[ColoradoTree]

impressive that they played that much tennis in one day. Not that it would happen often, but it points up the problem with an absolute rule like you have to be at least .500 overall to get into the NCAAs: your overall record depends on who you play. Penalizes tough OOC scheduling for teams that play in a tough conference.

 
Yeah, to me the bigger problem here is the rule that you have to have at least a .500 record than what Arkansas did to get around it. Based on objective criteria, taking into account a team's wins and losses, Arkansas is the 29th-best team in the country. Should a team with that resume be left out of the NCAA tournament because they played in a tough conference (and most of their losses were very close) and didn't schedule cupcakes otherwise?  

(Seriously, I looked up their schedule. Out of the 26 matches they played prior to this Tennessee State binge, I counted one team--just one--that was neither ranked nor in a power conference. By way of comparison, 5 of Stanford's 18 matches fit that category.  Is college tennis really better off if Arkansas decides to cancel series with Oklahoma, Oklahoma State, Kansas, Purdue, Missouri, etc. and replaces those matches with lesser programs?)

I feel confident stating that Arkansas, based on its resume prior to the Tennessee State matches, absolutely belonged in the tournament, so I guess I can't be that mad at them for figuring out a way into the dance.  I'd be mad if they hadn't actually played the matches, of course.  But the players did the work.  It's a little unseemly, to be sure, but keeping them out of the tournament would have been the bigger sin in my mind.

[ColoradoTree]

impressive that they played that much tennis in one day. Not that it would happen often, but it points up the problem with an absolute rule like you have to be at least .500 overall to get into the NCAAs: your overall record depends on who you play. Penalizes tough OOC scheduling for teams that play in a tough conference.

 
Yeah, to me the bigger problem here is the rule that you have to have at least a .500 record than what Arkansas did to get around it. Based on objective criteria, taking into account a team's wins and losses, Arkansas is the 29th-best team in the country. Should a team with that resume be left out of the NCAA tournament because they played in a tough conference (and most of their losses were very close) and didn't schedule cupcakes otherwise?  

(Seriously, I looked up their schedule. Out of the 26 matches they played prior to this Tennessee State binge, I counted one team--just one--that was neither ranked nor in a power conference. By way of comparison, 5 of Stanford's 18 matches fit that category.  Is college tennis really better off if Arkansas decides to cancel series with Oklahoma, Oklahoma State, Kansas, Purdue, Missouri, etc. and replaces those matches with lesser programs?)

I feel confident stating that Arkansas, based on its resume prior to the Tennessee State matches, absolutely belonged in the tournament, so I guess I can't be that mad at them for figuring out a way into the dance.  I'd be mad if they hadn't actually played the matches, of course.  But the players did the work.  It's a little unseemly, to be sure, but keeping them out of the tournament would have been the bigger sin in my mind.