Kyle McPhillips was solely focused on the point at hand as she battled UNC’s Caroline Price with the 2014 NCAA championship on the line. Fixated on neither the roar of the crowd nor the cheers of her teammates, McPhillips blocked out all distractions to maintain concentration.
McPhillips prevailed after a grueling 12-minute, seven-deuce game, with Price fighting back from three match points before McPhillips finally put her away.
The excitement brought about by that crucial rally during the 2014 NCAA title match is unlikely to occur again, made impossible by the NCAA’s shift this season to no-advantage scoring in all college tennis matches.
In advantage scoring – the standard system across the world of tennis – if a game is tied at 40-40, or “deuce,” a player must win a game by two points, often leading to tense, extended periods of play as the players trade points until a winner emerges. In implementing the new no-advantage rules, the NCAA sought to attract more viewers by shortening matches.
In doing so, it chose to sacrifice the potential entertainment of a drawn-out battle for a single, crucial, tension-filled point: the deuce point. Now, when two opponents are at deuce the next point becomes a winner-take-all showdown.
Many, however, are not on board with the rule change, especially after statistics indicated that matches would be, on average, only eight minutes shorter with the rule change.
“I don’t think we’re getting more any viewers or fans because tennis is eight minutes shorter,” McPhillips said, “It is at the expense of collegiate players’ game and future development.”
Players with professional ambitions, such as senior Catherine Harrison, especially dislike the rule because it ill-prepares players for professional singles game, which uses advantage scoring.
With the rule appearing to be set in stone, players have had to adapt their physical and mental games.
“It’s much more nerve-wracking because there is no advantage point as the safety net,” said freshman Alaina Miller. “You get one chance to win or lose the game.”
The rule introduces some luck as well, with only a single point required for victory once the game reaches deuce. A lucky bounce or two now have a greater ability to affect the match.
“I played a match in regionals where I lost 10 no-advantage points (and the match),” Harrison said. “I ended up playing (the same opponent) in season and beat her pretty handily with normal scoring.”
Coach Stella Sampras Webster said she sees both pros and cons to the rule, noting it might better prepare players for the professional game because of the added pressure placed on them.
As for her strategy in dealing with the new scoring, Sampras Webster said she does not want her players to be any more tentative.
“Stay aggressive, play your game,” she said. “It’s (just) another point.”
Another point that, this year, has become decisive.