jcgatennismom
Hall of Fame
DI committee approves 2-year pilot program for tennis championships - NCAA.org
The Division I Competition Oversight Committee approved a two-year pilot program to hold the Division I men's and women's individual tennis championships in the

I think the draws will be weaker due to top players who play Futures and Challengers in the fall. I wonder what the top US collegians will do since they have a chance at US Open WC. Will they take online courses and play a couple of tourneys in the fall, e.g. AA and fall Nats? I wonder it ITA will change ranking algorithm which was based on a certain number of countable wins and all losses so collegians with ATP points will still earn a fall ranking by playing 1-2 top ITA tourneys that they could get in via WC. It doesnt look like spring '24 ITA results could count in deciding fall '24 individual selection due to this NCAA bylaw: "The ITA rankings serve as an integral part of the NCAA Championships (team and individual) selection process each year. NCAA Bylaw 31.3.3.2 “Qualifying Standards” states “Individuals and teams required to meet performance standards to qualify for NCAA championships competition shall achieve such standards in meets held during the same academic year as the particular championship.” As a result of this bylaw, the ITA Rankings cannot consider or take into account any results or achievements from prior academic seasons or from non-collegiate competitions (ATP, WTA, ITF, USTA, UTR, etc.). More plainly, the ITA Rankings are very much a “start from scratch” ranking system each season. " This is from ITA page explaining rankings algorithm https://www.wearecollegetennis.com/ita-rankings/rankings-explained/
Some points if NCAA singles champ selections are based only on fall ITA results: 1) All fall matches are finished vs unfinished lines in spring duals 2) Most if not all fall matches are on neutral ground. However, most of us look at the 1st singles rankings of the year and think they are highly inaccurate due to the missed players. There could be an unlikely winner one year from a school outside the top 20 or more selections outside the top 20 schools as there could be players who are definitely in the top 64 in the nation but dont have the ranking in May of each year due to limited opportunities in spring duals. That's unlikely tho-there have been players who made the cut for NCAAs in spring after only playing fall and being injured in spring-maybe playing 1-2 matches in late spring after recovery. At least this is just a pilot for 2 years, so if the changes results in champions who are not ready for US Open, then ITA can revert to spring singles/dubs champs. There is also the risk that the champion who wins fall champs, turns pro in spring and leaves college team to get more pro experience before Open. Maybe there will be a clause added that winner has to play spring to end Open WC.
Supposedly 68% of D1 coaches approve this change. That makes sense as players from colleges outside the top 20 probably have a higher ITA ranking in fall than spring. I would think the coaches of the top 20 teams would be against unless they think their top players need a rest after teams before playing singles.
Will these change take away the advantage of players from universities used to playing in warm and humid conditions? Playing in Nov is a lot different than playing in mid May.
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