Hi all! In our theme of doing crazy interviews, we’ve reached out to our favorite tennis blogger, Colette Lewis. If you didn’t know, Colette is the mastermind behind the blog at www.zootennis.com, and always has amazing insight on college tennis in general. She mostly covers Division I Tennis, but does delve into DII and DIII once in a while, as well as a big emphasis on junior tennis as well. I must say, I’m always impressed with her updates and can only hope to be at that level someday. Anyways, we reached out to Colette because of the firestorm behind the recent scoring changes (proposals) in Division I Tennis. As you may or may not know, the NCAA/ITA has proposed that no-ad scoring be implemented, match tiebreakers be played, and doubles be shortened to a 6 game set. Thankfully, DIII has not been part of this proposal, but this is something that Colette feels strongly against as well as myself. We asked “ZooTennis” her thoughts and wanted to share with all of y’all below.
D3AS: What’s your least favorite part about the new rule changes in D1?
ZooTennis: The no-ad. I don’t like it in doubles, but I understand the need for it at the professional level. I strongly believe the advantage scoring of tennis is one of its fundamental tenets.
D3AS: Totally agree. I’ve heard thoughts that the scoring changes are meant for viewers and fans, especially fans that want to watch on television. Do you think the changes will have a material effect on viewers and fans?
ZooTennis: I don’t know. And I don’t think anyone does. They (and I) hope it will. But I haven’t seen any credible evidence that would suggest it’s a solution to the problems D1 is thought to have.
D3AS: We’ve heard rumblings that you want to quit blogging for DI if these changes go through. Do you know of anyone else who may pick up where you left off with D1 and start covering it in a way that is similar to our D3 coverage?
ZooTennis: I have heard that the Tennis East Coast blog may have a new Divison1 writer. And I hasten to add that I will still cover D1 tennis, I just won’t be traveling to tournaments to do so, so my coverage will be less informed.
D3AS: What first got you started covering junior tennis – all the way from 12s through 18s?
ZooTennis: I grew up and still live in Kalamazoo, so it’s in the DNA, or the water, or something. I was a sports writer way back in high school, so when I saw an opportunity to go from being a Nats spectator to a writer again, it seemed the natural place to turn. I still concentrate mostly on the older juniors, but during my December Florida swing, I do get to see some of the best 12 and 14 year olds and it’s fun to watch their progress.
D3AS: It must be interesting living in Kalamazoo. I wish I could’ve went when DIII had the nationals there. Anyways, with more potential free time, have you thought about covering the futures/challengers circuit?
ZooTennis: I used to cover at least one Futures every January in Florida, but that hasn’t worked out the past couple of years. I may do that again if I find I have the budget and time
D3AS: Moving on to DIII Tennis, have you recently been to any K-College [Kalamazoo] matches and why do you think the team is no longer competitive with the top teams in D3?
ZooTennis: I have not been to any K College matches lately, although I do usually attend the D3 Regional there every fall. I don’t have any informed answer as to why K no longer contends nationally, although I do think that the very top D3 academic schools have definitely raised the level of the recruits who will consider D3 now.
D3AS: What steps do you think D3 can take to continue to improve the quality of play? I think it has come a long way in the past 7-8 years with increased awareness that it’s a high level of tennis. More regular coverage on Tennis Recruiting Network could raise the level of awareness in Division3, which was an option that we were thinking of.
ZooTennis: I think some success on the pro level would help, but I understand why that Futures grind is not an attractive economic option. Coverage like you offer can help, as exposure and recognition are important components in attracting talent. Additionally, keeping a legitimate scoring format will not hurt. I would like to see the NCAA D3 champion (if he/she is still eligible, of course) get a wild card into the All-American qualifying the following fall. A D3 player winning the Small College Super Bowl would be huge.
D3AS: Wow, I’d love to see a DIII player winning the Small College Super Bowl. Imagine that! I think DIII is definitely on the right track. I see kids ranked 70 or 80 in their tennisrecruiting class choosing D3 and playing 5 or 6 on some of their D3 teams. What advice would you give to kids in the 4-star range looking at D1 versus D3?
ZooTennis: There’s no one piece of advice that fits everyone, but any 4-star who is academically qualified would be making a mistake by not exploring D3. The title of National Champion doesn’t have an asterisk. Look for the school, coach and program that fits your needs, period.
D3AS: You heard it here first, ladies and gents. DIII is a great option for a ton of juniors. Moving along with a similar topic, what advice would you give to a top junior who is weighing pro versus college with the caveat that they know they want to make tennis their livelihood?
ZooTennis: Again, every player is different. But with the aging of the WTA and ATP tours and the struggle to actually make money playing tennis if you are not Top 100, it won’t hurt anyone to let someone else pay for the coaching, travel, conditioning and schooling for a while. And growing up in the meantime? Priceless.
D3AS: Absolutely true. I always feel like the profit curve for tennis begins in college, and I totally agree. Free stuff is great. Anyways, wanted to end with some of your future plans. Do you have a timetable for your decision on exactly what you’re going to cover and how you’re going to cover it?
ZooTennis: With the format presented by the NCAA Tennis committee and the ITA now tabled by the Cabinet, no one knows what will happen in the upcoming dual match season. But I will not be traveling to cover the All-American or the Indoor Championships, the two fall D1 majors this year, since they will be no-ad.
ZooTennis: I will close by asking you a question or two. Why do you think Division 3 has been able to use the same format for years and continue to survive, or not just survive, but as you stated, raise its competitive level recently? How has D3 managed to avoid the panic that has set in at the D1 level?
D3AS: I think right now the answer is clear. Whether we like it or not, less people are interested in actually watching DIII, whether that is on television or even live. There seems to be a stigma that has cascaded down from other sports that states “DIII isn’t worth watching or playing.” As we both know, DIII Tennis is a bit of an exception to that rule. With tennis being such a strong academic sport as well, many players are continuing to choose DIII because that’s what matters in terms of education. You mentioned that it’s extremely tough to make the professional circuit. If a player doesn’t think he/she can go pro, why limit your “Ivy-caliber” options to just the Ivy League? DIII features so many top schools – Amherst, Williams, Hopkins, Emory, Carnegie, Chicago, to name just a few. I think more players have started to realize this and have bought into the fact that great schooling and playing for a national championship is worth a whole lot more than they thought. I can’t even quantify the impact DIII tennis has had on my own career and growth, and I’m sure that many people can say the same. With the level that we play at as well as the level we study at, I’m not sure there are many better combinations out there in the tennis world.
Well, that’s all we have for the day! Thank you again Colette for giving the DIII world your insight and we are crossing our fingers for DIII to stay “pure!” And hey, if you ever are looking to delve into the DIII world, I hope we’re the first people you call!
Great interview!
The change to no ad for division 1 is no big deal. When I shed college tennis back in the early 90’s we had no ad, and you get used to it. We also ayes 2 out of 3 for singles and doubles, and the.matches took forever. The reason division 3 is better than it used to be, is because there are so many fewer division 2 and juco tennis programs now. I would also say that a lot of 3 and 4 star recruits have no chance to play div 1 (especially men’s), because the foreign players take up the spots
While I respect your opinion, I think you should speak for yourself. There are plenty of DI players who aspire to being professional players, where a third set is obviously required (considering they’ll be playing 5-setters later on) and no-ad is such a drastic change from the professional game. I don’t think having advantage scoring “trains” someone better for professionals, but I do think there should be some continuity between the two levels considering college is oftentimes a stepping stone to professional play. It’s important to note guys that have made the jump (Isner is your prime example) have been so vocal about it. Of course, not all people are going professional and it may not make a difference to a lot of the DI landscape, such as yourself.
In regards to why DIII is better, it’s naive to say the DII and Juco is the only reason for DIII improvement. 3 and 4 stars have always come to DIII, but they are coming more frequently nowadays. Additionally, there are plenty of 5 star players that have decided to go DIII recently, with one of your best examples being Joey Fritz. Education is important. It’s an insult to DIII to say that the only reason we have gotten better is because we’re getting the castoffs from DI and DII.
My perspective is California, where we had a very strong d2. (Which is what I played) and jucu programs. My team was ranked between 10 and 20 nationally D2, and never lost to small D1 teams (st Mary’s, UCSF, Santa Clara…), which are now much stronger programs (also mostly foreign players). Almost none of the D2 teams we used play have tennis programs, now, and most of the juco’s here dropped tennis also.
The argument I don’t understand for no ad scoring is tv. I am an avid college tennis fan, and there is very little college tennis that you can find to watching tv, and when it’s on PAC 12 network, it’s always condensed. Making the 3rd set a match breaker is a terrible idea, although suspending individual matches once the match outcome is decided would make a bigger impact on shortening the match than no ad scoring. (But would make individual ranking a difficult). The 3 singles and 2 doubles idea proposed for d1 is awful and would make college tennis a joke.