Jerry Magee Covers College Tennis
The Barnes Tennis Center in San Diego, one of the best public tennis facilities anywhere, always has something going on, and the past few days it has served as the site of the ITA West Regionals for women. The regionals, nine each for men and women, serve as qualifying tournaments for the ITA Indoors in Columbus next month; some do not finish until Tuesday, some were completed on Sunday.
Jerry Magee wrote this story about the two California freshman finalists, Sara Fansler of USC and Yasmin Schnack of UCLA before their match on Sunday. Fansler won--details (and a photo, which I don't have) are here.
Another player who had an impressive weekend was Pepperdine's Andre Begemann, one of the heroes of the Waves NCAA team championship last May. Seeded eighth, he upset top seed and NCAA champion Ben Kohlloeffel of UCLA in the quarterfinals, and second seed Chris Surapol of UCLA in the finals. He played no. 4 for Pepperdine last year, but I'm guessing he'll be moving up this season. A brief story on his run is here.
11 comments:
Is that guy from Pepperdine really a sophomore? He looks to be at least 25 yrs old. How can the legitimate schools compete with 18 yr olds against these guys. College tennis is a joke in this regard. I saw Pepperdine play last season and I swear they were all at least 25 and playing vs 18 and 19 yr olds. No wonder they won. I guess it comes down to the team that can find the most loop holes in NCAA rules. What a shame.
Begemann is a junior and is 22 years old.
Last year Scott Doerner was 22(on schedule), Pedro Rico was 25(2003 should have been his senior year by age), Ivor Lovrak turned 24 right after NCAA's(2004, possibly 2005 should have been his senior year), Begemann waited 2yrs to go to college evidently, so he'll be about to turn 24 at the end of senior year...
This happens mainly at schools which are big on the scholarships, lighter on the academics...some schools have entire rosters comprised of older players who have played on the pro tour. Though it is more of an exception in the Ivy League, Princeton boasts of a 23-year-old sophomore who reportedly has wins over some highly ranked pros. Makes it tough for the younger kids who have not played pros.
The ITA Champ for the Mideast Region, Harel Srugo, is another player who is in his mid-twenties. Check the top college players and you'll find that most of the international players are in their mid-twenties. This makes it tough for our kids.
Just remember, people finish High School at different ages depending on the country (or even the State) they're from. In Germany, a student typically finishes at age 19 and might have a year of community service to complete (it can be defrayed but not always). So, through no fault of their own, they could be 20 before they're able to start study. On the flip-side, a student from Queensland in Australia will finish High School at age 17 - at least 1 year younger than most of their contemporaries around the globe.
If you aren't going to compensate the kid who, due to their educational system, enters college at a younger age than is usual how can you penalise the kid who, due to their educational system, enters at a higher age than is usual?
How is Srugo a sophomore if he is in his mid 20's. Are there any rules about this in college? Is he gonna finish at 27? So unfair!!!
I believe Srugo served mandatory military service in the Israli army for a couple years. I think he may be one of the last players to be able to do this as the NCAA may be in the process tightening up the military service exception rules. Tulane's Michael Kogan was the same situation a few years back.
I don't dispute the fact that international kids come from different educational systems and different community expectations, but age and experience is huge advantage in college tennis. Something needs to be done to level the playing field. Not many 17 year olds can compete with men 25 yo.
personally, i beleive that foreign tennis players enhance college tennis. The competition is sooo deep every year it only helps American tennis players looking to improve their games. I realize that they take up scholarship and playing time which is a problem but if an American tennis player is good enough to bang with these older pros, then they really have something to be proud of, think about the level these guys are playing on. College tennis is like playing rounds in a future or a challenger qualifying draw. But instead of going pro and running the risk of not making it, American tennis players can stay in their backyards and play against this high level twice a week in the spring. My only complaint is, there hasnt been an American college tennis player representing the US in the US Open in a while, maybe after NCAA's they could have a playoff with the top 16 American players for that Wildcard.
I love that idea about a wild card tournament for the top US college players. I know the USTA has done a round robin for the Australian wild card, but to my knowledge active NCAA players have not been invited. With so many wild cards at their disposal for the U.S. Open, that would be an excellent use of one of them.
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