NCAA Karma

[trackstar]

Okay, so I'm still pissed as hell about Texas women getting DQed from the 4x1 over the tennis ball incident. And then karma comes back to bite Pat Henry in butt.

Yes, it was Henry who filed the protest over the tennis ball halves that got UTexas DQed. Which tossed UT (and its projected 8 points) out of the final. But it allowed UCLA (which had missed qualifying by .006 seconds) back in. And the Bruins placed second (instead of fifth as T&FN had originally projected, and instead of the zero they would have gotten if they failed to qualify). So instead of a projected point total of LSU 63, UCLA 61, my best friend Bret pointed out that now it is UCLA 65, LSU 63.

All of this may now be moot -- my calculations don't take into account the 100H results -- but man, I am going to dance a little happy dance if Pat Henry's protest screwed him out of a title. Go Bruins!

[KeepMoving]

Re: NCAA Karma

For those of us who missed the story, what was the deal with the tennis balls?

[gh]

Re: NCAA Karma

I can't swear 100% by the accuracy of this calculation, but if you take the T&FN formchart and assume it plays out exactly today (and remove people who didn't Q to the finals) then LSU will win 66-64. And in terms of how people performed in the prelims, I get the feeling that the LSU individuals are a little more ahead of form than the Bruins.

I think that following the chart, the meet would come down to the 4x4 with UCLA leading 61-58, so LSU has to finish several places ahead. But note that UCLA went gonzo in the prelims, so the charting of LSU 2nd, UCLA 6th may well be out the door.

This is why we actually run meets instead of just doing formcharts! Are we ready to rumble?!

[trackstar]

Re: NCAA Karma

>For those of us who missed the story, what was the deal with the tennis balls?

During the 4x1 prelims, Austin had more rain than Noah's flood. Since it was hard to get tape to stick to the track, Kearney asked an official if UT could put down cut tennis balls for markers instead. Apparently, some officials said yes, some said no, she never got a definitive answer, and decided to go ahead and use them. Henry spotted it and filed a protest and got UT DQed.

I can't decide who I'm more annoyed with: Kearney for trying to skirt the rules when a national title is on the line, or Henry for being a rules wonk and objecting to tennis balls. I suppose I shouldn't be pissed with him, since it is his job to win the meet, and he saw an opening and took it. But it sure would have been more fun for us fans (who, of course, are utterly unimportant to NCAA track coaches) to see LSU, Texas, and UCLA have an important point battle in that relay by actually COMPETING against one another.

[bhartson]

Re: NCAA Karma

>For those of us who missed the story, what was the deal with the tennis balls?<

The story reported in Dallas stated that the clerk of the check in area informed all teams(runners) that tennis balls were not allowed, that they could only use tape with thumb tacks to secure the tape to the track. The Texas runners, and a few others, dispute that fact. I believe the Texas runner at the 2nd exchange zone asked for, and got permission from a meet offficial to use tennis ball markers, while the Texas runner at the first exchange zone made the same request which was denied. The rules for the meet where no tennis ball markers, so the Texas women's squad was penalized for relying on the advise of a meet official. Now realize, I gleaned this information from the Dallas Morning News, and they are not always the most reliable source of information especially when it comes to reporting on T&F, but that's my understanding of the controversy. I'm gonna reserve judgement until I read more about his incident from a more reliable source.

[gh]

Re: NCAA Karma

oh yeah, got so hung up in Lee's revenge thread that I didn't mention where Texas is in all this: only have them projected (by pure formchart addition) to score 50, so don't appear to be in the race for No. 1 (not surprising after the 4x1 loss which strted this whole thred).

[tafnut]

Re: NCAA Karma

yes, a rule is a rule, and a coach has a 'responsibilty' to win, but I have no respect for Henry if he was the one who called it. Why wouldn't anyone have mentioned it BEFORE the race - the tennis ball halves were in plain view. In 9 out of 10 cases that I've seen in HS, the opponent sees it and waits till after the competition to call it. Bush League.

[Bob Bettwy]

Re: NCAA Karma

FWIW, I just doped the meet myself and got:

Women:
UCLA - 73
LSU - 67
Texas - 51

Men (I only did these 3):
Arkansas - 67
Florida - 48
LSU - 32

[trackstar]

Re: NCAA Karma

HA HA! If Henry had kept his mouth shut and left UT in the 4x1, his team would now be the NCAA champions. Instead, they lost to UCLA by ONE POINT!

UT didn't give me much satisfaction this week, but UCLA certainly did.

[ycn]

Re: NCAA Karma

I think that one should go in the "be careful what you wish for" file.

Definitely follows the law of unintended consequences.