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Wednesday, February 24, 2010

Weather Disruptions Abound; 18s Spring National Fields; The Koz Interviews Isner; USTA Youth Registration

I had planned on writing about today's USTA junior girls match against the University Miami women and the big men's college match between Baylor and Ohio State, but due to rain in South Florida and cold in Texas neither match was played. The USTA - Miami match has been rescheduled for 9:30 tomorrow morning, but from the sounds of it, the Baylor - Ohio State match, which is awash in controversy regarding the suitability of the playing conditions, won't be rescheduled. The Baylor athletic website has all the details of what it is calling a no-show by the Buckeyes, with remarks from head coach Matt Knoll and referee Chuck Scott. For those of you unclear on the weather rules in place for ITA matches (and that would be most of us, I'm sure), Scott provides the details. The crux of the argument appears to be that Ohio State head coach Ty Tucker considered the conditions hazardous, while Baylor and the referee did not. I'm sure Granger Huntress at the Texas College Tennis blog will have more on this later.

The men's match between No. 6 Florida and No. 19 Florida State in Gainesville was postponed due to rain and rescheduled for March 17. The Ohio State - Notre Dame women's match did go on as planned--indoors, of course--and the No. 7 Fighting Irish made short work of the No. 17 Buckeyes, winning 7-0.

The competitors list for next month's USTA Spring Nationals in Mobile is out, and the girls field looks particularly strong. Ellen Tsay, Monica Turewicz and Robin Anderson are all entered, as are Krista Hardebeck, Whitney Kay, Lilly Kimbell, Anna Mamalat, Catherine Harrison, Danielle Collins and Caroline Price, to name just a few. This doesn't include the wild cards, who have not yet been named. The boys field has fewer recognizable names, but includes Greg Andrews, Gonzales Austin, Emmett Egger, Bjorn Fratangelo, Christopher Mengel, Nathan Pasha and Justin Shane. For the complete list, see the TennisLink site.

Dave Kozlowski was at the joint ATP/WTA Memphis tournament last week and recorded this interview with John Isner for the newly launched site 10sballs.com. The "Koz" talks with Isner about his college experience, the level of play in the SEC and who he thinks will win the conference championship this year. There is also an interview with Sam Querrey, which you can find in the right hand column.

Tennis Night in America is Monday, March 1, and in addition to a the Madison Square Garden exhibition featuring Ana Ivanovic, Venus Williams, Kim Cljisters and Svetlana Kuznetsova, the USTA is again promoting the evening as Youth Registration Night across the country. To find such an event in your area, go to the tennisnight.com website.

12 comments:

iluvtennis said...

Too bad, I was looking forward to the OSU/Baylor match. Funny though, I remember the same thing happenned last year when Virginia went to play Baylor and it rained and Baylor refused to play indoors, perhaps a bit of justice for the Bears.

Eeyore said...

What Ohio State did today was totally disrespectful to collegiate tennis. The weather was fantastic with a temperature of 48 degrees and practially no wind. The ITA should step in an award Baylor a win and OSU should take punitive action against tennis coach Ty Tucker for his actions. I can't wait to see what excuse OSU will come up with when the weather gets TOO hot.

College Fan said...

Come on coach Tucker... Is that the type of competitive spirit taught to tOSU tennis players? It wasn't 35 and raining; it was 47 and sunny--if anything your guys should've had the advantage being used to such weather.

Mary said...

I understand the rules and making sure your players are taken care of but I also see juniors competing in tournaments when it's 30 degrees outside and brutally cold (this occurs in the Southern section where indoor courts may not always be available). If 16 and under can do this, surely collegiate athletes can play when its 48.

oldschool said...

I have zero respect for Ohio State tennis now. A couple of weeks ago Texas, Cal, MTSU and Texas Tech all played in Austin in 35 degree weather to qualify for the ITA Indoors. It wasn't pleasant, but the players stepped up and played.

tennis guy said...

Did Ohio state show up or did they not bother to come down. It seems odd they would spend all the money to fly down and then not play the match.

been-there said...

Oh geez, Ohio State needs to grow up and take off their country club cloaks. I have a 9 year old who has to play in freezing cold conditions for tournaments. They never cancel those. Same with her soccer games.

Her brother used to do the same thing. It makes you a tougher tennis player if you play in the terrible conditions.

Besides, when you go to then play the e.g. Easter Bowl, and the wind is swirling so bad that the tournament tents look like they are going to fly off: you are ready and your opponent is not.

Say what you want said...

I won't judge any right or wrong here except to say that it is the job of a college coach to take car of his/her players. This includes playing conditions as well as allowing players adequate time for their studies. I would say that the vast majority of coaches don't take care of their players- violating NCAA regulations concerning practice time etc. So say whatever you want, all these coaches do whatever they damn well please. But this can be said for the NCAA, ITF, and USTA.

CollegeFan said...

Rumor is OSU actually practiced at the courts on Wednesday morning well before the temperature warmed-up, so what is it. To cold or not, very cheap manuever by OSU.

texasfan said...

I lost all respect for Ohio St. I vote for Baylor taking the default. Common Baylor -- stand up for what's right . Take the DEFAULT !!!

tennis guy said...

To be honest I think Ohio State knew they were about to take an L so tucker wanted to get out of it. Baylor is a different team outside.

just saying said...

Some blame goes both ways. Despite knowing well in advance that there would be unfavorable weather conditions, according to ITA guidelines, Baylor was also stubborn about not considering another option, just like when UVa came there last year and couldn't get a match in either. OSU traveled to A&M last March for an outdoors match. But some inclement weather forced the match indoors. OSU has every right to ask for the ITA weather rules to be followed.