The gamecock. (Columbia, S.C.) 1908-2006, April 23, 1982, Page Page 9, Image 9
'Out? Whatday;
Can you imagine the racquetbreaking, name-calling,
footstomping dilemma that would occur if John McEnroe ana
llie Nastase were to play without line judges? The aftermath
could be worse than that oi an all-out nuclear war.
But that is exactly what the USC tennis team and all the
NCAA teams have to deal with during their matches.
Peculiar as it seems in the midst of this corrupt world of
i sports, where the motto is win at any cost, here are young
men and women in serious competition abiding by the
judgement of their opposition.
Amazing isn't it?
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system. Sometimes there is a strong disagreement over a
I close call and tempers flair. In this type of predicament a line
judge will be brought in to oversee the match. However this
method is seldomly resorted to, because for the most part the
players are content to referee their own games.
i
In one particular match I attended during the fall season I
recall a game in which a dispute over a call had aroused a
large amount of protest from the returner. After a lengthy
arbitration at mid-court the two players supposedly reconciled
and returned to the game.
On the first volley of the serve the player, who had
previously protested a call-watched as the ball obviously
landed in the center of his court casuallv looked ud and called
I "Out." At that point a line judge was brought in.
This honesty policy is not solely confined to the regular
season matches. Even the prestigious NCAA Tennis Tournament,
where national titles can be won or lost on a single
call, does not supply line judges until the quarter-final round
\ of the tournament.
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a Mean Out !!!'
Think about a player in one of the earlier rounds of the
tournament calling a questionable ball in that he was unable
to return, lose the point and the match. Then discovering if he
had won his match his team would have been heading to the
next round instead of heading to the bus. The secondguessing
of whether that ball was really in might haunt him
forever.
The logistics of the matter seem to boil down to the fact
tennis is a non-revenue sport. USC Head Coach Ron Smarr
attributes, "nobody wants to do it," and the lack of qualified
personnel is the main reason line judges are not used in
regular season matches. But it seems in a school filled with
physical education majors, there would be several students
who would be willing to serve as line judges for a minimal
compensation.
From a player's standpoint it seems not that having the
burden of being concerned with having to make calls during
the game would allow him to concentrate more on his
playing. This would give the players a sense of relief on the
court.
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as making the shot, he would only have to worry about his
execution and the volley. This may not be such a problem for
some players but for the struggling netter it may be a long
awaited cure for something that disrupts his temper.
Taking into mind these players are seriously involved in I
the idea of becoming professional tennis players and the j
outcome of their matches could determine whether they
make it to the pro circuit or not, demonstrates there is
something to be said for these player-judges. Even with all of
the pressure to win and illegal actions taking place in college
sports this gives us a glimmer of hope for the athletes, if not
for the administration.
So never mind USC contains one of the Top 25 teams in the
nation and other teams might take advantage of the line
calling system to even the match. This apparently doesn't
occur often enough to cause anyone a great deal of trouble.
Because if it did I'm sure they would have a judge at every
line on the court to make sure fairness is served on both sides
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But until then I guess: 4' Honesty is the best policy.''
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