Page 187 - (FINAL!) UPDATED 13.0) 2020-2021 HANDBOOK - SEPTEMBER 2020 EDITION_Neat

Section 6. Rules and Procedures
A. The Intercollegiate Tennis Association (ITA) Rules and point penalty system shall be followed in the tournament with the following
exception: Coaches are allowed to coach during the tournament.
B. A three person committee at the NJCAA Tournament, consisting of the NJCAA Representative, the President of the NJCAA Tennis
Coaches Association and an appointed member shall handle any unusual circumstances. In case a committee member's own
player is involved, the tournament referee would replace that committee member.
C. Tournament Seeding and Draw:
1. The host will schedule the seeding meeting on the day prior to the start of the National Tournament for Divisions I & III.
2. Tournament seeding structure.
i. Seeding will be on the basis of merit alone. Regional winners will not get an automatic seed in this tournament.
ii. Division I Women: The NJCAA Representative will appoint a group of four coaches to serve as the seeding committee. The
NJCAA Representative will vote only in case of a tie.
iii. Division I Men: The draw seeding committee will be comprised of coaches from geographic regions of the country to seed
each geographic region. One representative from each geographic region will then meet to seed the tournament. The
committee of four will be chosen by the NJCAA Coaches Association President.
iv. Division III: All coaches who have a player in the tournament may participate in seeding discussions. Each head coach may
vote in the seeding discussions for any draw in which they have a player participating. The NJCAA Representative will vote
only in case of a tie.
v. USTA seeding rules will be followed.
vi. Coaches or their proxy must be physically present at the seeding meeting to have their players/team considered for seeding
and participation in the tournament. In the event of extenuating circumstances a ruling will be made by the NJCAA
Tournament Committee.
1. At the conclusion of the draw the Tournament Director will assign court sites for each flight.
2. The evening before the tournament starts, the Tournament Director will distribute typed draw sheets with the names and colleges
of all contestants listed.
3. At the conclusion of the tournament, the Tournament Director will send a copy of the complete draw sheet and point total to each
participating college.
D. Tournament Format:
1. A flighted tournament with a backdraw will be played for singles and doubles.
2. The main draw tournament format will consist of two-out-of-three sets regular scoring. At the discretion of the NJCAA
National Tennis Tournament Committee (as outlined in the NJCAA Handbook), the backdraw can be changed to pro sets or
amended sets to accommodate the host facility or weather conditions.
3. To accommodate the host facility and/or weather conditions the playing format will be determined by the NJCAA Tournament
Committee.
4. No team will play another from its own region in the first round, regardless of whether or not the respective teams or players have
competed against each other.
5. No entry shall play more than three two-out-of-three set main draw matches per day (2 singles/1 doubles or 2 doubles/1 singles).
6. A strict 15-minute default time will be observed. It is the responsibility of each coach to make sure their players are at the court
sites on time.
E. Tournament Scoring:
1. The first round of the “main draw” will be worth two points. A bye followed by a win is three points. One point will be awarded for
each additional win in the “main draw” in singles and doubles.
2. Scoring in the backdraw will be worth one half point for each round. A win following a bye will be awarded one point. Backdraw
total points should not exceed the number of points available in the first round of the main draw.
3. Regardless of the draw size each flight will have equal total points.
F. The Tournament Director or their proxy shall be responsible for the official point totals for the tournament. F
Substitution Policy for National Tournament:
1. In singles play, the coach of a player incapable of participating in the National Tournament after qualifying in the Region
Tournament has the option of substituting for that player at the highest position with everyone else remaining in their respective
positions or substituting at the bottom of the ladder with everyone else moving up the ladder to fill all open positions. A player
“incapable of participating” refers to an eligible student-athlete who due to family, medical, or other extenuating circumstances
cannot participate in the National Tournament and does not refer to a student-athlete who is ineligible or who has been ruled
ineligible. If the team has no substitute, the coach may forfeit the open position(s) allowing players to remain at the positions in
which they qualified.
2. In doubles play, the coach of a player incapable of participating in the National Tournament after qualifying in the Region
Tournament has the option of substituting for that player at the highest position with everyone else remaining in their respective
positions or substituting at the bottom of the ladder with everyone else moving up the ladder to fill all open positions. A player
“incapable of participating” refers to an eligible student-athlete who due to family, medical, or other extenuating circumstances
cannot participate in the National Tournament and does not refer to a student-athlete who is ineligible or who has been ruled
ineligible. If the team has no substitute, the coach may forfeit the open position(s) allowing players to remain at the positions in
which they qualified. No player may move down in the doubles lineup due to a substitution.
3. In the event of an injury in singles play and prior to the start of doubles play, a lower player in doubles may be substituted prior to
their first doubles match.
Section 7. Finances
Each college shall pay its teams expenses.
The amount of the entry fee will be set by the tournament and must accompany the official entry form.
Women’s Division I tournament fees: $40.00 per player per event
Women’s Division III tournament fees: $60.00 per player per event
Men’s Division III tournament fees: $60.00 per player per event
No tournament fee may exceed $60.00 per player per event.
Section 8. National Poll
To be conducted by the designated NJCAA Tennis Committee.
Section 9. Statistics
The NJCAA will use www.itatennis.com for stat collection. Member colleges should contact ITA office for stat collection tools.