HOST SITES

The 2025 indoor championship is hosted by SMU and Baylor at two sites:

IMPORTANT DATES & DEADLINES

Monday, January 27:

Site assignments announced

Friday, January 31:
Travel information form due (1:00 pm EST)

Monday, February 10:
Lineup submissions due (noon EST)
Player Waivers due (noon EST)
Lineup protests due (9:00 pm EST)

Tuesday, February 11:
Lineup defenses due (9:00 am EST)
Protest conference call (time TBD)

Flights & Hotel Information

The ITA is unable to change the tournament schedule based on Sunday departure times. If you are unable to change flight times, please schedule your departure no earlier than Monday, February 17th.

Dallas/Fort Worth International Airport: Approximately 20 minutes from SMU; 1 hour and 45 minutes from Baylor

Dallas Love Field Airport: Approximately 20 minutes from SMU; 1 hour and 40 minutes from Baylor

Waco Regional Airport: Approximately 15 minutes from Baylor

Hotels: All programs are responsible for their own hotel expenses and are not required to book at the below properties. 

The following hotels have been recommended by SMU in Dallas.

• The Highland Dallas by Hilton

The following hotels have been recommended by Baylor in Waco.

• SpringHill Suites Waco for 152.00 USD per night - Last Day to Book : Friday, January 31, 2025

  • Booking Link

• Hyatt Place Waco South for $129.00 USD per night - Last Day to Book : Friday, January 31, 2025

  • Booking Link

***For teams who make the semifinals from the Baylor site, SMU will have the following rooms booked for you at the Highland Dallas. You will be responsible for the cost of these rooms, but they will already be reserved for you.

• 5 doubles, 2 singles

• Teams will be responsible for the cost of these rooms - $189 USD per night

Ground Transportation & Parking

Styslinger / Altec Tennis Complex (SMU) Parking Instructions:

Valet parking at the back of the facility (3 passes per team).

Hawkins Tennis Center (Baylor) Parking Instructions:

Teams will park on the north side of the facility, to enter through the north doors (near court 6), fans will park on the south side of the facility.

SMU Schedule of Play

Subject to change.

Baylor Schedule of Play

Subject to change.

Priority Match Times

• SMU will be given priority for the Friday, 3:30 PM match time.

• Baylor will be given priority for the Friday, 6:30 PM match time.

• The remainder of the court/time assignments will be approved prior to the draw making and will be based on draw advancement.

Practice Courts - Prior to Wednesday, February 12

Unless explicitly cleared by the ITA in a future communication, practice or match play at either match facility is strictly forbidden on Monday, February 10 & Tuesday, February 11 (does not apply to host school). Additionally, matches are strictly forbidden Monday, February 10-Thursday, February 13.

Practice Courts - Wednesday, February 12 & Thursday, February 13

Official practice times will be assigned for Thursday, February 13th, during the following time blocks: 9 AM - 11 AM, 11 AM - 1 PM, 1 PM - 3 PM, 3 PM - 5 PM.  Practice times will be assigned with arrival time and first round match time taken into consideration.  You will be informed of your official practice time as soon as the bracket is released (Tuesday, February 11). Each team will receive 3 courts during their 2-hour time block. You and/or your players will be asked to partake in a brief media day in either the 45 minute time block prior to or following your practice time. Your specific media time assignment will be sent out with your practice assignments.

Each host site will set aside 3 courts for 90 minutes on Wednesday afternoon (1 PM - 7 PM) for teams traveling to their site. Please coordinate with the host site to confirm your time block.

Waivers

All players and coaches must submit waivers to the ITA no later than Monday, February 12th at noon EST. The ITA waiver is a digital form, please text the link to all players, who can submit from their phones.

Mandatory Coaches Meeting

The mandatory ITA coaches meeting will be held on Thursday, February 13 at 7:00 PM EST via a video call.

Stringing

Styslinger / Altec Tennis Complex (SMU): The official stringer is Justin Garcia: (214) 771-6877. Cost is $25 per racquet.  Please contact Justin regarding your stringing needs.

Hawkins Tennis Center (Baylor):  The official stringer is Stephen Barr: (254) 722-6444. Cost is $25 per racquet.  Please contact Stephen regarding your stringing needs.

IMPORTANT NOTE: For teams that make the semifinals from the Baylor site, please drop off your racquets at the Styslinger / Altec Tennis Complex on Saturday night so they may have them ready by your Sunday morning practice.

Player Hospitality

Refreshments and drinks will be provided in the player lounges at each site. The player lounge area will be located in the court level hallways at SMU and in the Stone Room of the Ferrell Center, directly across from Hawkins. Snacks and drinks will be provided in the locker rooms at the Ferrell Center.

Athletic Training & Emergency Medicine

Athletic trainers will be on-site one hour prior to the first match until one hour after the conclusion of play each day, or each player has been treated. The following will be available during practices and competition: water, treatment tables, ice, moist hot packs, biohazard supplies, and emergency equipment (AED, crutches, splints).

If your team is not traveling with an athletic trainer, needs are to be communicated at least 2 days prior to a team's practice day to your sites lead Athletic Trainer

• SMU: Hannah Letow, 469-644-4145

• Baylor: Kevin Robinson, 254-709-1952, kevin_robinson@baylor.edu

  • Assisted by Victoria Garcia

All emergencies during the tournament will be directed to the Director of Sports Medicine and Head Athletic Trainer.

• SMU: Mike Morton, 214-435-1101

• Baylor: Kevin Robinson, 254-709-1952, kevin_robinson@baylor.edu

Baylor University Medical Center at Dallas (SMU):

3500 Gaston Ave, Dallas, TX 75246

214-820-0111

Baylor Scott & White Medical Center - Hillcrest (Baylor):

100 Hillcrest Medical Center Blvd, Waco, TX 76712

254-202-2000

Open 24/7, located 6 miles South of campus off I-35 at Exit #330A

Locker Rooms & Restrooms

SMU: Team locker rooms are located on the ground floor of the Styslinger / Altec Tennis Complex. The higher seeded team will use the men's VIP locker room (Room 109) and the lower seeded team will use the visiting team locker room (117). Teams are to empty the locker rooms when they head to the court for their match.

During play, players can use either locker room on the court level.

Baylor: Team locker rooms are located on the ground floor of the Ferrell Center. The higher seeded team will use the visiting team locker room on Friday and the volleyball locker room on Saturday and Sunday. The lower seed team will use the media room. Teams are to empty the locker rooms when they head to Hawkins for their match.

During play, players will use the bathroom building outside the court 6 doors.

Baylor Locker Room Map (Ferrell Center)

Towels

Shower towels will be provided to each team and should be deposited in the receptacle in the locker room areas.

Baylor: Towels will be available in the locker rooms. Must be left in the locker rooms. 

Live-Scoring & Streaming

Live scoring will be provided by iOnCourt and can be accessed through the iOnCourt app or through the ITA event page. All courts will have live streaming provided through PlaySight. There will also be a live commentary feed provided by Cracked Racquets, with Alex Gruskin.

Media & Interviews

ITA Staff and Cracked Racquets Staff will request brief interviews and media coverage throughout the event, including Thursday practice and post-match Friday-Monday with specific coaches and players. Programs must make themselves available for these requests.

Additionally, teams who qualify for the semifinals can expect more detailed interviews and content-asks on Sunday afternoon/Monday morning.

Spectator Admission

This will be a ticketed event. Please view the below links for ticket purchases. Teams will receive credentials for all players and 6 staff members. Additional staff credentials are subject to approval and must be requested through the host sites.

SMU: Sales link below

• Premium (2 tickets to the third-floor suite, valet parking included)

• General Admission

Baylor: Sales link below

• Premium - Reserved Seating (chairbacks)

• General Admission

Team Pass Lists (Both Sites): 

• Each team will be allowed to place up to 30 fans on a pass list. The school will be responsible for purchasing those tickets. Baylor and SMU will invoice following the completion of the event. Must be submitted by Monday, February 10th at 5pm EST through the following form.

ITA All-Tournament Team and Most Outstanding Player

The ITA All-Tournament Team will consist only of players from teams that advance to the quarterfinals or further. Players will be selected based on their W-L record during the course of the tournament and their team's success during the event will also be factored in. In the event that a specific position does not have any players with enough completed matches, then selections may be based on players whose teams have won at least two matches in the "back draw". The most outstanding player will also be selected from the All-Tournament Team. A ballot will be emailed by ITA staff after the Championship match is played. The ballot will be sent to the 16 participating coaches to vote on. The ITA All-Tournament Team and Most Outstanding Player Award will be determined and announced after the Championship.

Lineup Submissions and Protests

Submission - Master line-ups are submitted on the ITA website on Monday, February 10 no later than Noon (Eastern). A $100 fine will be issued for any late line-up submissions.  A maximum of 10 players can be listed on the master line-up and up to 9 players may participate in the tournament. The same 10 players must be submitted in both singles and doubles. The final 9 players will be announced at the coaches meeting.  Once all line-ups are received, they are compiled and emailed to the participating coaches for review (at approximately 1:00 PM ET, on Monday, 2/10).  A team that is found to have submitted an illegal line-up will be assessed a $300 fine by the ITA (adopted May, 2015, ITA Operating Committee).

Ineligible players - It is permitted for an ineligible player to be initially submitted on the master line-up with the understanding that this player will be removed no later than the ITA Coaches Meeting (prior to the start of the event) if he is deemed ineligible at that time. (adopted May, 2013, ITA Operating Committee).

Protests - All line-up protests must be emailed to cody.johnson@itatennis.com no later than 9:00 PM (Eastern) on Monday, February 10.  Please include a detailed reasoning for your protest and supply as much supporting data as possible. One or two sentence protests without supporting data will not be accepted. Coaches who have their line-ups protested will be contacted and asked to defend their line-up in writing by 9:00 AM (Eastern) on Tuesday, February 11.  A conference call will be held with the 16 participating coaches to review and make final ruling on all protests on Tuesday, February 11 at *tentatively* 12:30 pm EST.  There is NO appeals process for decisions made by this group. The final approved line-ups will be emailed to all participating coaches at the conclusion of the call.

Lineup Confirmation Process - If a player from the top-3 doubles teams is scratched during the lineup confirmation process (at the coaches meeting), the coach must immediately re-establish their top-3 doubles teams with a player from outside of their top-3. If a player is scratched from the #4 doubles team or substituted from their #4 team into their top-3, the coach must immediately re-establish their #4 team to avoid potentially defaulting their #3 doubles spot. Any changes to the top-4 doubles pairings during the lineup confirmation process will be considered a new doubles lineup and will be subject to protest by the other teams on the basis of order-of-strength.

Lineup Substitution Policy and Rules

Master line-ups must be played throughout the event.  If a player is removed from the line-up, all players listed below the removed player will move up in position. “Shuffling” of line-ups is NOT permitted.

Direct line substitutions may be made to the doubles line-up, but the doubles line-up must still be played in order of ability. The opposing coach may protest a doubles line-up if he/she feels they are not in order prior to the start of the match. 

Direct Line Substitution Clarification (pg. 6 of the 2024-25 ITA Rulebook):  A direct line substitution is the removal of one of the two players on a doubles team. That player is replaced by a player not in the top three positions of the doubles line-up. The player being substituted into the match must be listed on the lineup sheet exchanged prior to the start of the match, either in singles or doubles. Once the new player has been inserted, per above, the teams may be reordered to reflect strength. The line-up must remain in order of ability; therefore, the coach shall order the teams to reflect the substitutions. Removal of two players from a doubles team in a doubles line-up (regardless of timing) does not allow for a direct line substitution. Instead, that team would be removed and the teams listed below it would move up (much like when a singles player is removed). If there is no #4 team listed, that team would forfeit the #3 position.

The Draw and Seeding

The draw will be emailed to coaches and posted on the ITA website no later than Tuesday, February 11 so that the latest results can be used for seeding purposes. Teams will be seeded and drawn to their respective sites immediately following Kickoff Weekend. Each site will then be reseeded on Monday, February 10 and drawn with the 1-seed at each site playing the 8-seed, the 2-seed playing the 7-seed, and so forth.

Format

• "Clinch-Clinch" will be used:  Doubles play will be stopped once the doubles point is won, and singles play will be stopped once the team match is clinched.

• Three doubles matches are played first, each match one set to 6, with a tiebreaker at 6-all, and with no-ad scoring.  A team must win two of the doubles matches to win the doubles point. 

• Six singles matches will follow the doubles after a 5-minute intermission. Each match is two out of three sets, each set to six games, with a tiebreaker at 6-all. No-ad scoring will be used in all of the singles matches. Each singles match is worth one point. 

• There will be no warm-up against opponents before the first point is played in doubles and singles: players will be expected to warm-up with their own team prior to the scheduled match time. 

PlayReplay ELC

• The ITA will utilize PlayReplay throughout the duration of the event for electronic line calling.

Team Warm-Up

Each team will have a chance to warm up on 1 ½ courts during doubles in the match prior to theirs. However, singles players not competing in doubles of the ongoing match will have priority. As court space frees up in the match prior, teams will be able to hit on open courts so long as there is one (1) court separating the warm-up from a match in progress. Teams will be expected to share courts when necessary.  The length of a team-warm up will be a minimum of 15 minutes once the previous match has finished (adopted May 2012, Operating Committee).

Once the previous match has finished and all 6 courts area available, the higher seeded team will use the odd-numbered courts at each site for warm-up and the lower seeded team will use the even numbered courts. The only exception to this is if either of the hosts (SMU or Baylor) is the lower seeded team, they will receive priority on the odd-numbered courts.

Baylor: Teams will have access to the workout facility and practice gym at the Ferrell Center for off-court warm-up.

Balls & Ball Change

Dunlop ATP Extra Duty balls will be used. The ball change is one can (3 balls) per set in singles and 1 can (3 balls) per doubles set.

Teams are responsible for their own practice balls.

Withdrawal Policy

ITA Rule I.F.10 Teams Withdrawing (pg. 11, 2024/25 ITA Rulebook). In a dual match, a team with at least four physically able players and one institutional representative (e.g. head coach, assistant coach, volunteer coach, school administrator) shall not cancel or postpone a match due to ill or injured players, unless both coaches agree. Doing so without mutual agreement will result in a team default for ITA Ranking purposes.

1. If a team does not have four physically able players and one institutional representative, documentation from that team’s medical staff and/or administration must be provided stating why the minimum requirement cannot be met in order to avoid a team default for ITA ranking purposes.

ITA Rule I.F.11 Failing to play after a dual team tournament has started (pg. 11, 2024/25 ITA Rulebook). Once a team tournament has started, if a team has four physically able players and one institutional representative (e.g. head coach, assistant coach, volunteer coach, school administrator), failure to play a team match shall result in a team default. This loss and any subsequent consolation match losses shall count as ranking losses. 

1. If a team does not have four physically able players, documentation from that team’s medical staff and/or administration must be provided stating why the minimum requirement cannot be met in order to avoid a team default for ITA ranking purposes.

For the ITA National Team Indoor Championship only, the team withdrawing will be penalized with three defaults for ITA Ranking purposes (adopted May 2012, ITA Operating Committee).  If a team leaves before the completion of its final match, it will receive an unranked loss for ITA ranking purposes (adopted May 2011, ITA Operating Committee).

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