Tennis garners most attention

Tennis, anyone?

Of all the sports to keep popping up in the 148-page document reviewing the Southeast Missouri State athletic program, women's tennis had its fair share of mentions.

With issues ranging from "greasy food" on road trips to the lack of restrooms at the home complex, tennis was the individual program addressed most often in the review, all under the section for Title IX compliance.

Southeast coach Mark Elliott, who completed his second season, said he had not seen a copy of the review and said Friday morning's meeting with Bill Carr, whose firm produced the report, was not specific about individual sports.

The team finished 2-8 this season in the Ohio Valley Conference one year after winning five league games and making the league tournament.

"As you can imagine, tennis is obviously a small piece," Elliott said. "Eight to 10 athletes and notoriously, we haven't done very well in the OVC, so if you're a small dog, you don't get a big piece of the meal, which is understandable."

On Friday night, Elliott was informed university president Dr. Kenneth Dobbins and the Board of Regents responded to the review by budgeting $5,000 for each of the next two years for media guides, presumably for women's tennis since that's the only sport that has not had one in recent years.

"Oh, that's very cool," Elliott said. "We haven't had a media guide since I've been here."

The guides, particularly among sports with lower profiles, are used for recruiting as much as providing information to the media.

The board also approved $10,000 in spending for each of the next two years to repair the tennis courts.

The courts were listed as "poor" in an evaluation of the school's facilities included in the review. In addition, the report says Elliott indicated the courts were not constructed properly. The cost of fixing the courts likely would double the money earmarked by the university, but Elliott said Friday he was pleased that some money was being set aside to address cracks in the courts.

The review also notes there is no restroom at the tennis complex, which would be a considerable additional expense, and it recommends that "women's tennis needs a locker room," since the team — like the track program — does not have one.

"I've been in intercollegiate athletics a long time, and I don't know of many tennis teams that have their own locker room," Southeast athletic director Don Kaverman said Friday. "I don't know how realistic that is.

"Certainly, there is a need for restroom facilities adjacent to our tennis courts. I think that was in the original plan when I came here almost 10 years ago, and I think the university has some plans for that in the future."

Other mentions of tennis in the review:

• In the portion addressing team meals on road trips, "the only complaint about the quality of the food was made by the women tennis participants." The players ate fast food because, according to the review, "that was the only place the team could afford."

"The greasy food hampered their play, according to participants," the review said.

It recommended directing Elliott to provide healthy food, and that the budget be adjusted if necessary.

• The sport was among three women's sports that did not participate in the maximum number of contests "due to lack of a sufficient budget." The review included a recommendation to schedule six or seven more games.
• It has no athletic trainer for practices or any matches. The review recommends assigning a graduate assistant.

"My mission," Elliott said, "is to get the team as best as we can, and my hope is the facilities will allow me to do that."