Woman's Tennis

[smvalkyries]

I know this is off topic but I have been wondering for quite a while why Duke can't field a full woman's tennis team- It seems we are doing pretty well in the NCAA's at a distinct advantage- Can anyone tell me what happened to the rest of the team- is it injuries, people quit tennis or Duke, or did we just have a major infection of mononucleosis? Thanks.

[MCFinARL]

I know this is off topic but I have been wondering for quite a while why Duke can't field a full woman's tennis team- It seems we are doing pretty well in the NCAA's at a distinct advantage- Can anyone tell me what happened to the rest of the team- is it injuries, people quit tennis or Duke, or did we just have a major infection of mononucleosis? Thanks.

Apparently one of the top players was dismissed for an academic violation and three other players have been injured. The attached article from Goduke.com provides details. http://www.goduke.com/ViewArticle.dbml?SPSID=22607&SPID=1840&DB_LANG=C&DB_OEM_ID=4200&ATCLID=207498760

[Bluedog]

I'm not sure the details around this year's team, but the roster has eight women on it and the NCAA maximum number of scholarships is also eight (men get 4.5). You only need six players to complete a match. Typically in tennis, the players only get partial scholarships, but if you're a really sought after recruit some schools offer full rides.

Perhaps the Duke coach has taken the approach of only going after blue chip recruits and offering each person a full ride while having a smaller team, while most programs split the eight scholarships among more players than that. Probably a good strategy if you want to appeal to more top 25 recruits, but certainly doesn't give as much room for error on the injury front or rest to players thoughout matches (or doubles specialists for that matter). But, without knowing more details, I'd think it's just a strategic decision on the coach's part.

Edit: I see now that MCFinarl has given more information to explain the situation. Wow, that's a lot of adversity they've had to go through.

[awhom111]

I'm not sure the details around this year's team, but the roster has eight women on it and the NCAA maximum number of scholarships is also eight (men get 4.5). You only need six players to complete a match. Typically in tennis, the players only get partial scholarships, but if you're a really sought after recruit some schools offer full rides.

Perhaps the Duke coach has taken the approach of only going after blue chip recruits and offering each person a full ride while having a smaller team, while most programs split the eight scholarships among more players than that. Probably a good strategy if you want to appeal to more top 25 recruits, but certainly doesn't give as much room for error on the injury front or rest to players thoughout matches (or doubles specialists for that matter). But, without knowing more details, I'd think it's just a strategic decision on the coach's part.

Edit: I see now that MCFinarl has given more information to explain the situation. Wow, that's a lot of adversity they've had to go through.

As far as I know, Women's Tennis is a head count sport, which means that players who receive even partial scholarships count as one full player towards the eight player limit. Eight is actually pretty much the largest team Duke has had in a while because it is hard to convince players who are good enough to play at a top school to sit on the bench or only play doubles. Teams usually fill an empty spot or two with a transfer if they need one.

[MCFinARL]

Despite being a player short, Duke beats Texas Tech 4-3 today to advance to the round of 16. Pretty impressive.

[smvalkyries]

Thanks everyone for enlightening me. This is a really impressive performance by our ladies and one which I would not have wanted to miss. Winning 2 rounds in the NCAA with 4 scholarship players and a "campus recruit"
(i.e a walk-on invited by necessity). I am exceptionally proud to be represented by all of you! I wish all of you the best of luck and no matter what happens from here on this year or hereafter you can all be extremely proud of your performance, maturity and resiliantcy.