Pernfors, Jarryd, Arias, Krickstein Complete Naples Field, Schedule Announced

NEW YORK, N.Y., February 5, 2008 – InsideOut Sports & Entertainment and C & H Events, Inc. today announced that Swedes Mikael Pernfors and Anders Jarryd and Americans Jimmy Arias and Aaron Krickstein will complete the eight-player field at the 2008 The Oliver Group Champions Cup in Naples, Fla., March 12-16 at The Players Club & Spa at Lely Resort.
The Oliver Group Champions Cup will kick off the 2008 Outback Champions Series, a collection of tennis events around the world featuring the greatest names in tennis over the age of 30. Pernfors, Jarryd, Arias and Krickstein join the field that also includes former world No. 1 players John McEnroe and Jim Courier, defending champion Wayne Ferreira and former U.S. and Australian Open finalist Todd Martin.
McEnroe, Ferreria, Pernfors and Arias compose Round Robin Group A with Courier, Martin, Krickstein and Jarryd in round robin Group B.The first-place finishers in each group will advance to Sunday’s championship match with the second place finishers advancing into the third-place playoff. The full schedule of play is as follows;
SCHEDULE FOR 2008 THE OLIVER GROUP CHAMPIONS CUP
Wednesday, March 12
Beginning at 7 pm
Todd Martin vs. Anders Jarryd
Followed by
Jim Courier vs. Aaron Krickstein
Thursday, March 13
Beginning at 7 pm
Wayne Ferreira vs. Mikael Pernfors
Followed by
John McEnroe vs. Jimmy Arias
Friday, March 14
Beginning at 2 pm
Wayne Ferreira vs. Jimmy Arias
Followed by
Todd Martin vs. Aaron Krickstein
Beginning at 7 pm
Jim Courier vs. Anders Jarryd
Followed by
John McEnroe vs. Mikael Pernfors
Saturday, March 15
Beginning at 1:30 pm
Aaron Krickstein vs. Anders Jarryd
Followed by
Todd Martin vs. Jim Courier
Beginning at 6:30 pm
Mikael Pernfors vs. Jimmy Arias
Followed by
John McEnroe vs. Wayne Ferreira
Sunday, March 16
Beginning at 1:30 pm
Third-place Match
Followed by
Championship Match
Krickstein was a finalist at The Oliver Group Champions Cup in 2007, losing to Ferreira in the final. He finished the 2007 season on the Outback Champions Series with a No. 7 ranking. He reached a career-high ATP ranking of No. 6 and helped the United States to victory in the Davis Cup in 1990, with epic wins over Milan Srejber and Petr Korda of Czechoslovakia in the quarterfinals. Krickstein was a semifinalist at the U.S. Open in 1990 and the Australian Open in 1995 and won nine singles titles during his career. In 1983, at the age of 16 years, two months, he became the youngest male to win an ATP singles tournament when he won the title in Tel Aviv, Israel.
Pernfors, a fourth-place finisher in Naples in 2006, is best known for his run to the singles final at the 1986 French Open, where he defeated Stefan Edberg and Boris Becker before losing to Ivan Lendl in the final. Pernfors won three ATP singles titles including the Canadian Open in 1993 where he came from 2-5 down in the third set to defeat Martin in the final. Pernfors helped Sweden to the Davis Cup final in 1986 and won back-to-back NCAA singles titles for the University of Georgia in 1984 and 1985.
Jarryd reached a career high ranking of No. 5 in 1985 when he reached the semifinals of Wimbledon. He won eight career titles and 59 doubles titles during his ATP career, including three French Open titles, two Wimbledon titles, two US Open titles and one Australian Open title. Jarryd was also a stalwart on the Swedish Davis Cup, helping his nation to titles in 1984, 1985 and 1987.
Arias, who reached a career-high ATP singles ranking of No. 5 in 1984, was a semifinalist at the 1983 US Open where he defeated French Open champion Yannick Noah en route. Arias won five singles titles during his career, including the Italian Open and the U.S. Clay Court Championships. Arias represented the United States in Davis Cup play for three years in 1984, 1986 and 1987.
The Oliver Group Champions Cup features $150,000 in prize money with an undefeated winner taking home $54,000. Players also will compete for Champions Series points that will determine the Stanford Champions Rankings year-end No. 1 on the Outback Champions Series and the winner of a $100,000 year-end bonus.
All Champions Series events feature eight-man round-robin match formats with the winner of each four-player division meeting in the title match while second place finishers in each division meet in the third-place match.
Tickets begin at just $15 and can be purchased by calling 877-332-TIXX (8499) or 954-241-7936.
Founded in 2005, the 2007 Outback Champions Series featured seven events where champion tennis players continue to exercise their competitive instincts in tournament formats that feature prize money and Champions Series ranking points that determine a year-end No. 1 player. To be eligible to compete on the Outback Champions Series, players must have either; reached a Grand Slam singles final, been ranked in the top five in the world or played singles on a championship Davis Cup team. Each event also has the right to choose a “wild card” entrant.
InsideOut Sports & Entertainment is a New York City-based independent producer of proprietary events and promotions founded in 2004 by former world No. 1 and Hall of Fame tennis player Jim Courier and former SFX and Clear Channel executive Jon Venison. In 2005, InsideOut launched its signature property, the Outback Champions Series, a collection of tennis events featuring the greatest names in tennis over the age of 30. In addition, InsideOut produces many other successful events including one-night “Legendary Night” exhibitions as well as corporate outings, charity events and tennis fantasy camps, including the annual Ultimate Fantasy Camp. For more information, please log on to www.InsideOutSE.com or www.championsseriestennis.com
C & H Events, Inc. is a full-service event management and marketing company based in Boca Raton, Fla. Among the tennis events C & H Events manages in addition to The Oliver Group Champions Cup is Swingtime Benefiting the Tim & Tom Gullikson Foundation, Mardy’s Tennis and Jake’s Music Fest to benefit the Mardy Fish Foundation, the Bank of the West Pro-Celebrity Tennis Classic and Couples Resorts Tennis Fantasy Camp. Please visit www.chevents.com for further details about C & H Events.