2019 FALL “HOT” TAKES: Fall tennis is…dumb

We’re back with an actual tennis-related hot take today, although not a very cheery one, from my counterpart on the women’s side, D3NEWomens. While I can’t say I agree with the take, at least we’re no longer talking about Ready Player One. We’ll be back tomorrow and each day next week with more hot takes. Happy Halloween, you ghouls…

D3NEWomens’ TAKE/DEFENSE

Ok so this is going to be a super spicy hot take and I think might stir up a lot of debate, but: I really don’t like fall season tennis. Sure, it’s fun to play some individual tournaments, give freshmen their first couple of matches and maybe begin to scope out what other teams are looking like, but really it’s just filler and kinda pointless. Plus, since so many people go abroad in the fall, it’s not like you can totally count on any results to mean a whole lot. Though I will admit, fall tennis does give us something to blog about and might momentarily drag the women’s blog chat away from talk of halloween candy and donuts and whether ASW saved another life today…

ASWomens: I have two competing gut reactions here: my first reaction is to blindly support anything NEW says because that’s how I roll; my second is total disagreement, Ultimately I fall somewhere in the middle. I agree with NEW’s point that fall tennis is filler and really has no bearing on the spring season, even for individual rankings. However, as a player, I would have hated not playing a single, real, competitive match between end of May and Jan/Feb of the following year. I think playing invitationals is totally beneficial simply for keeping skills sharp and getting match experience. From a player’s perspective, would I be ok if regionals/ITA Cup wasn’t a thing in the fall? Actually, yeah. As long as I got some matches in. Also I have never saved anyone’s life it was just that one time I rescued a dog from a burning building. 

AVZ: I am on the fence about this one. I love ITAs, but hate all the other tournaments that are played and the random dual matches that happen as well. ITAs are a good way to see the new freshmen coming in, top teams flexing their depth, and ultimately for someone to win a true national tournament. No need to qualify. If you are one of the best on your team, you have a shot to win a national title. We love March Madness because an 11 seed has just as much of a shot to win the whole thing as the top seed. Fall tennis has become big in the NE because of the NESCAC not allowing matches until after spring break. So I understand why they are wanting to play when they can. However, I just disagree that fall results can have such a large impact on tournament selections in the spring. 

NewRegional: I love fall tennis. If you’re going to be practicing every day anyways, you might as well have a few competitions to look forward to. Playing your teammates gets a little old after awhile, and if I had to wait until March to play someone from another school, I would have lost my mind. The fall also gives everyone a sense of where they’re at. Lose in the first round of the C-flight? You’re going to be grinding in the offseason fighting for a lineup spot. Lose in the second round of the A-flight? You’re going to be working your ass off during the winter so you can compete with the best players in the region. Playing fall matches is great for player development, and gives players motivation until the spring. 

Analyst: While I don’t love fall season tennis, I think it’s valuable and has a place. The biggest value I see in it is in terms of team bonding, building relationships, and setting expectations that carry over into the spring and lead teams to be closer and have more success then. If my team hadn’t had a fall season, I don’t think I would have felt as close to my teammates then or in the spring. As far as the competition part goes, I do agree that the fall tournaments feel a decent amount like junior tournaments and are nowhere near as enjoyable or meaningful as dual matches, but they do give freshmen a chance to come onto the college tennis scene and upperclassmen a chance to get back into the swing of competing.

newCentral: I’m so on board with this take. My favorite part of college tennis was the team aspect. Playing with and for my teammates always brought out the best in me, and made the lonely game of tennis a little, actually A WHOLE LOT, more enjoyable. Fall tennis is more like juniors than it is college tennis – if it’s not a dual match, I don’t and haven’t ever really cared. 

NE: What is with all the negativity in these takes? As a freshman, fall tennis is great. It lets you get to know the people with whom you’ll be spending the better part of the next four years. You start learning things you didn’t know about before, like how to play doubles, how to properly use the gym, and how to sit in the dining hall for hours after practice and keep eating. As a senior, fall tennis is great. It’s the start of your last ride and a time you can work to improve your game without sacrificing your social life. Sure, it’s not that important for rankings, but who cares? Also, to say we can’t get a good sense of what a team might look like in the spring from their fall results isn’t true at all.  

CentralWomens: The fall season is an interesting period. It’s exciting watching the freshmen enter the scene and playing their best tennis. They are hungry to succeed and are probably at their most fit point in their entire college career. It’s a great springboard for the teams to start to gel and learn the routine of weekend road trips. On the other hand, it really doesn’t count for much and is rarely an indicator of what the spring holds. Once again I’m fairly indifferent (as with the ITA cup) whether there is a fall season or not. 

RegNE/C: Do you people actually like tennis? Who cares if the results don’t mean that much (what does any of this really mean???)? What’s the issue with having players get to play more matches? Shoutout to NE and NewRegional for having some sense on this take. The logic of “if it’s not quite as fun or exciting or important, why do it at all?” is lunacy! No one is out here saying fall tennis is preferable to the spring (although when it comes to weather, it sure is) but it’s still great. It’s a chance to see who put in the hard work over the summer, it’s a chance for the bench players to get the majority of their matches for the year, it’s a chance to practice early in the semester when everyone has more time and (for many) you can practice outdoors every day. Also, what’s the alternative? Just cancel the fall season? What’s the point of that? I was always so happy that we had two seasons in college, and I didn’t have to spend an entire semester “off.” If people don’t like the fall season, I question how much they like tennis at all.