NCAA Eligibility and open/designated tournaments

[Lakers4Life]

I friend of mine is a "Tennis Dad", his daughter is currently ranked in the Girls16 in So Cal. She is currently a Junior in HS, and will be a senior next year. by the time she graduates next, she will be 17. If she gets accepted to a Div 1 School, can she still play in Open tournaments for Girls18? Basically he does not want his daughter to waste her Girls18 eligibility, but at the same time does not want to use up any possible NCAA eligibility.

More or less the college recruiters look at the top of the rankings for players. If she were to go to a junior/community college while establishing her ranking for her 18th year, does that affect NCAA eligibility, if she only plays designated tournaments and not necessarily play for that school?

 

[Rob_C]

I friend of mine is a "Tennis Dad", his daughter is currently ranked in the Girls16 in So Cal. She is currently a Junior in HS, and will be a senior next year. by the time she graduates next, she will be 17. If she gets accepted to a Div 1 School, can she still play in Open tournaments for Girls18? Basically he does not want his daughter to waste her Girls18 eligibility, but at the same time does not want to use up any possible NCAA eligibility.

More or less the college recruiters look at the top of the rankings for players. If she were to go to a junior/community college while establishing her ranking for her 18th year, does that affect NCAA eligibility, if she only plays designated tournaments and not necessarily play for that school?

I believe once a person attends college, 2yr or 4yr, their eligibility clock starts ticking.

Being in college has no bearing on eligilbility for jr tournaments. If she's young enough, she can still play jrs.

He should confirm with a college tennis coach or athletic dept.

 

[andfor]

Playing any type of tournament should not have any impact on college eligibility. She can play local, sectional, national and pro tournaments as long as any prize money accepted does not exceed expenses it cost to travel to and play in it. Eligibility will start for Division 1 schools when she graduates from high school.

DII, DIII, NAIA and Junior College rules may have differences but are likely less restrictive.

Here's the NCAA Eligibility Rules:
http://www.ncaa.org/wps/portal/ncaa...y and Recruiting/Eligibility/eligibility.html

As Rob C. suggested checking with a college coach should help although knowing the rules for yourself can be valuable. Not all coaches are equal when it comes to knowledge of the rules. The NCAA, as with the law does not allow coaches to be the last word or for ignorance (no offense plz).