Marble Falls’ Herrington Center hosts UTR events

The Charlie and Nancy Herrington Tennis Center hosted two Universal Tennis Ratting tournaments recently.

The center on the Marble Falls High School campus.

The first, a doubles tournament, happened June 6 and drew 17 teams with one team on the waiting list, while a singles tournament occurred June 9 and attracted 12.

Tournament participants played two matches.

Marble Falls Independent School District tennis head coach Samuel Whitley credited assistant coach Nathan Redman for bringing the events to the city.

“At the end of the school year, he saw Copperas Cove was having events during the summer,” he said. “He put (the offer to host) on the UTR web site.”

The rating system, which is owned and operated by UTR Sports, matches up players with similar abilities or ratings to ensure each athlete gets the most of their court time, Whitley said. A player’s rating, no matter the gender, is paired up to an opponent with a very similar rating. Whitley noted that a couple of the female singles players faced male opponents.

“We submit your score onto the web site and your rating goes up,” Whitley said. “The higher the UTR, the better the player you are facing. It allows you to put people in good matches. It gives you a good, quality opponent.”

He used himself and Redman as an example. Redman, who plays more tennis, would rather face an opponent who can match him and challenge him as opposed to facing someone like Whitley, who may not play as often. The UTR system ensures the two wouldn’t face off.

Both Whitley and Redman were encouraged by the number of players who came to participate. They came from New Braunfels, Liberty Hill and Lometa and from Georgetown East View and Fischer Canyon Lake high schools. Marble Falls student athlete Chloe Taylor also competed in singles tournament.

Some high school tournament directors may look at a singles or doubles team’s UTR to determine seeding, though the coach said organizers still look at previous records and who those athletes have already played as they are creating draws.

“They do but they don’t,” he said. “Coaches will still seed players. We still have to nominate. In high school sports they use it. (The University Interscholastic League, the governing body of extracurricular activities in public schools) is gradually getting to it.”

The two coaches heard positive feedback about the two tournaments and were happy to continue to contribute to the sport and the area’s tennis community.

“It’s really good to get good competition,” Whitley said. “The more you play, the better your rating will be.”