NCAA Regional Pairings For Texas & Big 12 Teams

Men's Pairings:

University of Texas: University of Texas, Texas Tech, Sacred Heart, Washington

University of Texas A&M: Texas A&M, Texas A&MCC, Binghamton, Arizona

University of Tulsa: Baylor, Tulsa, TCU, UMKC

UCLA: Oklahoma State, UCLA, Hawaii, Southern Illinois

LSU: Rice, LSU, Alcorn State, Mississippi

Women's Pairings:

Univ. of California: California, University of Texas, Long Island, Pepperdine

Baylor: Baylor, SMU, UTA, Texas A&M

Arkansas: TCU, Arkansas, Tulsa, Oral Roberts

2009 Chair Academy

The 2009 Chair Academy is all set to begin on May 10-12, 2009, in conjunction with the men's National Junior College Tennis Tournament in Plano. This year's school promises to be one of the best ever--and here are this year's participants:

DALLAS:

Kevin Alexander

Dale Beckham

Gary Rayburn

Dee Bridwell

Bryan Duncan

Diann Eberhardt

Lee Thornburg

AUSTIN:

Ron Guse

Scott Humphrey

Roger Mills

John Sanchez

COLLEGE STATION:

Terry Gatzki

HOUSTON:

Tomoko King

Ben Stafford

SAN ANTONIO:

Moyses Garcia

The Chair Academy is an intense chair training time and is conducted under the supervision of the following instructors:

Bruce Avery (National Instructor)

Joe Buys (National Instructor)

Marc Archuleta

Sue Trautmann

Cheryl Jones

Brookie Green

Thorns--And How To Deal With Them

One of the greatest difficulties that any of us face in life are those troublesome "thorns" that seem to appear in nearly every aspect of life. Especially troubling are those thorns that arise in the tennis world.

One of my irritating thorns are those referees who send out an availability and then when you return it, they tell you they "want you" for specific dates. However, when the tournament time arrives they send you an email saying they either don't need you or don't need you for the amount of time they had previously committed to you.

Their favorite excuse is that "we didn't know how big the draw would be, so we overbooked." Folks, that just doesn't cut it! A referee should know fairly accurately how many officials and sites he/she is going to have before they send out the availability. Referees--do your homework! Its not right to ask an official to commit to you and then you not honor their commitment...

This is just one of my favorites "thorns". We would love to hear about some of yours.

How Would You Rule? UIL Question...

As you issue your opinion, remember that the UIL is a rare bird...

In a UIL regional tournament the coaches are only allowed to coach on changeovers. During a singles match the coach persisted in coach (much as a collegiate coach would coach), and subsequently received a coach's warning from the official.

If he does not stop coaching, which of these options would you take:

1. Do nothing and hope he goes away.

2. Code violation for coaching (point penalty) and assess the penalty on his singles player.

3. Remove the coach from the facility and do not code the player.

4. Call Jane Goodman and ask for her advice.

How Would You Rule? Ball abuse or nothing?

In a recent ITA dual match, player A struck a ball over the fence after he lost the first set. The chair umpire refused to give a code saying, "he actually misshit the ball and did not intend for it to leave the playing area."

How would you have ruled???

Cooper Says...

Cooper is glad that the ITA season is nearly over--but it was a great one this year! He has heard stories from all over the country that would curl your hair and tickle your funny bone (wherever that is).

Now he would like to hear some of your stories. Feel free to send them in and they will be printed...

Today's Internet Scams

For those of you who saw the x-rated post on the blog please cover your eyes and ignore it.

Seems that someone hacked into my blogsite and posted a bunch of x pictures. It has been totally deleted and our apologies to anyone who was offended.

We have taken the appropriate steps to determine who the culprit was and how to prevent it from happening in the future.

UIL Creative Penalties

In Texas and in the University Interscholastic League you find some of the most intriguing aspects of tennis officiating--and a great one came to mind this past week...

In the semi-finals of the district tournament, the girl in the mixed doubles team was late for her match. Since I was the referee I told both coaches that she was on the clock when she failed to check in at the appointed time and that she would be penalized appropriately according to USTA rules.

After 15 minutes had passed, I told both coaches that we should default her but they both thought she would be there soon. The girl actually called in about 13 minutes from the call for her match but never called again.

After 41 minutes she showed up! I had previously talked with both coaches and they didn't want to default her since her team was seeded #1, and they wanted to talk to her when she did arrive. Since I wanted to be as fair as possible, I allowed the coaches to discuss the penalties for the girl and this was their solution: She would be penalized a set and loss of toss...

When she arrived I asked her why she was late and she said, "I overslept--and--there was traffic." I told her that was not a valid excuse but that the coaches had agreed to let her play with the set penalty.

The girl and her partner then went on to win the match 0-6, 6-0, 6-0.

And now who can say we don't do things differently in Texas...

Openings For 2009 Chair Academy

There are still some openings in the 2009 Chair Academy that will be held in Plano, Texas on May 10-12, 2009. These are the qualifications to apply:

* Must have at least some chair experience. Not a great deal but at least a working familiarity with chair officiating.

* Must be approved by your local coordinator in conjunction with Randy McDonald and Susan Trautmann.

The 2009 Chair Academy will be conducted in conjunction with the 2009 National Junior College Men's Championships. It is a premier training academy and if you are interested in attending, please email or call Randy McDonald as soon as possible.

Here is his information:

Email: rmtennis@yahoo.com
Phone: 214 796 7402

How Bad Is The Economy?

"Cats can be so dramatic..."

In response to the above picture and caption, one reader sent in the following: (If you are a cat lover, please do not be offended.)

ECONOMY OF EFFORT: HOW TO CLEAN YOUR TOILET AND WASH YOUR CAT AT THE SAME TIME.

Instructions:

1. Put both lids of the toilet up and add 1/8 cup of pet shampoo to the water in the bowl.

2. Pick up the cat and soothe him while you carry him towards the bathroom.

3. In one smooth movement, put the cat in the toilet and close both lids. You may need to sit on the lid.

4. The cat will self agitate and make ample suds. Never mind the noises that come from the toilet, the cat is actually enjoying this.

5. Flush the toilet three or four times. This provides a "power-wash" “and rinse".

6. Have someone open the front door of your home. Be sure that there are no people between the bathroom and the front door.

7. Stand behind the toilet as far as you can, and quickly lift both lids.

8. The cat will rocket out of the toilet, streak through the bathroom, and run outside where he will dry himself off.

YOUR CAT AND COMMODE WILL BOTH BE SPARKLING CLEAN.