500 M/W at Tulsa for All American preQ Sat/Sun with 50% chance of rain Sat pm-some thoughts

[jcgatennismom]

The All-American can be a Cinderella story of sorts. Approximately 250 men play in PreQ each year with 16 guys who win 4 matches going on to Qualis. Each year there is at least one guy who wins 7 matches to get in the MD. Last year or the year before one guy won 2 MD matches to reach R16. If he'd won one more match, he'd have been an All-American and been able to play in Oracle fall championships. Who has the best chance of making from preQ to MD this year? It could be a freshmen or newcomer as only the top 10 freshmen are invited to play Qualis, and there are more than 10 talented newbies. There are freshmen with UTRs over 13 (the overlap between Qualis and preQ is high 12s/low13s) in the preQ. In my other post, I mentioned Justin Boulais who beat an ATP 237 player in a Challenger but starts in the PreQ. He's a candidate as well as community college transfer Kent Hunter (CAL) with UTR 13.48. There are two USC freshmen Ryder Jackson and Stefan Dostanic with UTRs 13.2+ with a good chance to at least move up to Qualis. There's also Duke freshman Garrett Johns UTR 13.2 and ATP 1136 who has won a Challenger Quali match. Now this is based on the preQ list last night-some players will still move from preQ to Q but probably not any more freshmen.

I just hope the ITA can fit in two rounds of men and women tomorrow with 50% chance of rain starting at 3pm. For years, the women were in California for AAs. Now with added courts, the men and women are in Tulsa, but I doubt many of those courts are indoors. I would not be surprised if the format is changed to TB 3rd set once it rains and maybe before. There is no consolation for preQ, and teams fly across the country to play this event. Hope all get at least one decent match. There are close to 80 different D1 schools represented in preQ-a mix of power 5s and MMs. Last year (dont think it rained), I heard some players did not get off the court until 10:30-guess there were all of 3 setters. The 128 rd of Qualis is supposed to start Monday and MD on Wed but with 60% chance of rain Sunday too, there could be delays.

 

[andfor]

I was there a few years ago when it rained. With only 6 indoor courts to work with it was very slow going and it was only the men playing. Went to eat at 10:30 one night and also had to pick up food to go for others. 3 indoor courts where the women are playing at LaFortune Park. Just a guess but they may have access to another indoor facility.

 

[Nostradamus]

http://streamingtennis.com/tulsa/

Tulsa hurricanes really going all out this year with coverage. webcam feeds already started in Pre-qualifying rounds..... WOW, Go CARD, Go Alex

 

[jcgatennismom]

The last qualifier got off the courts at Tulsa at 9:30pm Tulsa time. Kudos to ITA/All-american staff for scrambling together additional indoor courts today. Unfortunately the 1 rd of consolation had to be cancelled. Out of the 5 I thought likely to make it out of preQ to Qualis, only 2 won 4 matches to make Qualis-Kent Hunter CAL transfer from jr college, and Ryder Jackson, USC freshman. The 3 match winner Boulais who lost in final rd is high on the lucky loser list. Tenn and Florida State had 2 qualifiers with one each from Arizona, Notre Dame, Oklahoma, USC, Cal and South Carolina. The remaining 6 qualifiers were from mid major schools. In the preQ, the players from Power 5 schools were freshmen or lower lineup/bench players. The Qualifier which starts Monday will include some ITA ranked players. Kent Hunter, the junior college transfer, has the highest UTR of the qualifiers-13.48

 

[JLyon]

yes, the staff did any amazing job considering the rain/lightening late Saturday and a washout on Sunday. Monday weather was perfect. Kudos to the Tulsa Event Staff and the ITA Officials/Referees getting it done.

 

[bobleenov1963]

Anyone in the stand watching these matches? I am not seeing anyone in the stand from streamingtennis.com

 

[Nostradamus]

Anyone in the stand watching these matches? I am not seeing anyone in the stand from streamingtennis.com

I am watching all the STanford matches.... GO CARD, domination will begin this year

 

[andfor]

Anyone in the stand watching these matches? I am not seeing anyone in the stand from streamingtennis.com

There will likely be more/some fans later in the week. This is Tulsa, OK, not exactly a tennis mecca or vacation destination for tennis. While typically family and friends make up the majority of fans attending, with as many matches as these guys play picking going to Tulsa for Pre-Qualies over home dual matches may not take precedence. I'll wait for your negative response. Thanks

 

[JLyon]

am I missing something on the streaming video? getting no stream available everytime going to look even though matches are on court.

StreamingTennis.com Court 1 Tulsa Live Tennis

 

[silentkman]

There will likely be more/some fans later in the week. This is Tulsa, OK, not exactly a tennis mecca or vacation destination for tennis. While typically family and friends make up the majority of fans attending, with as many matches at these guys play picking going to Tulsa for Pre-Qualies over home dual matches may not take precedence. I'll wait for your negative response. Thanks

I'm assuming everything is free. which college events do you actually have to pay to watch?

 

[jcgatennismom]

am I missing something on the streaming video? getting no stream available everytime going to look even though matches are on court.

StreamingTennis.com Court 1 Tulsa Live Tennis

I am wondering if it started to rain even though Tulsa weather just says it is cloudy. I had been watching a match that just finished 1st set, left, came back and saw what appeared to be wet courts before the stream ended. However, that was over an hour ago so I would assume players on 6 courts were moved inside and that the streaming would now be linked to indoor courts. However, there is nothing on ITA twitter to say matches were delayed or moved indoors. I had been watching the Martin (GT)/ Kovacevic match-the GT freshmen breezed through first set, and then I was going to watch the McNally (OSU) vs Hemming (UGA) match but nothing on stream and nothing on college team site twitter. Maybe some of these matches have been moved to other indoor courts which could explain lack of streaming or it could be that women's dubs that didnt finish yesterday is taking precedence over men's singles if rain has returned. The weather channel has rain forecast for this afternoon but not the am. Wouldnt take ITA tennis twitter but a few seconds to send out a tweet if matches had moved or delayed. Or it could be the streaming is just down and players are on court outdoors, and the wet courts I saw were video from another day.

 

[JLyon]

I am wondering if it started to rain even though Tulsa weather just says it is cloudy. I had been watching a match that just finished 1st set, left, came back and saw what appeared to be wet courts before the stream ended. However, that was over an hour ago so I would assume players on 6 courts were moved inside and that the streaming would now be linked to indoor courts. However, there is nothing on ITA twitter to say matches were delayed or moved indoors. I had been watching the Martin (GT)/ Kovacevic match-the GT freshmen breezed through first set, and then I was going to watch the McNally (OSU) vs Hemming (UGA) match but nothing on stream and nothing on college team site twitter. Maybe some of these matches have been moved to other indoor courts which could explain lack of streaming or it could be that women's dubs that didnt finish yesterday is taking precedence over men's singles if rain has returned. The weather channel has rain forecast for this afternoon but not the am. Wouldnt take ITA tennis twitter but a few seconds to send out a tweet if matches had moved or delayed. Or it could be the streaming is just down and players are on court outdoors, and the wet courts I saw were video from another day.

The men will be at Case the entire time. Women have been at Fortune TC (3 indoor) and also was able to use Southern Hills from the rain events over the past weekend. No live scoring at Fortune, unfortunately.

 

[jcgatennismom]

The men will be at Case the entire time. Women have been at Fortune TC (3 indoor) and also was able to use Southern Hills from the rain events over the past weekend. No live scoring at Fortune, unfortunately.

Now the stream is up showing wet courts again while Tulsa weather just says it is cloudy-still wondering if pic is from another day. There was a tweet that women's matches were delayed by lightning but nothing about the men. Wish this tourney had a completed matches live score page like some tournaments do. There were some matches that would have been fun to watch but doesnt seem like that is going to happen this afternoon.

 

[JLyon]

hopefully coaches and fans will cut Tulsa some slack this year on the tournament, weather has not been good for portions of the tournament, but considering the logistics of a tournament with over 600 players they are doing well battling the elements. Pretty sure things will improve greatly over the coming years as the Women's Draw grows and facilities are further upgrade. Case is a great venue and Fortune TC is also a very well maintained facility.

 

[Nostradamus]

Awsome win for Alex today against one of the Top seeds in NCAA, Jack Lin from Columbia. Could alex be that next great American player to win majors ? is he the next American hope in ATP tour ? GO CARD.

2019 Saint Francis Health System ITA All-American Championships

itatennis.com

 

[jcgatennismom]

Here are three of the MD matches worth watching tomorro)w:
PAC-12 fight between Keegan Smith (UTR 14.18 and Alex Rotsaert (13.3). They have played twice already this year with Alex winning in straights in Jan and Keegan in straights in March. I think Keegan has the edge; he reached the finals of the Oracle Masters vsCukierman losing in 3, and he beat Brandon Holt at a Challenger in August. I'd liked to see a Keegan/Crawford quarterfinals match-sorry Nostradamus

Phillip Henning (UGA) vs Val Vacherot (Texas A&M) Phillip is the only Qualifier left and has won 5 singles matches so far (+ 4 dubs matches) in Tulsa including impressively beating McNally 3,1. That was a match I planned to watch but it wasnt streamed. Can Henning win one more match to reach quarter finals and become an All-American? I was wondering who would step up to play 1 at UGA this year-may be this soph is the answer. I hope Henning wins again so he can play Miss State's Gio next round for a SEC preview.

Vocel (Okla State) vs Riffice (FL) At the NCAAs last May Vocel had a very close match with JJ Wolf, but Wolf won only to lose to Riffice in the next round. Both players have won their prior 2 rounds in straight sets. Riffice has an ATP ranking of 546 while Vocel's rank is 811.

I am sure there will be other entertaining close R16 matches but those sounded most interesting to me. In the first 2 rounds of MD, there were a lot of 3 setters as well as players who allowed 4 or less games. By tomorrow's R16, you would think most would be 3 setters or at least some set tiebreaks. Cross your fingers for no more rain and constant streaming.

To keep up with who won and lost in which round and dubs in one place, use this site and click on a name https://www.r2sports.com/system/rankings/eventMatches.asp?sportOrganizationID=792&TID=31627 Otherwise you have to cross reference between 3 singles and 2 dubs draws sheet and that does not even include consolation draws. All in one place with a click.
__________________________________________________________________________________
Some notes after 6 days of play
Only 2 players who started in preQs won 7 matches to play a round in the main draw: St John's Aditya Vashistha and Arizona States's Makey Rakotamalala. Both lost in 1st rd of main draw. While Makey lost in straights, Aditya took the 2nd set off #2 seed Oliver Crawford-impressive for a MM player playing his 8th match in 5 days. Either in 2018 or 2017, one player in preQ won 9 matches to reach R16 of MD before losing-no such luck this year-no Cinderella unless you count Henning but he did start in Qualis...

Only 3 freshmen played in main draw-Cannon Kingsley who was a direct entry to MD and lost in 1st rd and qualifiers Jacob Fearnley of TCU who lost 0,2 in 1st rd after 3 Quali wins and Andres Martin of Georgia Tech who won his first rd MD and lost a close 3 setter to #4 seed Kovacevic today in 2nd rd after cruising in 1st set (6-1). If he'd won the 2nd set tiebreak, he'd be in the 3rd round. Excluding Eubanks, Martin is probably one of the best GT players in a while. Of course Gromley (freshman last year) is very talented too (dont know why he didnt play AAs) and put on a great show at BBT Open 250 MD playing a tiebreak set vs #46 Ugo Humbert. I think Georgia Tech will make NCAAs this year after just missing the cut last year. .

 

[Nostradamus]

Here are three of the MD matches worth watching tomorro)w:
PAC-12 fight between Keegan Smith (UTR and Alex Rotsaert (13.3). They have played twice already this year with Alex winning in straights in Jan and Keegan in straights in March. I think Keegan has the edge; he reached the finals of the Oracle Masters vs Cukierman losing in 3, and he beat Brandon Holt at a Challenger in August. I'd liked to see a Keegan/Crawford quarterfinals match-sorry Nostradamus

Phillip Henning (UGA) vs Val Vacherot (Texas A&M) Phillip is the only Qualifier left and has won 5 matches so far in Tulsa including impressively beating McNally 3,1. That was a match I planned to watch but it wasnt streamed. Can Henning win one more match to reach quarter finals and become an All-American? I was wondering who would step up to play 1 at UGA this year-may be this soph is the answer. I hope Henning wins again so he can play Miss State's Gio next round for a SEC preview.

Vocel (Okla State) vs Riffice (FL) At the NCAAs last May Vocel had a very close match with JJ Wolf, but Wolf won only to lose to Riffice in the next round. Both players have won their prior 2 rounds in straight sets. Riffice has an ATP ranking of 546 while Vocel's rank is 811.

I am sure there will be other entertaining close R16 matches but those sounded most interesting to me. In the first 2 rounds of MD, there were a lot of 3 setters as well as players who allowed 4 or less games. By tomorrow's R16, you would think most would be 3 setters or at least some set tiebreaks. Cross your fingers for no more rain and constant streaming.
__________________________________________________________________________________
Some notes after 6 days of play
Only 2 players who started in preQs won 7 matches to play a round in the main draw: St John's Aditya Vashistha and Arizona States's Makey Rakotamalala. Both lost in 1st rd of main draw. While Makey lost in straights, Aditya took the 2nd set off #2 seed Oliver Crawford-impressive for a MM player playing his 8th match in 5 days. Either in 2018 or 2017, one player in preQ won 9 matches to reach R16 of MD before losing-no such luck this year-no Cinderella unless you count Henning but he did start in Qualis...

Only 3 freshmen played in main draw-Cannon Kingsley who was a direct entry to MD and lost in 1st rd and qualifiers Jacob Fearnley of TCU who lost 0,2 in 1st rd after 3 Quali wins and Andres Martin of Georgia Tech who won his first rd MD and lost a close 3 setter to #4 seed Kovacevic today in 2nd rd after cruising in 1st set (6-1). If he'd won the 2nd set tiebreak, he'd be in the 3rd round. Excluding Eubanks, Martin is probably one of the best GT players in a while. Of course Gromley (freshman last year) is very talented too (dont know why he didnt play AAs) and put on a great show at BBT Open 250 MD playing a tiebreak set vs #46 Ugo Humbert. I think Georgia Tech will make NCAAs this year after just missing the cut last year. .

No way Keegan has any chance tomorrow. Alex is HOT right now. he is playing best tennis of his life, he is going all the way. Go CARD

 

[JLyon]

Colette Lewis has been using this link for updated results: AA Scores

 

[bobleenov1963]

I am wondering if it started to rain even though Tulsa weather just says it is cloudy. I had been watching a match that just finished 1st set, left, came back and saw what appeared to be wet courts before the stream ended. However, that was over an hour ago so I would assume players on 6 courts were moved inside and that the streaming would now be linked to indoor courts. However, there is nothing on ITA twitter to say matches were delayed or moved indoors. I had been watching the Martin (GT)/ Kovacevic match-the GT freshmen breezed through first set, and then I was going to watch the McNally (OSU) vs Hemming (UGA) match but nothing on stream and nothing on college team site twitter. Maybe some of these matches have been moved to other indoor courts which could explain lack of streaming or it could be that women's dubs that didnt finish yesterday is taking precedence over men's singles if rain has returned. The weather channel has rain forecast for this afternoon but not the am. Wouldnt take ITA tennis twitter but a few seconds to send out a tweet if matches had moved or delayed. Or it could be the streaming is just down and players are on court outdoors, and the wet courts I saw were video from another day.

Why not move the event to a more popular tennis destination like USTA tennis center in Orlando or Indians Wells? That way, more people can come and watch.

 

[Nostradamus]

Why not move the event to a more popular tennis destination like USTA tennis center in Orlando or Indians Wells? That way, more people can come and watch.

Tulsa really worked hard to bring this event there. Webcams , Indoor courts and new outdoor courts. they spent a lot of money to bring NCAA tennis event to Tulsa. they should have the event for few years at least. but not forever though. they could move the event to Stanford where they have great outdoor courts and fans

 

[bobleenov1963]

Tulsa really worked hard to bring this event there. Webcams , Indoor courts and new outdoor courts. they spent a lot of money to bring NCAA tennis event to Tulsa. they should have the event for few years at least. but not forever though. they could move the event to Stanford where they have great outdoor courts and fans

I would definitely prefer Stanford over Tulsa. There are so many things to do in Palo Alto California and San Francisco. I was in Palo Alto a few weeks ago. Tulsa might be a nice city but it is no Palo Alto

 

[jcgatennismom]

I would definitely prefer Stanford over Tulsa. There are so many things to do in Palo Alto California and San Francisco. I was in Palo Alto a few weeks ago. Tulsa might be a nice city but it is no Palo Alto

If you want to watch a major college tournament in California, there was the smaller Oracle Masters (32 draw) in Malibu in late September and there will be the 64 draw Oracle ITA National Fall Championships Nov 6-10 at Newport Beach country club or you could have attended fall invitational Battle in the Bay Classic in late Sept in San Francisco-mostly Cali teams but the runnerup was a Michigan freshman; USC's Brandon Holt won. Cant play everything in California or Florida.

 

[Nostradamus]

I would definitely prefer Stanford over Tulsa. There are so many things to do in Palo Alto California and San Francisco. I was in Palo Alto a few weeks ago. Tulsa might be a nice city but it is no Palo Alto

only issue with Stanford is that if rains, they have to move the event to SF indoor courts which has no webcam coverage. aside from that, it is perfect location

 

[Nostradamus]

If you want to watch a major college tournament in California, there was the smaller Oracle Masters (32 draw) in Malibu in late September and there will be the 64 draw Oracle ITA National Fall Championships Nov 6-10 at Newport Beach country club or you could have attended fall invitational Battle in the Bay Classic in late Sept in San Francisco-mostly Cali teams but the runnerup was a Michigan freshman; USC's Brandon Holt won. Cant play everything in California or Florida.

just as I suspected. Keegan smith too scared to face alex and withdrew. Alex moves on in walkover... Go CARD.

StreamingTennis.com Court 11 Tulsa Live Tennis

 

[bobleenov1963]

If you want to watch a major college tournament in California, there was the smaller Oracle Masters (32 draw) in Malibu in late September and there will be the 64 draw Oracle ITA National Fall Championships Nov 6-10 at Newport Beach country club or you could have attended fall invitational Battle in the Bay Classic in late Sept in San Francisco-mostly Cali teams but the runnerup was a Michigan freshman; USC's Brandon Holt won. Cant play everything in California or Florida.

Why not? The goal is to grow college tennis fan base right? Most people will travel to Palo Alto or USTA tennis center in Orlando or Indian Wells to watch college tennis match because they know they can do other things like sightseeing. But most people will not travel to Tulsa to watch college tennis. Those that travel to Tulsa are mostly friends and families of tennis players.

 

[jcgatennismom]

Why not? The goal is to grow college tennis fan base right? Most people will travel to Palo Alto or USTA tennis center in Orlando or Indian Wells to watch college tennis match because they know they can do other things like sightseeing. But most people will not travel to Tulsa to watch college tennis. Those that travel to Tulsa are mostly friends and families of tennis players.

Cant play everything in California or Florida in fairness to college tennis teams not based in Calif or Florida. AA in Tulsa had over 400 male players participating between all the draws-not as many for women. I would expect staying in a hotel for a week in San Francisco or Palo Alto is a bigger dent in the budget than staying in Tulsa. Tulsa had players from over 80 schools many of which probably have tight budgets. Now the players that get in the Oracle tourney in Newport Beach probably attend schools that can pay for Calif food and hotel. I dont know if Oracle still does this, but for the Oracle Master several years ago, I heard Oracle gave $750 towards travel for a coach and player-maybe they do that for the Newport event too. Of course if new Calif law actually goes in effect in 2023 allowing football and basketball players to profit off their names, image, and likeness instead of the university, tennis budgets at the big schools may be cut too. Now Cory Booker who is not one of the top Democratic candidates has joined the fight vs the NCAA wanting to create a US commission of sports that would supersede the NCAA-way to draw attention to a waning campaign... I have no problem with guys earning $ for the image and name as long as non revenue sports can still survive. Hope tennis is not just a D3 sport in 10 years....

 

[silentkman]

Cant play everything in California or Florida in fairness to college tennis teams not based in Calif or Florida. AA in Tulsa had over 400 male players participating between all the draws-not as many for women. I would expect staying in a hotel for a week in San Francisco or Palo Alto is a bigger dent in the budget than staying in Tulsa. Tulsa had players from over 80 schools many of which probably have tight budgets. Now the players that get in the Oracle tourney in Newport Beach probably attend schools that can pay for Calif food and hotel. I dont know if Oracle still does this, but for the Oracle Master several years ago, I heard Oracle gave $750 towards travel for a coach and player-maybe they do that for the Newport event too. Of course if new Calif law actually goes in effect in 2023 allowing football and basketball players to profit off their names, image, and likeness instead of the university, tennis budgets at the big schools may be cut too. Now Cory Booker who is not one of the top Democratic candidates has joined the fight vs the NCAA wanting to create a US commission of sports that would supersede the NCAA-way to draw attention to a waning campaign... I have no problem with guys earning $ for the image and name as long as non revenue sports can still survive. Hope tennis is not just a D3 sport in 10 years....

How many fans actually travel to a event like this even if was at the USTA National Training Center? All non-revenue sports are beholding to the revenue sports to stay in business especially on the men's side. its tough enough trying to get my friends to go to challenger in charlottesville which is about 90 minutes away. The interest is simply not there. I'm sure the accommodations in Tulsa are cheaper too. Does anyone have any ideas to save college tennis?

 

[Nostradamus]

How many fans actually travel to a event like this even if was at the USTA National Training Center? All non-revenue sports are beholding to the revenue sports to stay in business especially on the men's side. its tough enough trying to get my friends to go to challenger in charlottesville which is about 90 minutes away. The interest is simply not there. I'm sure the accommodations in Tulsa are cheaper too. Does anyone have any ideas to save college tennis?

Crawford another top seed going down to the great Alexander from the Farm.......

StreamingTennis.com Court 2 Tulsa Live Tennis

 

[Nostradamus]

Now it is time for Ito. does he have a chance against the alexander the Cardinal ?

 

[jcgatennismom]

How many fans actually travel to a event like this even if was at the USTA National Training Center? All non-revenue sports are beholding to the revenue sports to stay in business especially on the men's side. its tough enough trying to get my friends to go to challenger in charlottesville which is about 90 minutes away. The interest is simply not there. I'm sure the accommodations in Tulsa are cheaper too. Does anyone have any ideas to save college tennis?

The College Day dual tennis events at Lake Nona National campus are well attended. There were 2000 for Fl/FL State and the GA/GA tech event was well-attended too. We were planning to go to Florida last winter to see my husband's mom so we chose the weekend of the College Match Day since husband is a GT grad. There were kids from a Bradenton academy (not IMG) attending which was at least a 2 hr drive.

I think the secret to college success is to play up rivalries and attract kids and families. The Big 12 events are well attended because there are strong rivalries, the crowd can participate, and you have interesting characters like Roditi with his cowboy hat. I like how at some college dual matches they use ball boys and girls-those kids will look up to players and probably stay tennis fans even if they dont pursue the sport at college level. At the college match day, there were also events for kids-maybe at select dual matches, a few kids could try to return a college player's serve (maybe the bench players) or do 10 min of kids playing the wave game with 2 players. Not every match, but really promote a few matches with junior academies in town, get the kids and families interested, and hope they return for other matches. You have to get the kids interested in elementary or middle school as by HS kids are too busy with their own tournaments or other sports and only attend college tennis matches if they want to be a recruit for one of the schools playing. Shoot or throw Tshirts into the crowd. Give away balls with teams' stamped logos to the first 50 kids 12 and under and ask opponents to bring balls to contribute. Have a contest at the end of the season with a prize for the local kid who has collected the most balls-maybe he gets to hit with a player for 30min or maybe he just gets a special Tshirt.

My kid at 10 saw neighborhood HS players who had won a state HS team championship hitting on our courts. He would beg them to let him try to return their serves. That was one (not the only) spark to his interest in tennis-originally just to make the HS team and later to play college tennis. If you look at some of the kid activities that pro events have, similar kid events could happen once or twice a season for major home matches-maybe get the sports management majors involved with the planning as the tennis players have enough to do. Have a college communications major act as an announcer to increase excitement. The tennis players could do a meet and greet after the match though-I have seen pics of Miss State players shaking hands with fans after the match-they are a good example of a team even with few American players who has earned community support.

 

[silentkman]

The College Day dual tennis events at Lake Nona National campus are well attended. There were 2000 for Fl/FL State and the GA/GA tech event was well-attended too. We were planning to go to Florida last winter to see my husband's mom so we chose the weekend of the College Match Day since husband is a GT grad. There were kids from a Bradenton academy (not IMG) attending which was at least a 2 hr drive.

I think the secret to college success is to play up rivalries and attract kids and families. The Big 12 events are well attended because there are strong rivalries, the crowd can participate, and you have interesting characters like Roditi with his cowboy hat. I like how at some college dual matches they use ball boys and girls-those kids will look up to players and probably stay tennis fans even if they dont pursue the sport at college level. At the college match day, there were also events for kids-maybe at select dual matches, a few kids could try to return a college player's serve (maybe the bench players) or do 10 min of kids playing the wave game with 2 players. Not every match, but really promote a few matches with junior academies in town, get the kids and families interested, and hope they return for other matches. You have to get the kids interested in elementary or middle school as by HS kids are too busy with their own tournaments or other sports and only attend college tennis matches if they want to be a recruit for one of the schools playing. Shoot or throw Tshirts into the crowd. Give away balls with teams' stamped logos to the first 50 kids 12 and under and ask opponents to bring balls to contribute. Have a contest at the end of the season with a prize for the local kid who has collected the most balls-maybe he gets to hit with a player for 30min or maybe he just gets a special Tshirt.

My kid at 10 saw neighborhood HS players who had won a state HS team championship hitting on our courts. He would beg them to let him try to return their serves. That was one (not the only) spark to his interest in tennis-originally just to make the HS team and later to play college tennis. If you look at some of the kid activities that pro events have, similar kid events could happen once or twice a season for major home matches-maybe get the sports management majors involved with the planning as the tennis players have enough to do. Have a college communications major act as an announcer to increase excitement. The tennis players could do a meet and greet after the match though-I have seen pics of Miss State players shaking hands with fans after the match-they are a good example of a team even with few American players who has earned community support.

good stuff, How much is Oracle involved in college tennis? They are trying to make being a tennis player a sustainable career. Do you ever have to pay to see college tennis? How much of college tennis is corporate sponsored on any level? My biggest beef with college tennis is unfinished matches. Does this happen in any other sport?

 

[ClarkC]

My biggest beef with college tennis is unfinished matches. Does this happen in any other sport?

Sure. In baseball, when you are leading going into the bottom of the 9th inning, you don't bat because it makes no difference to the outcome.

In match play golf, when you are three holes ahead with two holes to go, the match ends because the last two holes would make no difference.

 

[Nostradamus]

Sure. In baseball, when you are leading going into the bottom of the 9th inning, you don't bat because it makes no difference to the outcome.

In match play golf, when you are three holes ahead with two holes to go, the match ends because the last two holes would make no difference.

WoW. this is truly awesome.. Alex reaches the semifinals of ITA all American. he only lost to Ito cause Ito had more experience. but with Geller at #1 and alex at 2, Stanford could have the undefeated season next year. Looking good Cards

 

[andfor]

WoW. this is truly awesome.. Alex reaches the semifinals of ITA all American. he only lost to Ito cause Ito had more experience. but with Geller at #1 and alex at 2, Stanford could have the undefeated season next year. Looking good Cards

Pretty sure the reason why is Ito is simply a better player.

 

[silentkman]

Sure. In baseball, when you are leading going into the bottom of the 9th inning, you don't bat because it makes no difference to the outcome.

In match play golf, when you are three holes ahead with two holes to go, the match ends because the last two holes would make no difference.

No offense, but apples to oranges. In baseball or golf its only one game or match at a time that's being played. In addition the game or match actually counts. In tennis, conceivably a match is played for two hours that doesn't count. As i indicated, this happens in no other sport.

 

[mikej]

WoW. this is truly awesome.. Alex reaches the semifinals of ITA all American. he only lost to Ito cause Ito had more experience. but with Geller at #1 and alex at 2, Stanford could have the undefeated season next year. Looking good Cards

bring it on, feddie

UF has the 1-2 punch of Crawford-Riffice, and I would argue that UF's #8 or #9 could just as easily be the best #6 in the country this year

hardest part of being the UF coach this year is deciding who of the following doesn't play much singles:
Crawford
Riffice
Andrade
Ingildsen
Vale
Greif
Goodger
Grant
Bicknell

they'll have the opportunity to sit players whenever they need rest this year, and stay fresh heading into NCAAs - hopefully fresh legs will help them improve on their semifinal performance last year - i fully expect their doubles point to improve from pretty good last year to great this year, and that will also make a huge difference, good luck winning 4 singles vs the above lineup

 

[bobleenov1963]

Pretty sure the reason why is Ito is simply a better player.

I watched the final between Ito and Riffice.

Ito is just another grinder. He does not look that big, 5 ft 10 inches and probably 150lbs. In other words, he does not look intimidating. He does not have any weapons.

Riffice is clearly a better tennis player but Ito won because Riffice does not know how to play. Ito missed a lot of 1st serves but Riffice didn't take advantage of Ito's 2nd serve. Ito's serve wasn't that good to begin with. I put the responsibility on the Gators coaching staffs.

 

[mikej]

I watched the final between Ito and Riffice.

Ito is just another grinder. He does not look that big, 5 ft 10 inches and probably 150lbs. In other words, he does not look intimidating. He does not have any weapons.

Riffice is clearly a better tennis player but Ito won because Riffice does not know how to play. Ito missed a lot of 1st serves but Riffice didn't take advantage of Ito's 2nd serve. Ito's serve wasn't that good to begin with. I put the responsibility on the Gators coaching staffs.

Riffice is coming along just fine, huge strides over the course of the season last year

Took out wolf in NCAAs and just lost a close final of another major singles tourney

In juniors his legs and consistency were so superior he didn’t have to win matches the way he has to at this level, but he’s figuring out this level quickly as well

Ito is an enormously talented player, no shame in losing to him, much closer than last time they played

 

[ClarkC]

No offense, but apples to oranges. In baseball or golf its only one game or match at a time that's being played. In addition the game or match actually counts. In tennis, conceivably a match is played for two hours that doesn't count. As i indicated, this happens in no other sport.

Well, if no other sport has even the possibility of this happening, then the statement that "this happens in no other sport" does not mean much. Which sport has a situation in which they could abandon parallel matches but they decide to continue them, unlike college tennis?

Maybe in Ryder Cup golf and similar events, when you clinch the overall title on the last day, the matches in progress are abandoned despite the fact that those players have played for two hours already?

 

[andfor]

Not finishing every dual match when the team score is what counts is such small issue. The only reason Davis Cup played 2 out of 3 sets on the 3rd day when the team score was decided was for the ticket holders. That’s why the bench players usually play that match.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[silentkman]

Well, if no other sport has even the possibility of this happening, then the statement that "this happens in no other sport" does not mean much. Which sport has a situation in which they could abandon parallel matches but they decide to continue them, unlike college tennis?

Maybe in Ryder Cup golf and similar events, when you clinch the overall title on the last day, the matches in progress are abandoned despite the fact that those players have played for two hours already?

Well, if no other sport has even the possibility of this happening, then the statement that "this happens in no other sport" does not mean much. Which sport has a situation in which they could abandon parallel matches but they decide to continue them, unlike college tennis?

Maybe in Ryder Cup golf and similar events, when you clinch the overall title on the last day, the matches in progress are abandoned despite the fact that those players have played for two hours already?

I don't know for sure but the matches appear to played out. I was looking at the Ryder cup website. I've always wondered how the players feel after playing a unfinished match that ultimately does not count for anything? The tournament format is so much better, obviously I get this whole team thing. I just have never liked it.

 

[ClarkC]

I don't know for sure but the matches appear to played out. I was looking at the Ryder cup website. I've always wondered how the players feel after playing a unfinished match that ultimately does not count for anything? The tournament format is so much better, obviously I get this whole team thing. I just have never liked it.

I like the way that the ACC plays out dual matches. There are ITA rankings to play for, and players might not qualify for the NCAA singles tourney because of abandoned matches, which is bad. I don't like the SEC policy of abandoning these dual matches.

But when the conference and NCAA tournaments start, you have players having to play in bad heat on consecutive days. Telling someone to head out there for that third set, or finish a third set that just started 5 minutes ago, when the dual match has been decided does not appeal to me.

 

[silentkman]

I like the way that the ACC plays out dual matches. There are ITA rankings to play for, and players might not qualify for the NCAA singles tourney because of abandoned matches, which is bad. I don't like the SEC policy of abandoning these dual matches.

But when the conference and NCAA tournaments start, you have players having to play in bad heat on consecutive days. Telling someone to head out there for that third set, or finish a third set that just started 5 minutes ago, when the dual match has been decided does not appeal to me.

Didn't know that the ACC plays out dual matches which is great in my opinion. I wonder about the other conferences. I thought the ranking points would be important. I'm using Kalamazoo as an example, but the players play everyday and the draw is enormous. If i'm watching a match that is stopped, I would feel cheated.

 

[JW10S]

Not finishing every dual match when the team score is what counts is such small issue.

As I've said before, when most people think of tennis they think of an individual sport. College tennis, however, is NOT an individual sport, it's a team sport. The point won by the #6 player is just as important as the point won by the #1 player. But the #6 player has no chance of making the season end individual tournament--is that fair? Once a college tennis team wins 4 points the match is decided, the team wins, the individuals don't matter--even if they are playing the #1 position. The people complaining that matches aren't played out seem overly concerned with just the top players and not the overall team.

 

[jcgatennismom]

Didn't know that the ACC plays out dual matches which is great in my opinion. I wonder about the other conferences. I thought the ranking points would be important. I'm using Kalamazoo as an example, but the players play everyday and the draw is enormous. If i'm watching a match that is stopped, I would feel cheated.

Some conferences require conference matches to be played out in case there is a tie in conference standings. However, matches that are not already in 3rd set can be decided by 10pt tiebreak. For some teams where the coaches support playing out matches, 80% of all dual matches are played out with the exceptions being doubleheaders of playing same team twice, events like ITA kickoff, conference championships, and NCAA team championships. Teams that have flights to catch may decide to stop at clinch for regular dual matches if agreed by both teams ahead of time. Certainly it is somewhat disappointing to a player who had just fought hard to win a first set to sit down, look up and see his/her team down 0-3 and realize that it is very unlikely his/her match will finish. Not only will the player not get credit for a possible ranked win, but also wont get uTR credit for an unfinished match. I think the worst case is when guys are in 3rd set with one up 5-x and the match is called. Sometimes when two clinching matches finish about the same time, I think both count. It is an important question for recruits to ask coaches the conference and/or team policy on playing out matches.

 

[bobleenov1963]

Riffice is coming along just fine, huge strides over the course of the season last year

Took out wolf in NCAAs and just lost a close final of another major singles tourney

In juniors his legs and consistency were so superior he didn’t have to win matches the way he has to at this level, but he’s figuring out this level quickly as well

Ito is an enormously talented player, no shame in losing to him, much closer than last time they played

Ito is not an enormously talented player. If he were "enormously" talented, he would not have bounced in the 1st round in two previous times prior to this one.

I watched the match and Ito had no weapons to hurt anyone. Ito's 1st and 2nd serve is way below average. Riffice was clearly a better player in that match. Problem with Riffice is that he didn't take advantage of Ito's weak serve. Riffice should have crushed those weak serves and put doubts into Ito's head. The Florida didn't do a good job of preparing Riffice for this match.

 

[silentkman]

Some conferences require conference matches to be played out in case there is a tie in conference standings. However, matches that are not already in 3rd set can be decided by 10pt tiebreak. For some teams where the coaches support playing out matches, 80% of all dual matches are played out with the exceptions being doubleheaders of playing same team twice, events like ITA kickoff, conference championships, and NCAA team championships. Teams that have flights to catch may decide to stop at clinch for regular dual matches if agreed by both teams ahead of time. Certainly it is somewhat disappointing to a player who had just fought hard to win a first set to sit down, look up and see his/her team down 0-3 and realize that it is very unlikely his/her match will finish. Not only will the player not get credit for a possible ranked win, but also wont get uTR credit for an unfinished match. I think the worst case is when guys are in 3rd set with one up 5-x and the match is called. Sometimes when two clinching matches finish about the same time, I think both count. It is an important question for recruits to ask coaches the conference and/or team policy on playing out matches.

Thanks for the insight. its embarrassing that no credit is given for an unfinished match. You always want to finish your match. I'm impressed that some tennis teams are flying as a non-revenue sport.

 

[mikej]

Ito is not an enormously talented player. If he were "enormously" talented, he would not have bounced in the 1st round in two previous times prior to this one.

I watched the match and Ito had no weapons to hurt anyone. Ito's 1st and 2nd serve is way below average. Riffice was clearly a better player in that match. Problem with Riffice is that he didn't take advantage of Ito's weak serve. Riffice should have crushed those weak serves and put doubts into Ito's head. The Florida didn't do a good job of preparing Riffice for this match.

whatever, he led his team to the NCAA team championship with a dominant run at #2, beating the former NCAA singles champ in the process, and now has won a major singles tourney - but you’re right, everyone should just be hitting a winner off all his serves, why don’t any of these opposing players have coaches

Hard to believe David ferrer / Gilles simon / etc ever won any matches, because you’re right, these speedy baseline grinders with average serves are easy to just dust off the court

 

[silentkman]

whatever, he led his team to the NCAA team championship with a dominant run at #2, beating the former NCAA singles champ in the process, and now has won a major singles tourney - but you’re right, everyone should just be hitting a winner off all his serves, why don’t any of these opposing players have coaches

Hard to believe David ferrer / Gilles simon / etc ever won any matches, because you’re right, these speedy baseline grinders with average serves are easy to just dust off the court

Five years from now where will each player be? This dude, Diego Schwartzman is a bum too.