STANFORD, Calif. (www.BankOfTheWestClassic.com) – The Bank of the West Classic and the Sony Ericsson WTA Tour honored former Bank of the West President and CEO Don McGrath on Thursday night.
McGrath, the current Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of BancWest Corporation and Chairman of Bank of the West, stepped down as Bank of the West CEO last December. In 1992, while serving as President of Bank of the West, McGrath had the vision to sign Bank of the West as the title sponsor of the Bank of the West Classic.
Now entering its 17th year as title sponsor, Bank of the West is the longest running title sponsor of a Tier II event on the Sony Ericsson WTA Tour.
On hand for the ceremony were defending Bank of the West Classic Champion Anna Chakvetadze, Sony Ericsson WTA Tour Chairman and CEO Larry Scott, Bank of the West Classic Tournament Director Adam Barrett and Tournament Chairman Erik van Dillen.
On behalf of the Tournament and the Sony Ericsson WTA Tour, Chakvetadze presented McGrath with a copy of the first Bank of the West Classic poster from 1992 signed by all of the past champions.
The Bank of the West Classic, a Sony Ericsson WTA Tour event, features a 28-player singles draw as well as a 16-team doubles draw. The event is owned and operated by IMG and serves as the opening women's event of the Olympus US Open Series.
The list of past champions of the event reads like a Who's Who of women's tennis including Davenport, Billie Jean King, Chris Evert, Martina Navratilova, Andrea Jaeger, Monica Seles, Martina Hingis, Venus Williams and Kim Clijsters.
Tickets can be purchased by calling the box office at 866-WTA-TIXS (866-982-8497) or by logging on to www.BankoftheWestClassic.com.
ABOUT THE BANK OF THE WEST CLASSIC: The Bank of the West Classic is the longest-running women-only professional tennis tournament in the world and is the first stop of the US Open Series. A Sony Ericsson WTA Tour Tier II event, the Bank of the West Classic features a 28-player singles draw and a 16-team doubles draw with total prize money of $600,000. Held on Stanford University’s campus at the Taube Family Tennis Stadium since 1997, former champions include: Billie Jean King, Chris Evert, Martina Navratilova, Andrea Jaeger, Monica Seles, Martina Hingis, Lindsay Davenport and Venus Williams. The Bank of the West Classic is owned and operated by IMG.
ABOUT BANK OF THE WEST: Founded in 1874 and headquartered in San Francisco, $62 billion-asset Bank of the West is the second-largest commercial bank based in California. Bank of the West offers a full range of business, trust, international and personal banking services. The bank currently operates more than 700 commercial and retail banking locations in 19 Western and Midwestern states. In 2008, Bank of the West ranked “Highest in Customer Satisfaction among Retail Banks in the West” by J.D. Power and Associates. Bank of the West's holding company, BancWest Corporation, is owned by BNP Paribas, a leading global financial services institution ranked by Standard & Poor's as one of the world's four strongest banks. More information is available at www.bankofthewest.com.