Fiend at Court Unplugged
Christy Vutam is to be congratulated. As outlined yesterday, she captained both the Champion and the Runner-Up Women’s 4.5 teams in the Dallas Fall League. It makes a great backdrop for discussing edge cases in the USTA league regulations and operating procedures.
Prior to the Championship match that pitted Christy’s two teams against each other, I was asked by another player of how I personally would approach lineups as a captain in the same situation. It was an interesting thought exercise.
First and foremost, I would contemplate my life decisions that brought me to the point where I was captaining multiple teams in the same league. Last year I found myself in a situation where the seasons for my 18+ Fort Worth and 40+ Dallas teams overlapped. I can barely captain one in-season team at a time. Two was a load. In general, I am going to do everything I can to avoid that situation.
Suspending disbelief and assuming that I found myself captains two teams that met head to head, I think that I would recuse myself from playing for and captaining either team. That would involve finding an acting caption on each team and putting them in charge of the lineup. I should also observe that abdicating all captain’s duties is my natural inclination. I am going to gravitate toward any solution that removes me from having to do that work.
Christy’s solution was to assemble the best possible lineup for both teams. As a complicating factor, there were a handful of players on both rosters. She had each player pick their primary team individually. It’s a great solution.
Alternate Scenarios
The only reason I wrote about the ethics of captaining multiple teams in the same division is because the captain of one team might be able to strategically set lineups across both teams to create a competitive advantage. That is the concern that prompted a player in Austin to propose a rule to the Austin CTA prohibiting that practice.
It is interesting to consider an alternate scenario if four teams would have been involved in the championship rather than two. A captain with control over two teams in that scenario could conceivable manipulate the lineups in the final matches to help secure an outcome. I can think of multiple ways that this would transpire, but all have a lot of moving parts. It is something that is hard to pull off in practice.
Finishing Shots
My views on the ethics of captaining multiple teams is shaped by my appreciation of the time an energy that it takes to effectively perform the captain’s duties. A player that steps up and makes that commitment is behaving in exact alignment with the mission of the USTA which is to promote and grow the game. Growing the game means creating more playing opportunities.
Ultimately players need to also believe that the tennis competition is equitable and fair. If not, then players will walk away from leagues. That concern is secondary to having opportunities to play in the first place.
I believe that the vast majority of serial captains do so out of genuine love for the game. Consequently I completely understand why the USTA would not impose restrictions that make it harder to find captains and form teams.
Just because there could be the potential for unsportsmanlike behavior does not mean that it will automatically result. The organizing associations need to monitor and address any situation on a case by case basis. Which is more or less the current practice.
As a footnote, here are the respective rosters for each team.
| Greenhill | High Point |
| Christy Vutam | Christy Vutam |
| Tracy Aaron | |
| Adriana Akhtar | |
| Keasha Behrman | |
| Alisa Bennett | |
| Beth Billig | Beth Billig |
| Hiroe Blackledge | |
| Ana Castano-Mears | Ana Castano-Mears |
| Jennifer Engels | |
| Cecy Feld | Cecy Feld |
| Jennifer Hartwig | |
| Jody Hassemer | |
| Marissa Latham | |
| Ashley Longoria | |
| Sonia Moorthy | |
| Tara Murphy | |
| Dee Nicholson | |
| Tamaron Nicklas | Tamaron Nicklas |
| Amy Ostella | |
| Kelly Pearson | |
| Caitlin Rhodes | |
| Courtney Ries | |
| Kristal Roberts | |
| Kayo Rohovsky | |
| Nicole Stammel | |
| Lee Villalobos | |
| Lindsay Willeford |
