New Iowa high school boys’ tennis postseason format should benefit teams

The days of balancing points while trying to put players in the best position to make the state tournament are gone.

In past years, boys’ tennis coaches in Iowa had to weigh many elements when setting their lineups for district singles and doubles play. That day not only determined individual singles and doubles state qualifiers, it also determined, through an accumulation of points based on wins, the teams advancing on to substate play.

“It always felt a little weird when a team's season would come to an end on district day after adding up individual points,” said Cedar Rapids Prairie Coach Eric Modracek.

Under the old format, the season would be complete for most teams after Monday's district meets.

Now, the individual and team state qualifiers will be determined under the same format used for the past several years by the Iowa Girls High School Athletic Union. Complete team substate brackets, eight in each class, have been set. First- and second-round play is set for next Friday with substate finals to follow on May 17.

The state tournament will be held May 31-June 1. Class 1A will be at the Hawkeye Tennis and Recreation Center in Iowa City with the 2A meet set for Waukee Northwest High School.

“This way the team can win or lose together in a dual meet as it should be,” Modracek said. “It also gives teams an extra few days together for practice after districts.”

Marion Coach Jonathan Mitchell said it was always a challenge for him to properly balance things at districts.

“Under the old system, I had to worry about two things on district day,” he said. “I had to worry about getting enough team points to advance as well as helping guys reach their individual goals of qualifying for state.

“Sometimes there would be conflicts of interest when a player may consider their individual qualifying goals over the team's goal of advancing.”

For Decorah Coach Matt Anderson, the new format has positives and negatives.

“It’s a double-edged sword in my opinion,” he said. “I like that one bad day doesn’t ruin a team’s chances and it gives you some flexibility because it’s not about maximizing points at district now.

“On the other hand, it sort of de-emphasizes the day for some teams because fighting for third place as a team (three teams advanced to substate play under the old format) really mattered. I think I like (the new format) though time will tell.”

Even with the change, the elite teams will continue to advance as they have in previous years.

“As far as determining a true team champion, I don't feel like I can ever remember any teams that were especially done-in by the previous format,” said Cedar Rapids Jefferson Coach Tim Preston. "It was more likely to happen at the margins of the top 12-16 schools in the state.

“For instance, there were years that we probably could have competed for a top-8 spot. We ran into one of the Iowa City West teams that were so strong or the Linn-Mar teams that were so strong and it ended what could have otherwise been a chance at some team success.”

For Mitchell, the new format allows more chances for more players to compete.

“For the elite teams with numerous elite players, the new format will not change much for them,” he said, “but for the teams in the middle of the pack, this is an opportunity to play more tennis against better teams. That's every coach's dream.”