Division 3 College Tennis Experiences

willyd24 · 01-28-2013, 12:28 PM

I've grown up around tennis my whole life as my dad has been a teacher for about 18 years. I didn't really get serious about it till freshmen year of high school but have since become a USTA Tournament competitor. Next year I will be attending an in-state Division 3 school where I will most likely play for the team because I love to play the game and would love to compete at the collegiate level. I've been looking online for people talking about there experiences playing Division 3 Tennis but sadly have found nothing. I was wondering if anyone had any stories about what they enjoyed about playing Division 3 and what the overall experience was like.
Thank You!

mrmo1115 · 01-29-2013, 10:00 AM

I am going to a d3 school next year too. Can't comment on my experiences yet but I'm looking forward to continuing my philosophy of academics first tennis second. The team is great and I think not having to travel week in and week out will be good for me.

grouseking · 01-29-2013, 12:35 PM

There's a blog devoted just to Division III tennis: http://www.division3tennis.com/. Like all of the divisions, DIII is very vast in terms of the quality of experience and level of competitiveness.

LeeD · 01-29-2013, 02:54 PM

Back in my playing days in the late '70's, my doubles partner's and practice buds were No's 1 and 2 for CCSF, SFState, and No4 for CanadaCollege.
Maybe mid level B, or 4.5's, often played Open tourneys

axel89 · 01-29-2013, 03:12 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by LeeD

Back in my playing days in the late '70's, my doubles partner's and practice buds were No's 1 and 2 for CCSF, SFState, and No4 for CanadaCollege.
Maybe mid level B, or 4.5's, often played Open tourneys

dang you must be like 65 O_O

LeeD · 01-29-2013, 03:36 PM

Actually, 2 weeks shy of 64.
Dexter just retired as garderner for UCMedCenter on Parnassus.
Ran into a old bud of ours, who now strings at that tennis shop near Ashby and Shattuck in Berkeley. He was #4 on our BATL B team back then, I was #6, Dexter 1, and StanleyWoo #2.

sureshs · 01-29-2013, 06:14 PM

Which college did Dexter play for?

Kenny022593 · 02-06-2013, 07:36 AM

Look back through my post history.

The sad truth is, you may think you will play on the team because you love the game and are willing to work hard and do everything you need to, but there is still a very big chance of you getting cut. We had about ten kids try out for the team this year. A lot of them gave the reason you gave for trying out. They love the game, they have the desire to improve. The thing is, those two things are great to have, but it goes way beyond that. It even goes beyond having a solid base of skills to play with. It is knowing how to play and what to do. I am not saying don't try or get down on yourself. Go in and try as hard as possible and kill it. Make an impression on the coach and the rest of the team and if you don't make it, you don't make it. There is always a next time.

vandre · 02-06-2013, 09:04 AM

oh man, this is the topic i've been waiting years for! grab some popcorn and a seat...

...i played d3 tennis for 3 years at a small liberal arts college in the 90s. the other guys on my team ranged for high school stand outs to converted football players (you have not lived until you've played a 324 pound pusher!!!!!!). i was somewhere in the middle between these extremes. i grew up in a small town that didn't have hs tennis so i played a couple of county tourneys before college and hit with a bunch of people and that was it! i could outplay the football guys but the high school guys always beat me and took my lunch money. there was also quite a bit of variety in the way that guys played too. our number one was just lights out. big serve, big groundies off both sides, great movement, good at the net. another guy who was always in the top three had a kick serve that could hit the fence after it bounced inside the service box. his forehand was really spinny too and he hit a slice backhand. our courts had seams on the serve lines and baselines which caused any shot that hit them to bounce straight up. in 3 years, i had 3 different coaches, each of whom was a different degree of quasi-functional alcoholic, which is why our number 1/ team captain ran practices and did the actual hands on coaching while our usually enibreated coach would put the hopper down and pass out under a tree. there was a bit of variety in our competition too. a number of the school's were pretty close to us. there was one school which was quite a bit worse than us (the football players were even winning sets). and then, there was one school in our conference which recruited students from around the globe. one year their number one was a dude from nigeria and he was crazy good (of course it makes more sense after watching the tennis channel special about the dude from uganda). they always smoked everyone in our conference. but i do remember our cappy took a set off the guy from nigeria and their coach just lit into him on a changeover! man, that was funny because we all hated that coach. he was a wanker! one year at the conference tournament, after his player was down a couple of breaks early in the first set, goes up to the opposing player and tells him that his vibration damper is illegal and if he doesn't remove it immediately, he will be dq-ed. i can tell you for a fact that he knew during warm-ups the dude's damper was illegal because a group of us heard him say it outloud during warmups but he intentionally waited until his player was in trouble before he said anything to the guy.

d-3 tennis was great because i made a ton of good friends, i learned alot from my cappy, i learned how to string racquets and i've got more stories than this thread can hold!

MItenniskid · 02-06-2013, 06:51 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by willyd24

I've grown up around tennis my whole life as my dad has been a teacher for about 18 years. I didn't really get serious about it till freshmen year of high school but have since become a USTA Tournament competitor. Next year I will be attending an in-state Division 3 school where I will most likely play for the team because I love to play the game and would love to compete at the collegiate level. I've been looking online for people talking about there experiences playing Division 3 Tennis but sadly have found nothing. I was wondering if anyone had any stories about what they enjoyed about playing Division 3 and what the overall experience was like.
Thank You!

Where are you playing at?

coaching32yrs · 02-07-2013, 09:32 AM

Have a kid playing D3 right now and it is an awesome once in a lifetime experience. I have been to many of the matches. The team is very close and the kids play hard. The kids love it. There is not the pressure or time commitment of D1 so the kids are students first, athletes second.

goran_ace · 02-07-2013, 01:55 PM

There's a pretty wide spectrum for DIII tennis. On one end of the spectrum you've got schools with talent, facilities, and coaching that are top notch and rival DI programs. Then on the other hand I've seen DIII and NAIA teams that are so bad that they would probably be shut out by a good high school team.

Hodgey20 · 02-14-2013, 10:45 AM

I currently play DIII tennis in the boston area. I am a senior and I can tell you first hand that college tennis at the DIII level is a great time and you will have memories that will last a lifetime. I am so happy that I played tennis at the collegiate level it is a great experience, and there is not a ton of pressure but it is definitely more serious than high school. The competition that I play is good, the winner of the conference I am in gets an automatic bid to the NCAA's. Being a part of a team while you are at college enhances the experience, and being able to play a sport you love makes it even more worthwhile. Goodluck and enjoy it because trust me it goes by much faster than you can imagine.

Coach Carter · 02-15-2013, 10:16 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by goran_ace

There's a pretty wide spectrum for DIII tennis. On one end of the spectrum you've got schools with talent, facilities, and coaching that are top notch and rival DI programs. Then on the other hand I've seen DIII and NAIA teams that are so bad that they would probably be shut out by a good high school team.

Yes, but I saw weaker D1 squads that Highland Park, New Braunfels, or some of the stronger Plano West teams of the last decade here in Texas could have easily spanked HARD. It was talked about on other threads in the past...and speculated that some of those powerful HS squads could win small D1 conferences most years.

DakotaM · 02-27-2013, 07:28 PM

Hi guys, I'm a long time lurker and I just recently got around to making an account, so this is my first post. I play 4 seed D3 tennis at Maryville College. I'm only a freshman, but so far everything has been great. It's really fun but also hard work. I'm not an amazing athlete or tennis player, but since it's D3 I'm able to compete. From what I've heard from my coach I should have a decent season at 4 seed, and I'm a 4.0 player. The practices aren't overbearing, and it's good to know that academics come first.

beernutz · 02-28-2013, 10:18 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by DakotaM

Hi guys, I'm a long time lurker and I just recently got around to making an account, so this is my first post. I play 4 seed D3 tennis at Maryville College. I'm only a freshman, but so far everything has been great. It's really fun but also hard work. I'm not an amazing athlete or tennis player, but since it's D3 I'm able to compete. From what I've heard from my coach I should have a decent season at 4 seed, and I'm a 4.0 player. The practices aren't overbearing, and it's good to know that academics come first.

You guys only have seven players on your roster according to your web site (3 seniors and 4 freshmen!) How many lines of singles and doubles are played in D3?

Coach Carter · 02-28-2013, 10:52 AM

they play the same as all other divisions, 6 lines of singles and 3 lines of doubles.

DakotaM · 02-28-2013, 02:48 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by beernutz

You guys only have seven players on your roster according to your web site (3 seniors and 4 freshmen!) How many lines of singles and doubles are played in D3?

Coach Carter is correct. From what I've heard it's not too uncommon for D3 players to play both doubles and singles at the same match. My upperclassmen teammates say we play for about 5 hours on game days

Bdarb · 03-03-2013, 10:14 AM

^ correct. I generally played singles and doubles. Drink lots of water, if you split sets in both some matches can be grueling. What to expect depends greatly on where you're playing. I played in a relatively weak conference where I dominated at #2 but struggled (50-50) at #1. This can generally be attributed to the fact that regardless how weak a program is, most every college will have at least one ringer among them. That being said I've seen some kids playing even in the top half of the line up that have no business claiming d3 tennis credentials. They would be bageled by a low level 4.0 easily.
Either way enjoy the NCAA and match play, being on and traveling with a team is fun and it's a great way to meet people as a freshman being a student athlete. Plus there's probably not ever going to be another time in your life where you can justify working on your game and hitting as many tennis balls as you're about to hit in the next four years! Enjoy hope you make the team.

Misterbill · 03-03-2013, 10:21 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by DakotaM

Coach Carter is correct. From what I've heard it's not too uncommon for D3 players to play both doubles and singles at the same match. My upperclassmen teammates say we play for about 5 hours on game days

This is not uncommon in D1 either.

A pro set for doubles and best out of three for singles shouldn't take five hours. Can't remember ever being at a college match that took five hours

02-06-2013, 07:36 AM	#8
Kenny022593 Professional Join Date: Jun 2008 Location: Binghamton Posts: 1,099	Look back through my post history. The sad truth is, you may think you will play on the team because you love the game and are willing to work hard and do everything you need to, but there is still a very big chance of you getting cut. We had about ten kids try out for the team this year. A lot of them gave the reason you gave for trying out. They love the game, they have the desire to improve. The thing is, those two things are great to have, but it goes way beyond that. It even goes beyond having a solid base of skills to play with. It is knowing how to play and what to do. I am not saying don't try or get down on yourself. Go in and try as hard as possible and kill it. Make an impression on the coach and the rest of the team and if you don't make it, you don't make it. There is always a next time. __________________ 2nd year RIT - Captain Have not been injury free since senior year of HS

02-06-2013, 09:04 AM	#9
vandre Professional Join Date: Aug 2007 Location: no man's land Posts: 1,428	oh man, this is the topic i've been waiting years for! grab some popcorn and a seat... ...i played d3 tennis for 3 years at a small liberal arts college in the 90s. the other guys on my team ranged for high school stand outs to converted football players (you have not lived until you've played a 324 pound pusher!!!!!!). i was somewhere in the middle between these extremes. i grew up in a small town that didn't have hs tennis so i played a couple of county tourneys before college and hit with a bunch of people and that was it! i could outplay the football guys but the high school guys always beat me and took my lunch money. there was also quite a bit of variety in the way that guys played too. our number one was just lights out. big serve, big groundies off both sides, great movement, good at the net. another guy who was always in the top three had a kick serve that could hit the fence after it bounced inside the service box. his forehand was really spinny too and he hit a slice backhand. our courts had seams on the serve lines and baselines which caused any shot that hit them to bounce straight up. in 3 years, i had 3 different coaches, each of whom was a different degree of quasi-functional alcoholic, which is why our number 1/ team captain ran practices and did the actual hands on coaching while our usually enibreated coach would put the hopper down and pass out under a tree. there was a bit of variety in our competition too. a number of the school's were pretty close to us. there was one school which was quite a bit worse than us (the football players were even winning sets). and then, there was one school in our conference which recruited students from around the globe. one year their number one was a dude from nigeria and he was crazy good (of course it makes more sense after watching the tennis channel special about the dude from uganda). they always smoked everyone in our conference. but i do remember our cappy took a set off the guy from nigeria and their coach just lit into him on a changeover! man, that was funny because we all hated that coach. he was a wanker! one year at the conference tournament, after his player was down a couple of breaks early in the first set, goes up to the opposing player and tells him that his vibration damper is illegal and if he doesn't remove it immediately, he will be dq-ed. i can tell you for a fact that he knew during warm-ups the dude's damper was illegal because a group of us heard him say it outloud during warmups but he intentionally waited until his player was in trouble before he said anything to the guy. d-3 tennis was great because i made a ton of good friends, i learned alot from my cappy, i learned how to string racquets and i've got more stories than this thread can hold! __________________ 2hbh Club Member #58 "The Donald" of club tennis!

03-03-2013, 10:14 AM	#19
Bdarb Rookie Join Date: Jun 2012 Location: New England Posts: 108	^ correct. I generally played singles and doubles. Drink lots of water, if you split sets in both some matches can be grueling. What to expect depends greatly on where you're playing. I played in a relatively weak conference where I dominated at #2 but struggled (50-50) at #1. This can generally be attributed to the fact that regardless how weak a program is, most every college will have at least one ringer among them. That being said I've seen some kids playing even in the top half of the line up that have no business claiming d3 tennis credentials. They would be bageled by a low level 4.0 easily. Either way enjoy the NCAA and match play, being on and traveling with a team is fun and it's a great way to meet people as a freshman being a student athlete. Plus there's probably not ever going to be another time in your life where you can justify working on your game and hitting as many tennis balls as you're about to hit in the next four years! Enjoy hope you make the team. __________________ x2 babolat pure storm ltd. - vs natural gut 61 lbs.

Thread Tools
Show Printable Version Email this Page
Display Modes
Linear Mode Switch to Hybrid Mode Switch to Threaded Mode