What a tumultuous year it's been. I must admit that personally I'm not too crazy about all of the protesting that has been going on. Apparently the San Antonio 4.5 team started the trend last year and it's snowballed a bit out of control here in Houston this season. Most of the "rumors" that have been floated in the comment section here have turned out to be true. It appears that Guerrero and Cuesta will be DQ'd, which will again turn the 5.0 division upside down. In a way it's too bad. The Rice team had overcome a lot of obstacles and had needed contributions from some unlikely sources in order to get to the top, but it appears their success may be fleeting. Posters have mentioned that Daniel Bello of Lost Forest is also a division I college player, but he is a benchmark and is not protestable.
I really hope that I (or this blog) am not responsible for this rash of protests. That was certainly not my intention, though if USTA League tennis gets "cleaned up" somewhat then I guess something good may come out of it in the long run.
I understand there is a bit of a dispute about the Kingwood/Hangovers division and some halfhearted efforts to play matches against Kingwood. I did notice that one scorecard had just two lines competing. Unless things have changed or my memory is faulty, I thought that three lines needed to be contested for a match to be playable. I'm not sure if this will cause previous results to be altered/invalidated. Cheryl certainly is earning her paycheck this year.
I have been doing this league thing for a long time and don't remember defaults coming into play in determining regular season playoff qualifiers or division winners. The situation often arises in city playoffs when a team has no chance of advancing with a match still remaining. Most teams have put forth the effort to play competitively in that situation, but on occasion some teams have chosen to drop out.
Get out there in the heat and play or run, y'all. The combination of nerves, pressure and scorching temperatures in the daytime tennis of city playoffs and sectionals can make it less about tennis and more about conditioning.
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Of Course this blog has caused the Rash amount of protests and I GUARANTEE there will be alot of Heated Arguements once Playoffs come.
ReplyDeleteI've been playing League for
awhile now and never before have I seen this much attention in USTA Summer League. If your from Houston and you need a cheat sheet about your next Team opponent got this Blog. If you need a scouting report about a player, post his name on this Blog and you'll know if he's the real deal or another "Bloke".
What people still have not realized is that all the experienced Captains and Players know which players are Safe to play and which are protestable. You CANNOT say someone is out of level then look up there rating then it comes up a Benchmark and protest them. A Benchmark player has a rating because he has competed at League Sectionals and has generated that rating due to his match results. I'll be the first one to say it's puzzling to how some people get ratings lower or higher but it happens and that's the computerized system we are dealing with. You just can't look at a result of a Tournament or League Match then base your assumption of how good the player is,which is what alot of people do. I can win every 4.5 Tournament and be ranked #1 in the State and get Slaughtered at 4.5 Sectionals.
Last Year the #1 player in 5.0's Jason Gound had a great match record 20-0 winning 4 Major Zones and still managed to stay a 4.5 Rated Player. Yet, Joe Schornick the #1 Player in 4.5's who had equally dominated the 4.5 division winning Major Zones got bumped to a 5.0 Benchmark Rating. Neither of these 2 players would be considered Ringers at 4.5 League Play at Sectionals. The Ringers-Sandbaggers don't come out til League Play starts.
I enjoy this blog but once League Playoffs start we will have problems and I'm almost assured that the Standings will change very soon.
This blog has given all the other cities, SA, Austin, Dallas, their advantage over Houston. Get rid of the competition and skate through Sectionals. Houston captains need to start scouting the other cities and protest the self rated players who are illegal.
ReplyDeleteDaniel Bello is an interesting case and technically he should have been DQd last year. He was a redshirt freshman for UTA. But according to USTA rules he is still considered part of the team and would have had to come in as a 5.5 player. Any player on the team roster is considered a player for that team whether or not they play a match. They might even be a practice player.
ReplyDeleteBut, now, since he has played a year of league and is a benchmark computer rated player there's nothing much that can be done. This is a prime example of why captains who say they never protest players are only hurting the league. Daniel should never have been allowed in the league and now he will probably remain in the league for quite a while if not forever.
I agree. Why have rules if they aren't enforced. protesting illegal players is good for the league in the long run.
ReplyDeleteTo DY: In a previous thread, you tried to sound and act like you innocently entered the league at 4.0 and subsequently determined that you were playing at the wrong level.
ReplyDeleteWhile it is admirable that you are attempting to absolve your guilt the fact of the matter is there are very specific questions that self-rated players need to answer when entering the league. The system will not allow you to self-rate below your level unless you are dishonest and do not answer the questions correctly. YES, you are a cheater if you somehow are able to self-rate below your level according to the USTA guidelines. CASE CLOSED.
This crap about, well that player has lost in the league, or has a losing record, or had a competitive match against player X is and always will be irrelevant. It doesn't matter. You can call it being a purist but it's the way the system was set up. You MUST enter the league where the USTA says you should according to your player history. The computer will adjust your rating accordingly based on your results.
Every time players are able to bypass the rating grid it makes the whole DNTRP system ineffective because you're allowing illegitimate player results into that level.
Every Broach, Bello, player out there needs to be protested before they become benchmarked. Don't take the high ground and think you're doing the league or the USTA any favors by not protesting.
Wow, is it true that those two guys in 5.0 are DQed? Who protested? Which team till be the division winner?
ReplyDeleteOk, I don't think the blog gives other cities any advantage over Houston, most captains from other cities can figure out who the strong teams are by checkng scores in tennislink. One note about protests, as far as I know there have been no protests on the 4.5 level here in Austin. Hopefully it will stay that way, because what comes around goes around. -AT
ReplyDeleteThere were some unsuccessful protests in San Antonio against self-rated college players. They have been instructed to dump games to appear legit.
ReplyDeleteZac Brunsman and Chris West in san antonio are definitely self rated ringers. Thomas reader as well.
ReplyDeleteReader is computer rated. It looks like West is self rated and played college tennis at St. Mary's, where he had wins over Trent Broach. I'm sure he will be part of the San Antonio team that returns to Nationals next year if he's not protested.
ReplyDeleteChristopher West does not have a win over Broach,according to collegetennisonline.com he lost to Broach 6-1 6-2. Yes, he did play for St. Mary's and under the Self Rating Grid he is eligible to Self Rate as a 4.5. Zac Brunsman played for Colin County Junior college which also makes him eligible to Self Rate as a 4.5 under the Grid. Once again we have found a flaw in our NTRP rating system. Look at Dustin Phillips from Houston he played for Tyler Junior College a top ranked school,he was able to bypass the protest and maybe eligible for 4.5 next year.
ReplyDeleteTo Anthony Tatu: I guess we should just let all the Ringers in the League. Austin Wild is my pick to be in the final this year. With Holland,Case,Acosta in singles they have some depth especially since Case is stepping it up this year.In doubles with Bowman and Strawbridge and Kattawar and Samman and Brunetta and Thurman and Gold and Schlotterback they have solid doubles lines. Oh,and lets not forget the Captain Davis who thinks he should be in the lineup. I predict that Dallas Conway, Austin Wild ,Houston,and San Antonio Miller will make the Final Four and by the Time these matches get played it's all about conditioning within your team.
ReplyDeleteOLD SCHOOL OUT
West beat Broach in 2003 at #1 doubles.
ReplyDeleteI'm not going to remark about that save to still say you might need to make your identity known and prove to me that you are poster boy for USTA and you are in the process of eliciting protests up and down the league block instead of the obvious focus you have. DY
ReplyDeleteYes, West did beat Broach 9-8 in a 8 game pro set. Sorry but it doesn't mean he is a 5.5 player by no means.
ReplyDeleteDY funny thing is I'm on your 4.5 Rice Team and I know how you Sandbagged in 4.0 the last 2 years and to see you in 5.0's and watch you try an Manipulate the system makes me wonder if you ever really cared about the Team.
ReplyDeleteTo whoever called me out...I'm not sure I said we should let every ringer play in the leagues, I would just use some discretion as to when to use a protest. By the way, you forgot to mention Fred as a possible singles player, if he gets in shape he'll be tough. My team has pretty much tanked this season, so I don't have anything at stake this year, so take my comments with a grain of salt. -AT
ReplyDeleteThe protest against Cuesta was just a rumor.
ReplyDeleteUSTA rejected a protest from Benzon's team as they are not in the run for playoffs anyway. They would consider the protest would it come from The Met or Lost Forest. Lost Forest's Hernan said they will not protest anyone. Word is that Cuesta would get a medical waiver similar to Arun's anyway. He played crappy tennis in a tourney some time ago to back it up.
If it's a rumor then someone should protest him anyway because he does not fit the Self Rate 5.0 criteria. Is it that easy to get a Medical Waiver to help sway a rating?
ReplyDeleteThere is probably no need to protest Cuesta since hes playing at the right level. Guerrero on the other hand is a major ringer and defeated top teams in 5.0 with weak 5.0 Benzon. He should be dq'ed. I agree with what people are saying above it is good to protest improper self rated players it will improve the league. Msybe not for Tim Green and Red Benzon but I think the majority of league players are tired of their antics.
ReplyDeleteIf you feel so strong about Guerrero then have your captain protest him. Complaining is pointless and gets old real fast. If Guerrero being 5.0 pisses youoff then you better do something about it now cuz he'll be a computer-rated 5.0 next year. Benzon is praying you don't protest.
ReplyDeleteIf the rumor about the Teague/Red team protesting a player when
ReplyDelete1)their team is out of the running, and
2)they have a player more of a sandbagger
then that is pretty low. Man, that is bad.
I vote that we should make them wear skirts and play in the women's league, because that is where all of these tactics belong.
Is Red the only team/person protesting players in 5.0, or are there other teams doing the same thing in the other flights and divisions?
ReplyDeleteIn my opinion the timing of all these protests stinks. But,had the protests been turned in the 1st week of League we wouldn't be having this conversation about he's not that good or look at his match record.
ReplyDelete2 disqualifications in San Antonio 1 in Austin and 3 in Dallas from what I have Seen.
ReplyDeleteThere is no difference w/ Christopher West and Trent Broach. Or even ryan Snider. Ok maybe one, low self -esteem.
ReplyDelete