Avery Boulware, Campus Carrier Sports Editor
College sports are usually reserved only for the elite — the extraordinarily motivated and exceptionally gifted athletes who live and breathe for their sport. Intramurals, however, allow every student to participate in as many sports as they want. For Berry students, intramural sports are a large part of campus life. The team with the winning T-shirts claim indefinite bragging rights.
This year intramural tennis is back at Berry. Many students have requested its return, but Berry’s recreational department has also received funding from the United States Tennis Association to organize the tennis league as a part of their “Tennis On Campus” (TOC) initiative.
According to the USTA website, the initiative is “designed to provide college students with a host of opportunities for team camaraderie, social networking and unrivaled competition through tennis — without the demands of a varsity program.” TOC connects intramural tennis programs across the country by providing marketing and financial support, as well as a case of tennis balls. Top teams can even compete in regional and national championships.
There are four separate leagues in the tournament: men’s and women’s singles, co-ed doubles and open doubles, which can be any combination of male and female athletes.
“You’ll have three to four teams in your division,” Michael McElveen, Berry’s director of recreation, said. “You’ll play them, and the winner of each pool will go to play in a single-elimination tournament. We have a total of 70 teams, which equals 91 unique participants.”
The tennis tournament will take place on April 25 and 26, but students are encouraged to practice and play in matches in the weeks leading up to the tournament. For this particular tournament, the recreation department has set up a self-scheduled season.
“We set them up with a system where they can contact each other, and from there they’ll be able to figure out when they want to play on their own terms,” said junior Mackenzie Tittle, general supervisor for intramurals. “It’s a new thing for us, so we are excited to see how it turns out.”
Junior Kelly Ibele, who has been involved in eight different intramural sports during her time at Berry, expressed her excitement for the upcoming tournament.
“It’s self scheduled and scored, which is pretty cool,” she said. “You can kind of do it to your own schedule, and it’s so much easier to coordinate people.”
The department of recreation seeks students’ input to make sure the intramural program at Berry remains strong.
“We are always open to feedback,” McElveen said. “Every semester we do a survey of the sport. We want to know outcomes and satisfaction, but we also ask what kind of sports students want.”
The department also evaluates every staff member once a year and organizes an intramural advisory council to ensure students are satisfied with the program.