier against India in 2001 was Don Johnson, who has since been enshrined in the N.C. Tennis Hall of Fame.

"North Carolina is very proud of what Winston-Salem has continued to do as a leader in our state for international competition," Gaines said. "This is going to be wonderful. It's going to be a great display."

This is part of the process any expanding Hall of Fame goes through, adding exhibits and pieces of history as history continues to be made.

The N.C. Tennis Hall of Fame originally was established in 1979 and was set up at the J. Spencer Love Tennis Center in Greensboro. Gaines and others at N.C. Tennis moved into the new building, located on Henry Street, last year, and opening ceremonies for the new, renovated and relocated Hall of Fame were May 3-4.

"We feel like it's a very classy opportunity to showcase the very best that North Carolina has to offer, and it is also a very exciting look into the history of tennis, not just in our state, but as our state has contributed nationally and internationally," Gaines said. "We welcome people to come in and take a look and push the buttons and watch the videos and look at all of the information."

There are 74 members of the N.C. Tennis Hall of Fame. Five living members are from Winston-Salem: Mildred Southern, John Peddycord, Mary Garber, Maurice Everette and Vicki Everette. Others with Winston-Salem ties are deceased, such as David Lash, or are now living elsewhere, such as Neill McGeachy.

The Hall has plaques of all 74 inductees on its walls. There are videos of most of the inductees.

"I think the first thing people are struck by is how classy it is, how well done it is," Gaines said. "But they gravitate eventually to the video screen, and they watch the videos. We have 74 members of our Hall of Fame, and 69 of the members have a one-minute video with the Hall of Fame member either being interviewed, or in some cases where the Hall of Fame member is deceased, another Hall of Fame member speaks for them. It's really well done."

The Hall of Fame is open Monday through Friday from 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m.

"Our goal was to create a place where the tennis players and enthusiasts of North Carolina could come together and celebrate tennis in North Carolina," Gaines said. "We're really happy with the way it has turned out. We're getting a lot of visitors, but we want to encourage people even more."

■ John Delong can be reached at jdelong@wsjournal.com<.