Site: Michael D. Case Tennis Center - University of Tulsa, Tulsa, OK
Main Draw: Singles & Doubles: Thursday-Sunday, October 9-12, 2008
Qualifying: Singles & Doubles: Monday-Wednesday, Oct. 6-8 (Doubles starts on Oct. 7)
Pre-Qualifying: Singles: Friday-Sunday, Oct. 3-5 (played at multiple sites)
Draw Sizes: Main Draw - 64 Singles Players; 32 Doubles Teams (Mandatory Consolation for 1st round losers)
Qualifying - 128 Singles Players; 64 Doubles Teams (16 singles/8 doubles advance) (1 Round of Consolation for 1st round losers – players must sign-in for it)
Prequalifying – 256 Singles Players; No Doubles (16 advance) (Some matches will also be held off-site)
Note: Draws are released the afternoon prior to each draw. PQ – entry is not automatic
Doubles will be best 2-out-of 3 sets in the Main Draw Semifinals and Final (All other draws/rounds will continue to be 8-game sets)
ITA Staff Contacts:
Please contact the ITA staff for all questions prior to the start of the tournament.
Jen Evans: Office & Cell phone: 609-375-6520 Fax: 609-497-9586
Jason Berney: Office & Cell phone: 609-497-6921 Fax: 609-497-9586
Entry Information and Selection Dates: For selection, each coach must fill out the entry form on the ITA website by August 15. Late entries will not be accepted. Selections will be made and announced by the National Tournament Committee on August 29 and available on the ITA web site, www.itatennis.com(by 5 p.m. ET).
Withdrawing Players: A player whose status is “questionable” should not be entered into the tournament and a player who is not eligible by NCAA, conference or university standards cannot be entered into the tournament. A letter from the team doctor must accompany all withdrawals after September 19th to be classified as “excusable.” All materials must be faxed or email to Jen Evans’ attention at 609-375-6520 or jevans@itatennis.com. Withdrawals that are deemed “inexcusable” are subject to penalties. Doubles Withdrawal Policy – If one half of a doubles team must withdraw the selection committee will review the new team and determine if they can remain in the draw they were initially selected for.
(NEW) Entry Fees: Will now be paid Online through the ITA website after selections are announced. Entry fees must now be paid for all players, in all draws (including main draw). The entry fees this year are: $40/singles and $50/doubles team. The online payment center will be available the week of Sept. 21. Please make all Main Draw participant checks out to the ITA. All qualifying and pre-qualifying event checks should be made out to Vince Westbrook with the University of Tulsa Men's Tennis team.
Mandatory Check-In for Pre-Qualifying & Qualifying Tournaments: PQ – Thursday, Oct. 2, 3 pm to 6 pm. Qualifying – Sunday, Oct. 2, 10 am to 4 pm. There are no coaches meetings for the PQ and Qual tournaments.
Practice Court Information: Reservations start on Thursday, October 2, from 9am to 8pm at the Michael D. Case Tennis Center, Harwell Tennis Center, and Casia Hall Tennis Center. Contact Mike Wheelen at 918-631-2683 (michael-wheelen@utulsa.edu) to book your practice time.
Racquet Stringing: Stringer will be available on-site throughout the tournament.
Welcome Reception/Banquet Information (for Main Draw participants): Wednesday, October 8th, 6:30pm at Doubletree Hotel, 616 West 7th Street, Tulsa, OK, 71427.
Coaches Meeting: This mandatory meeting will be held on Wed. Oct. 8th at the following the welcome reception at the Doubletree Hotel (there are not coaches meetings prior to the PQ and Qualifying tournaments). Coaches who miss this meeting are subject to possible fines.
Official Car Rental: TBA
Tournament Hotel: You can access information on the official hotel (address, rates, etc) AND book your reservation here as well. Click here to access the Doubletree's site.
Doubletree Hotel – Tulsa - 1-800-838-7914 (booking code: VWT)
Address: 616 West 7th Street, Tulsa, OK, 71427 (approx. 10 min. from site)
Overflow Hotel: You can access information on the official hotel (address, rates, etc) AND book your reservation here as well. Click here to access the Hampton Inn site.
Hampton Inn - Tulsa - 1-918-245-8500
Address: 7852 W. Parkway Blvd., Tulsa, OK, 74127 (minutes from the site)
On-Site ITA Tournament Chair: Jay Udwadia, Fresno St Phone: 559-278-4032
On-Site Tournament Director: Vince Westbrook, Tulsa Phone: 918-631-5090
Selection Process
The ITA National Ranking & Tournament Committee, consisting of the 8 region chairs, the ITA Operating Committee Chair and the Assistant ITA Operating Committee Chair, is responsible for all selections for the championships.
Selection Criteria
- Main Draw - In order of the ITA preseason national singles and doubles rankings.
- Qualifying - In order of the ITA preseason national singles and doubles rankings. If ranking list is exhausted then the ITA National Ranking & Tournament Committee will make selections based on the following: player’s overall results from the previous season; position on and ranking of team; regional ranking; and outstanding junior accomplishments (for freshmen).
- Prequalifying – Teams are allotted spots in this draw according to their final ranking from the previous season. The allotment per team is determined by the selection committee based on the total number of entries. Each school is guaranteed at lease one participant.
- Regional Selections – Determined by national (not regional rankings). In doubles, a regional committee can put forth a returning intact team with a top 5 regional ranking from the previous season in place of a new team with a higher preseason national ranking. If there are not players in the national rankings to select, a region must select representatives in order of final regional rankings from the previous season. If there are not players in the regional rankings to select then it is a regional committee selection based on a player’s overall results from the previous season.
Automatic Spots in Draws
Main Draw Singles (64 players)
* 48 at-large (and wild card) selections
* 16 players from the Qualifying tournament
Automatic entry:
* Returning Champion
* ITA National Summer Championships Champion
* Regional Representation (top 2 players per region)
* Players returning from the Top 20 of the year-end ITA Rankings
Main Draw Doubles (32 teams)
* 24 at-large (and wild card) selections
* 8 teams from the Qualifying tournament
Automatic entry:
* Returning Champion
* ITA National Summer Championships Champions (if from same school)
* Regional Representation (1 per region)
* Intact teams returning from the Top 10 of the year-end ITA Rankings
Qualifying Singles (128 players)
* 112 at-large (and wild card) selections
* 16 players from prequalifying tournament
* Players must win 3 rounds to advance to Main Draw
Automatic entry:
* ITA National Summer Championships Finalist
* Regional Representation (top 4 players per region)
* In Main Draw of Doubles
Qualifying Doubles (64 teams)
* 64 at-large (and wild card) selections
* Teams must win 3 rounds to advance to Main Draw
Automatic entry:
* ITA National Summer Championships Finalist (if from same school)
* Regional Representation (4 per region)
Prequalifying Singles (256 players)
* 256 at-large (and wild card) selections
* Players must win 4 rounds to advance to Qualifying
2008 Schedule of Play
Prequalifying
Friday, Oct. 3 - First Round Singles
Saturday, Oct. 4 – Second & Third Round Singles
Sunday, Oct. 5 - Qualifying Round Singles
Qualifying
Monday, Oct. 6 - First Round Singles
Tuesday, Oct. 7 - Second Round Singles, and First and Second Round Doubles
Wednesday, Oct. 8 - Third/Qualifying Round Singles and Doubles
Note: There is 1 round of consolation singles for 1st round losers on Oct. 7 (players must sign-in for it after losing)
Main Draw
Thursday, Oct. 9 - First and Second Round Singles, First Round Doubles
Friday, Oct. 10 - Third Round Singles, Second and Quarterfinal Rounds Doubles
Saturday, Oct. 11 - Quarterfinal and Semifinal Singles, Semifinal Doubles
Sunday, Oct. 12 - Championship Matches, Singles and Doubles
Note: There are full consolation draws for 1st round losers
Alternate List Policy & Lucky Losers: The alternate list is eliminated once play begins in a prior draw - the Qualifying alternate list is void once PQ play starts; the MD alternate list is void once Qualifying begins. Lucky losers are selected into the Qual and MD in order of the highest seeds who lose in the final qualifying rounds. Once the seeds are exhausted the remaining LLs are determined by random draw. Lucky losers may also be inserted into the first round of Main Draw consolation.
Wild Card Distribution
The Host School receives a wild card into each draw. The ITA also has 2 wild cards in each draw with 1 wild card selection at the discretion of the ITA National Tournament & Ranking Committee and 1 wild card allotted to the champions and finalists from the ITA National Summer Championships. A breakdown of wild cards per draw is as follows: Main Draw Singles – 3 wild cards (1 Tulsa, 1 ITA Summer Champion, 1 ITA); Main Draw Doubles – 3 wild cards (1 Tulsa, 1 ITA Summer Champion, 1 ITA); Qualifying Singles - (1 Tulsa, 1 ITA Summer Finalist, 1 ITA); Qualifying Doubles – 3 wild cards (1 Tulsa, 1 ITA Summer Finalist, 1 ITA); Prequalifying Singles – 2 wild cards (1 Tulsa, 1 ITA). An ITA wild card can be given for any reason, with the primary ones for an outstanding freshman or a player who missed a significant portion of the previous season due to injury. The selection committee can also decide not to use the ITA wild card in which case the spot would be filled by an “at-large”candidate.
Error Slots
The selection committee reserves the right to save 1 at-large spot in each draw to use in case of administrative error the week of the tournament. If these spots are not filled after the tournament has begun they will be awarded to a lucky loser.
Protest Procedure
A coach can officially protest a player’s selection by September 3 for the selection committee to review.
Format
Best two-out-of-three sets in singles for all draws. Doubles consist of one, 8-game set in all draws with the exception of the Main Draw semifinals and final, which will be best two-out-of-three sets
Ball & Ball Change
Wilson Extra Duty ball. The ball change is 1 can per set in singles and 4 balls in doubles.
Draw Making Procedures
A player/doubles team cannot play an opponent from its same region in the first round.
When a draw involves players or doubles teams from the same school, such entries shall be separated as far out as possible, placed in separate halves, quarters or eighths as evenly as possible, depending on the number of entries from that school or university. The same procedure shall be used when a school has multiple seeds. The top 2 seeds from a school shall be in separate halves, a third seeded player in the same half with the second seeded player and so on.
Seeding is as follows: Main Draw - (Singles) No. 1-8 in order, followed by Nos. 9-16 alpha; (Doubles) No. 1-4 in order, followed by Nos. 5-8 alpha; Qualifying - (Singles) No. 1-16 in order, followed by 17-23 in alpha, followed by 24-32 alpha; (Doubles) - No. 1-8 in order, followed by Nos. 9-16 alpha. Prequalifying - (Singles) No. 1-8 in order, followed by Nos. 9-16 alpha, followed by Nos. 17-32 alpha. Seeding is directly off of preseason rankings. When ranking list is exhausted the remaining seeds are determined by the selection committee.
Tournament Referees: Scott Dillon (PQ) and Jim Russell (Qual & MD).
ITA Selection Committee Members & Games Committee:
Northeast Region – Michael Bates, St. Bonaventure
Mideast Region – Jon Choboy, NC State
Southeast Region – Billy Pate, Univ. of Alabama
Midwest Region – Al Wermer, Univ. of Toledo
Central Region – Paul Lockwood, Univ. of Oklahoma
South Central Region – Matt Knoll, Baylor University
Mountain Region – Mike Phillips, Montana State
West Region – Jay Udwadia, Fresno State
Note: additional Games Committee members to be added for on-site decisions.