Tuesday, June 20, 2023
Ted Gorski Remembrance by Bill Driscoll
In 1963 five of us, Ted Gorski, David Nelson, Leo Laborde, Bill Marshall, and Bill Driscoll, were freshmen on the University of Texas tennis team coached by the great Wilmer Alison. Ted was number five out of five on our freshman team (freshmen were not eligible for varsity athletics in those days).
The following year as sophomores, we five found ourselves on a team with no junior or seniors. Of necessity we became a close-knit team. Our goal was to win the Southwest Conference team championship. We had three years to accomplish this, but the competition was tough. We worked hard on our games and had fun. Ted worked as hard as anyone to improve and by our senior year, he was no longer number five, but number one. He had a great serve, and “crashed the barrier” (i.e., rushed the net) relentlessly.
The culmination of our college tennis careers was our comeback win of the Southwest Conference Championship senior year. We went in the final weekend tied with Texas Tech, but the real leader was Baylor who had beaten us 4-2 head-to-head. Baylor swept SMU 6 matches to none on the final weekend. Our final matchup was against Tech, with both teams in the unenviable position of having to win all six matches against the other to be the champion. The competition was stiff, but with Ted playing number one in both singles and doubles, we managed to sweep the six matches against Tech and win the Conference Championship.
Although, in retrospect, the path to get there was more important than the result, that team championship was a great way to wrap up our “tennis careers.” This also ensured a lifelong bond among our team members.
Ted, we can see you now “crashing the barrier” in heaven above.
Hook’em,
Bill Driscoll
