Gators Reunite, Honor 1975 SEC Champions
Friday, April 16, 2010 | Men's Tennis
Past and present came together last weekend, as a men's tennis reunion brought dozens of UF letterwinners back to Gainesville to catch up with old friends and teammates and also cheer on the current Gators to a victory over SEC rival Georgia.
“It was a big advantage to have them here on Sunday, and a lot of them were here on Friday, too,” UF head coach Andy Jackson said. “They were SEC champs and that's something that we are always shooting for, so it was great to have them out here wearing their 'Beat Georgia' t-shirts.”
The weekend's festivities included a get-together at Linder Stadium on Saturday, where everyone spent time catching up and hitting on the courts before attending the football team's Orange & Blue Debut. On Sunday, the 1975 SEC Champion team was introduced following the doubles point in recognition of the
“It was fun to hit on Saturday,” said Jim Oescher, team captain of the 1975 squad. “A lot of us still play, so it was fun to get some exercise. It was just great to be with each other again after all the years. I have just a great admiration for everybody's efforts to make it happen and come together. It was just terrific.”
Oescher and one of his old teammates, John Kunnen, spearheaded the planning efforts for the reunion, which comes on the heels of last fall's 40th reunion of the 1969 SEC Championship team that included two-time All-American Armistead Neely and his doubles partner, eventual Gator head coach Steve Beeland.
“The emphasis is to rekindle these friendships that time has really not tarnished,” Neely said. “It's good to catch up a little bit. The idea now is to keep the ball rolling every year or two and renew these acquaintances.”
“We were all very close when we were at the University of Florida, so it took hardly any effort whatsoever to get them to come up,” Oescher said. “Everybody that was there dropped what they were doing, so to speak, and came up because of the friendships that we made thirty-some years ago. It was great to see.”
Jackson also noted how good it was to see the connection between his current team and the history of the program, even through a brief handshake and introduction.
“Our guys always hear from me and [assistant coach] Jeremy Bayon that this is the best four years of their life and they should savor it,” Jackson said. “But it was great to have others here who can reinforce that and tell them about being a Gator and how special it is.”
In the end, the experience of a student-athlete is often influenced most heavily by the relationships cultivated, which is why renewing these friendships and setting an example is so important to these UF alumni.
“The people are what make things work,” Neely said. “The people who led us – in academia and around the tennis program – they're the key people. That's what you remember. Not so much a specific English class or business class you took, but who was mentoring you during those years. That still is the important thing, and that's why we're doing this.”
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