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The NCAA News -- July 19, 1999

Tennis committee unifies postseason policies

Resolving policy and procedure differences between the Division I Men's and Women's Tennis Championships topped the agenda of the Division I Men's and Women's Tennis Committee's annual meeting July 6-9 in Beaver Creek, Colorado. The committee also established standard times and dates of competition for the first and second rounds of the men's and women's championships.

The Division I men's and women's tennis subcommittees met jointly to address common issues, primarily the difference in scoring formats. The committee will ask the Division I Championships/Competition Cabinet that a membership survey be conducted to identify a preferred scoring format. The committee also wants to solicit feedback from coaches, if there is a widespread interest in conducting separate championships for the teams and individuals. The survey would inquire about conducting individual championships at the conclusion of the fall season and team championships at the end of the spring season.

The subcommittees also agreed to create common selection criteria for both championships. The tennis committee will recommend specific criteria for the Intercollegiate Tennis Association (ITA) rankings to the ITA for consideration.

The committee determined that any host of first- and second-round dates, if hosting only the men's or women's championships, will use a Saturday/Sunday format with competition scheduled for 10 a.m. and 2 p.m. on Saturday and noon on Sunday. If hosting both men's and women's championships, the host site will use a Friday/Saturday/Sunday format. The women's matches will be held at 10 a.m. and 2 p.m. on Friday and 4 p.m. on Saturday. The men's matches will take place at 8 a.m. and 1 p.m. on Saturday and noon on Sunday.

The committee also will forward a recommendation to the Championships/Competition Cabinet that a 10th day be added to the championships, effective in 2001, to ensure that any one player would not have to play more than twice a day during the individual tournament.

Men's subcommittee actions

The men's tennis subcommittee took the following actions pertaining specifically to the men's championships:

  • Recommended to the Championships/Competition Cabinet that all 28 eligible member conferences should receive automatic qualification to the 2000 tournament.

  • Voted not to pair conference members in the first round of the championships. The subcommittee also agreed to implement an all-tournament team and a most-outstanding-performer award for the team championship.

  • Voted to award third- and fourth-place trophies at the break between the doubles and singles contests of the team championship match.

  • Reviewed the existing regional alignment due to changes in conferences and realigned California State University, Fresno; and the University of Hawaii, Manoa, from region 7 to region 8, their natural geographic region. The subcommittee also voted to realign Gonzaga University and the University of Nevada from region 7 to region 8. The subcommittee declined to support a proposal that would have realigned the entire state of Arkansas from region 6 to region 5. The subcommittee did realign Arkansas State University from region 6 to region 3.

  • Reviewed the existing match schedule for the 2000 championships at the University of Georgia and voted to conduct the quarterfinals on Sunday at 11 a.m. and 2 p.m.

  • Recommended to the Championships/Competition Cabinet that Georgia serve as the host site of the 2001 Division I Men's Tennis Championships. The subcommittee deferred action on site selections for the 2002, 2003 and 2004 championships until a future conference call.

  • Voted to rescind a substitution rule that stated that an injury, illness or extreme circumstance that would prevent a player from competing in a doubles match also would prevent that player from participating in a singles match on the same day.

  • Voted to recommend to the Championships/Competition Cabinet that the subcommittee be expanded from six to eight members beginning in the 2000-01 academic year.

    Women's subcommittee actions

    The women's tennis subcommittee took the following actions pertaining specifically to the women's championships:

  • Recommended to the Championships/Competition Cabinet that all eligible conferences receive automatic qualification to the 2000 Division I Women's Tennis Championships.

  • Voted to award only the first- and second-place trophies at the team championship final. The two semifinalists that do not advance to the final match will receive their awards after the semifinal contests.

  • Agreed to solicit bids for the 2001, 2002, 2003 and 2004 championships. All bid proposals should be addressed to the John Cochrane, NCAA assistant director of championships, at the national office.