Tennis
Statistics are to be entered into the ITA website.
Section A - DATE
The tournament will be scheduled to be concluded at least one (1) week prior to the NJCAA Tournament.
Section B - SITE
The site shall be determined at the Spring meeting of the previous year. Factors that will be considered in awarding the site will be:
- Can indoor courts be provided.
- Can the tournament be conducted on the property of the host college.
- Can the college provide at least six (6) courts for tournament play.
- The men’s tournament shall not conflict with the women’s national tournament if possible.
Section C - ELIGIBILITY
Current NJCAA rules will apply.
Section D - RULES AND PLAYING PROCEDURES
- USTA Referee and USTA Officials (when assigned) will conduct the tournament.
- ITA rules will be used with deuce ad scoring.
- In the event of a tie, both teams will be Regional Champions. Then, if necessary, the team that advances the greatest number of flights to the finals will be declared the tournament champion.
- A player may move up or down only one position between played region matches. Violation results in forfeiture of team match by a 9-0 score. (NOTE: The order of placement within the team of individuals competing in tennis should be according to the current order of ability and merit of the competitors and should not be arranged according to the wishes or desires of a coach or other team representative, and the juggling of line-ups is unethical). The Region XIX Team Ladder form is to be forwarded to the tennis chairperson prior to the first match. Subsequent revisions are to be forwarded to the chair with appropriate challenge match documentation on the Region XIX Challenege Match Form. In the event of a prior match against an under rostered team, players from a fully rostered team may be moved upward more than one spot and return to prior status for the next match.
- To be eligible to be considered for regional seeding, a team or player must have at least 50% Region matches in that flight or wins in a higher flight and must have updated statistics in the ITA website. All teams WILL schedule each other in region twice; in order to facilitate seeding for the tournament. Consideration may be given for non-region contests. (This rule may be waived by two-thirds vote of all coaches present at the tennis meeting preceding the tournament.
- The tournament shall be played by flights for both singles and doubles, and there shall be six (6) divisions and three (3) doubles divisions. To be eligible for the team championship, a college must compete in four (4) flights of the first round.
- Each member college may enter six (6) singles and three (3) doubles teams (the doubles need not be the same players who participate in the singles). If a team enters less than six (6) players in the singles and three (3) teams in the doubles, the players or team will be placed in their regular season flights.
- In order to be seeded the record of the player or team must be available at the seeding meeting. Players tied with the same record during the seeding meeting will have ties broken in this manner:
a) head to head competition
b) comparison of match results with other players in that flight starting with the highest seeded
player and so on
c) coin flip - To be eligible to play in a specific flight, each player and doubles team must have played a minimum of 50% of his team’s Region matches in that flight. If the player has played exactly half in one flight and half in another, the player must play in the higher of the two in the tournament. Players that are forced by rule to move within the ladder shall participate in the regular season flight. This rule may be waived by a two thirds vote of the coaches present at the tennis meeting preceding the tournament for cases of injury or limited competition against an under rostered teams.
- Each singles player and each doubles team will supply one (1) USTA approved can of yellow balls. The winner of each match will carry the unopened can of balls forward.
- All tournament matches shall be the best of two (2) of three (3) sets. Officials will be provided by the host when necessary, as determined by the Tournament Referee.
- The twelve (12) point tie breaker system will be used throughout the tournament.
- The USTA Referee will have the power to enact reasonable rules regarding player conduct and court decorum. The ITA Point Penalty System shall be the approved guide for these rules.
- Except for finals, when an umpire is requested, the next available coach (player not involved) must serve as umpire. A coaches rotation will be established at the seeding meeting.
Section E - ENTRY FEE
- An entry fee of $300.00 per team or $50.00 per individual must be paid at the time of the seeding meeting.
- Entry forms must be in the possession of the Tournament Director the Friday prior to the tournament. Entries must be verified by telephone on Monday of tournament week.
Section F - SCORING
- One (1) point will be awarded for each match. If a player draws a bye, he will be awarded a point for the bye only if he wins his next match. A win by default is awarded one (1) point.
Section G - AWARDS
- Two (2) team trophies for first and second shall be awarded.
- There will be two (2) single awards for first and second place awarded in each flight.
- There will be four (4) doubles awards for first and second place in each flight.
- If a tie score results for any of the top three (3) places, these places shall be shared and duplicate prizes awarded.
- The singles and the doubles finalists will be designated All-Region for all flights (Winner 1st Team - Runner-Up 2nd Team).
Section H
- The USTA Referee with the assistance of the coaches and teams entered will seed and draw singles and doubles prior to the opening of the tournament.
- The tournament draw and seeding will follow USTA recommendations. An athlete in any contest involving a Region XIX College who is ejected for violent conduct or fighting shall not be allowed to participate in the next two played contests as determined by the schedule of that institution. (Ejections are for both single and doubles matches).
Players and coaches will be ejected for the following:
• Vulgar language
• Tobacco products/smoking
• Dress code violations
If this ejection occurs in the last contests of a given season, the suspension shall be in effect the first regular game of the player’s next season. For regular season region and GSAC matches. Three (3) doubles matches, each worth one (1) point shall begin play. These matches will be eight (8) game pro-sets, win by 2. A tie breaker will be played at 8 all. (Nine (9) point matches). In the event of any player/coach ejection, an ejection report must be filed with the Region Director.
CLUB TEAMS
Any college fielding a club team must follow ALL NJCAA, NCAA, and Region 19 regulations specifically including (but not limited to) that you must file the NJCAA Club Team form, pay region dues, report game results to your respective service bureau, adhere to uniform rules as per the sport operating code, report basketball technical fouls, follow ejection policies for coaches and players as well as reporting of these ejections, follow home game supervision requirements and use game officials/umpires/referees under contracted officiating agreements with Region 19.
RULES REGARDING TEAM CONDUCT AND COURT DECORUM
(Pursuant to Section IV Rules & Playing Procedures NJCAA)
Region XIX Tennis Operating Codes
- No teammate, coach or spectator, shall be permitted in the court area except with the permission of the Tournament Director or Assistant Director (s) each of whom shall be designated such at the annual seeding meeting. Tournament
Director will identify coaches, players and spectator areas!!! - No coaching by teammates at anytime is permitted during the match. No coaching by Coaches is permitted during match play. Coaches may only instruct/coach during the "change over" between the fence enclosure. A player refusing to adhere to the aforementioned rule shall forfeit the remainder of his/her matches. A coach refusing to adhere to the aforementioned rule shall have his/her team forfeited from the remainder of the tournament. Persons/spectators not adhering to this rule will be barred from viewing the remainder of the matches or escorted from the tournament site.
- If a problem occurs on the court, i.e., injury, foot faults, etc., only the player or players involved shall go to the net and wave their tennis racquets toward the sky. The Tournament Director or Assistant Director should be notified by anyone noticing the racquet waving and a non-participating coach will be appointed to go out to the court and, using their discretion, resolve the difficulty. The Tournament Director will document the number of requests by teams.
- A draw of coaches for the purpose of resolving the issues in #3 above, will occur at the seeding meeting, with the first non-participating coach drawn resolving the first on court problem, etc. Failure of any non-participating coach adhere to rule #3 will result in forfeiture of the remainder of their team’s matches.
- The Tournament Director has the power to form a committee to immediately resolve problems.
As per Article VIII, Section D, 10, Tennis Region XIX Operating Code, the Tournament Director will notify all participating coaches at the seeding meeting of the tournament rules which will be strictly enforced.
Approved: 10/01/03
Last Revised: 1/22/10