Could there be a return of the highly-popular State Individual Tennis Tournament this spring?
At Tuesday’s MIAA Tennis Committee assembly, the topic was broached and the prospects for a renewal had been warmly acquired. After a quick introduction to the subject by Quaboag athletic director David Bouchard, Wareham ladies tennis coach Geoff Swett pounced upon the chance to make his pitch for the resumption of the person tournaments, which have been dormant since 2019.
“I’ve been lucky to have one of the best players in the state on my team (Brooklyn Bindas) and she has stayed here because she loves being on the team,” Swett stated. “There are a lot of really good tennis players in the state who don’t play on their high school team because there isn’t a state individual tournament. They want to use their tennis skills to have an opportunity to go to a good school and having a state champion on their resume would be nice.”
MIAA statewide match director Ron Ford is aware of precisely the place Swett is coming from. In his time because the athletic director at Cohasset, he watched as Emma Davis ripped off 4 state particular person titles earlier than heading off to Wake Forest.
“Emma was a four-time champion who never lost a set in her four years here,” Ford stated. “Without the option of a state individual championship, the girl who may be the greatest tennis player in state history might not have played here. I really hope something can be worked out.”
Enter the United State Tennis Association.
The USTA not too long ago shaped a partnership with the MIAA and committee member Nick Schlierf posed the query to USTA participant growth director Shawna Fors as to whether or not they’ve run particular person state tournaments. Fors, who was on the convention name, acknowledged that they’ve finished it in different states.
“This is something we have been brainstorming and we understand the MIAA’s position,” Fors stated. “We are positioned that we could run a large tournament and are willing to work with the high school coaches. We have to work right away at it, but this is something we’re open to doing and moving it forward.”
One of the issues can be how the gamers be seeded because the USTA makes use of a distinct seeding system, one the place most, if not all, of the highschool gamers can be on it. A chance within the quick time period can be to have highschool coaches get collectively and assist out with the seeding course of.
“We could start with singles only in 2024 and see how it works, then gradually add doubles in,” Fors stated. “We want to facilitate more play as our focus and goal is to grow tennis.”
As for the state workforce match, Ford stated all programs seem like a go to carry the state finals on June 15 at MIT, with the next day as a rain date.
Source: www.bostonherald.com