The Athletic Directors of the Empire 8 Athletic Conference have approved implementing the Intercollegiate Tennis Association’s (ITA’s) modified Division III match format for all conference matches for the Spring 2017 season.
“We are excited to be amongst the first to adopt the new scoring format,” said Empire 8 Commissioner Chuck Mitrano. “This change will make matches even more exciting and enhance the student-athlete experience.”
Conversations surrounding the experimental scoring format took place at the 2016 ITA Convention. There was interest from Division III coaches to seriously start looking at shortened formats for student-athlete welfare. As a result, with the support of the NCAA Tennis Committee and staff, ITA has provided DIII coaches with a blanket waiver to utilize shortened formats in ITA Sanctioned matches this spring if both coaches agree to do so in non-conference matches.
With three E8 coaches in attendance at the ITA Convention and high energy from the rest of the conference coaches surrounding the scoring change the Athletic Directors supported the change for conference matches as well.
“The Empire 8 has taken a bold & progressive step in adopting No Ad scoring for this season’s conference matches,” said Ithaca College men’s and women’s head tennis coach Bill Austin. “The feedback on the change the players & coaches can relay to the ITA and the NCAA will be invaluable to the national conversation of creating the best possible format for D3 Tennis.”
Shortened DIII format?
a. Nine point format: Three doubles matches, followed by six singles matches. Each match is worth one point each for a total of nine (9) points.
b.? Scoring: No-Ad scoring will be utilized in both doubles and singles in lieu of the current deuce scoring.?
c. Doubles: Doubles matches will be 8 game pro sets. A seven point tie-break will be played at 7-7 instead of 8-8.
?d. Singles: Singles matches will be two out of three tie-break sets. Once a team match has been clinched, matches still in the second set shall play a 10-point tie-break for the third set. Any match already in the third set shall be played to completion.
e. Warm-up: There will be no warm-up with opponents in doubles or singles, with the exception at facilities with less than 6 courts. In this case a 10-minute warm-up with opponent is recommended for the second wave of singles matches.
?f. Time between doubles and singles: Singles players must be ready to play 5 minutes after completion of the final doubles match. Should there be a last minute change in the singles line-up, the coaches may continue to meet with their players for up to an additional five minutes after the notification of the line-up change by the Referee.
“It’s very exciting for our conference coaches to believe in the immediate benefits of the modified division III scoring format,” said Stevens Institute of Technology head coach Steve Gachko. “I’m confident this new format will not only bring more excitement to college tennis but truly supports the division III student-athlete experience in many ways.”