Iowa High School Boys Tennis landscape to change

CEDAR RAPIDS — The high school tennis landscape continues to evolve in Iowa.

This time, it is boys’ tennis that will see change. Beginning this spring, only the top 32 teams in each class will qualify for postseason team play and doubles matches will be contested first with singles to follow.

These changes were announced in a memo released late Wednesday by Iowa High School Athletic Association Assistant Director Andy Umthun.

The moves were made in consultation with the IHSAA's tennis advisory committee and approved by the IHSAA Board of Control. Umthun provided the following reasons for reducing the number of teams in the postseason.

"Tennis and wrestling are the only two sanctioned sports that have two separate state tournaments," he said in the memo. "In wrestling, only the top 24 teams from each class participated in the regional dual team tournament so this change would create consistency with formats in a sanctioned sport with two state tournaments.

"Teams dropping out the night before and others unable to form a team or opting out altogether was (also) part of this change.“

The top 32 in each class will be determined from a combination of the coaches’ rankings poll, Universal Tennis Rankings (UTR) and overall record/strength of schedule. More specific details on the qualification process will be released at a later date.

Having doubles matches to open postseason duals assures that all nine matches will be started, with all play ending once a team has five wins. Under the old format, meets often ended during singles without doubles teams even taking the court. The format and scoring for regular season matches will remain under local control based on time, facilities and participation numbers.

With girls’ tennis being moved to the fall, there will be more time for regular-season matches based on the following calendar adjustments for the postseason:

• District singles and doubles has been moved to Saturday, May 16.

• Substate team will now be played on one date, Wednesday, May 20 with 32 teams (four-team brackets at eight sites)

• State singles and doubles will be held May 27-28 with the state team meets set for June 3-4 at sites to be announced.