2008 ITA National Division III Men's Indoor

Dates: Friday, Feb.22, 2008 (10:30 a.m.) to Sunday, February 24 (2:30 p.m.)

Location: Swanson Indoor Tennis Center on the Gustavus campus in St. Peter, MN.  The facility has six indoor courts, 65 ft ceiling, indirect lighting, Decoturf II courts, and outstanding viewing from above and behind each court.

Teams & Coaches: Emory University (John Browning), Gustavus (Steve Wilkinson), Trinity University (Butch Newman), DePauw University (Tom Cath), Washington University (Roger Follmer), Johns Hopkins University (Chuck Willenborg), University of California-Santa Cruz (Bob Hansen), and Mary Washington University (Todd Helbling).

Format: Four teams play three dual matches on three days and the other four on two days.  Each dual is played to completion on three courts, starting with doubles, followed by two rounds of singles.  Singles are two out of three sets, except when the dual match has been decided.  Then a third-set super-breaker is used.

Schedule:  Friday, 11:30 am (#1 University of California-Santa Cruz vs. #8 Mary Washington University & #4 DePauw University vs. #5 Washington University); Friday, 5:00 pm (#3 Gustavus vs. #6 Trinity University & #2 Emory University vs. #7 John Hopkins University); Saturday, 8:30 am (Consolation semis); Saturday, 2:00 pm (Semis); Saturday, 7:30 pm (5th & 7th Place); Sunday, 9:00 am (1st and 3rd Place) Seeding and draw placement follow the 2007 national rankings.

Officials:  Two Northern Tennis Association officials (one for each dual match)

Flight Instructions:  Each team receives a $1,500 travel reimbursement from the ITA after the tournament if plane reservations were made through Debbie Abdelgainey, at Anthony Travel. (877-284-2254).  Fly into Minneapolis-St. Paul on Thursday evening, February 21 and return after 5 p.m. on Sunday, February 24.

Ground Directions:  Go west from the Minneapolis-St. Paul airport on #5 west, headed toward Bloomington.  #5 merges with #494 west.  Go west until you reach #169.  Then go south to St. Peter.  Allow one hour and fifteen minutes, except at rush hours.  In St. Peter turn right on College Avenue (beyond the small business district), continue to the college sign, and go up the hill to your right.  For meals turn left at the top of the hill and look for visitor parking on your right. Go in the Jackson Union, just to the right of the flagpoles.   For tennis continue to the Swanson Center, an easily visible white air structure on the northwest corner of campus.


Hotel:  Country Inns & Suites in Mankato is the official tournament hotel.  It has a pool, sauna, whirlpool, and complimentary breakfast.  The phone is 507-388-8555 and the address is 1900 Premier Drive, Mankato, MN 56001. The tournament rate is $80 per room (listed under National Indoor).  Five non smoking rooms with two double beds have been set aside for each team.  Each coach calls before October 1 and reserves the rooms he needs with a credit card.  The hotel is ten miles south of Gustavus on the left hand (east) side of Hwy #22.

Practice Opportunities: On Thursday, February 21 teams may reserve two courts for 1.25 hours at  6:45, 8:00, 9:15, or 10:30 p.m.  On Friday, February 22 teams may also reserve two courts for 1.25 hours at 8 am or one court at 9:15 am. Contact Steve Wilkinson at swilkins@gac.edu for reservation requests. Team warm-ups for 11:30 matches begin at 10:30 a.m.  Each team is entitled to 1 1/2 courts.

Coaches Meeting: All coaches must attend a brief ITA meeting at 10:30 a.m. on Friday, February 22 in the Aasen Room of the Swanson Tennis Center.  Our head referee Londell Pease, head trainer Paul Bruning, athletic director Al Molde, and sports information director Tim Kennedy will all be present.

Meals: Gustavus Market Place in the Jackson Union offers a food court with eight  options (deli, rotisserie, pasta, pizza, grill, Chinese, international, & vegetarian), all at low prices.  Food is available from 7 am to 11 pm.  Each team is given a card worth $200.

Snacks: Apples, granola bars, and Gatorade are provided for coaches, players, umpires, and tournament officials.

Publicity:  Handled by Gustavus Sports Information office, directed by Tim Kennedy.  By February 6th please submit by e-mail for the tournament program a hundred-word summary of your team's recent accomplishments, a team picture, a team roster of your top twelve players showing their hometown and year in school, and the team lineup you intend to use for the tournament.  Gustavus Sports Information and the ITA will have web sites with updated scores.

Trophies:  Large, attractive trophies will be presented to the top three teams.

Trainers: Handled by Gustavus Athletic Training office, directed by Paul Bruning.  Teams should bring their own towels and tape.

Stringing: Ektelon and Gamma stringing machines will be available to coaches.  Overnight stringing is $10 if you furnish your own string, or $15 for Wilson synthetic gut.