(MCAL - Marin County Athletic League, 9 schools for girls tennis: San Marin High, Novato, Archie William, San Rafael, Terra Linda, Marin Catholic, Tam, Redwood, and Branson)
(Last Updated: 11/25/2024)
Background
My name is Clare Zhu. I am currently a junior at San Marin High School. For three years, I have proudly represented my school as the singles line 1 player. This 2024 fall season, I achieved something remarkable: an undefeated 13-0 record during the regular season. This undeniably made me a candidate for Player of the Year (“PoY”), which for two whole decades has gone to the player with the best record in singles line 1. But what happened instead was nothing less than outrageous.
In spite of my undefeated record, the coaches voted and for the first time in 20 years the award – meant for the best singles player – was presented to a primarily doubles player. For the purpose of this article, I will call her Player R. While I respect her and acknowledge that she is an amazing player, the result came as a total surprise. This decision shattered a 20-year old precedent of MCAL protocol. Let me repeat, 20 years of MCAL protocol was broken by the coaches who voted with little to no consideration to the winning records. The obvious unfairness exposed the unjust system taken over by bias and lack of transparency. This must change to ensure fairness for players like me in the future.
Facts
- There are 2 nominees for the PoY award: Player R (Redwood) and me (San Marin).
- Redwood High coach Tracy Porter nominated Player R for the PoY knowing that it was their decision for Player R to not play me the entire season.
When San Marin played Redwood twice during the regular season, I played both times at singles 1, however Player R didn’t play singles 1. Instead, she went to play the doubles 1 line both times.
- I was another nominee because I have the best record on the single 1 line.
- PoY is defined as “the most prestigious award given only to the top athlete in their sport” in the
MCAL
official rule book.
- It has been the league’s protocol in the league’s 20 years’ history to award this title only to a
singles player.
- I am the only player in the league history who won all her line 1 matches with the best record in
the
regular season, but not awarded the PoY title.
- It is clear to me that these 5 coaches voted against me and chose the winner with little to no regard to objective
facts and records.
- When the league was questioned on breaking the 20 year tradition, MCAL Commissioner Susie Woodall’s
defense was that “I have read tennis rules numerous times as has Rich. There is NO place where it
says p
of yr has yo be a singles player”.
- But HOW can you select “the top athlete” from doubles players? Levels of competition on single line 1 and double line 1 are not comparable. For each team, the strongest player usually plays for single line 1 whereas any one from 2nd to 11th strongest players can play for double line 1. The only possible conclusion is that it is against the official PoY definition to award to a primarily doubles player.
- The same communication from MCAL Commissioner Susie Woodall clearly showed player R was ONLY put
into
the singles category and her singles record 4-0 was compared against my records 13-0 in the voting
process. Player R’s doubles record was not looked at as she was not put in the doubles category
during
the voting process.
- The irony is that player R was voted as PoY in the singles category while the league claimed no written rules against selecting doubles players as its defense.
- Voting happened on October, 28, 2024, after the regular season and before playoffs.
Final Notes
After looking at all the facts. I find myself asking so many questions.
How could so many coaches vote against me with the records right in front of them? Do they not like me? Why do these adults feel entitled to their actions, disregarding the harm they cause to a 16-year-old who just played her best? What did I do to make them break a 20-year old precedent? But the fact is, I did nothing wrong.
It’s also important to point out the double standard brought by the coaches. How ironic every time we go to play a match, the coaches emphasize fairness, but then 5 of the coaches go and betray that same principal by giving me extremely unfair treatment.
But not all coaches are like that. Thank you to all the coaches who voted for and fought for me. Your support means a lot! Thank you!
But this is about more than one award. It’s about protecting the integrity of MCAL tennis. If it can happen to me, it can happen to anyone. The PoY is “the most prestigious award given only to the top athlete in their sport” (MCAL). This award inspires athletes in all sports to do better. But how can it be meaningful when it feels rigged? When there is a lack of transparency in the process? This is a fight for fairness and justice - it’s about ensuring future players are treated fairly and judged based on performance, nothing else. I feel obligated to voice this injustice to the public and hopefully future players in the league will never be subject to this kind of treatment.
Petition
Here, I am calling for the MCAL girls tennis league to:
- Abolish subjective and arbitrary voting by coaches for awards. Make the selection objective, transparent, and merit-based. (Otherwise, you may just call it coaches’ favorite PoY to avoid misleading the public.)
- Stick with the tradition that only single players will be considered because levels of competition on single line 1 and double line 1 are not comparable.
- Two players from different schools with the same result will get the same award. Each year, I kept hearing from others on how the award list was rigged, which I am pretty sure is not something you want us to feel after each season.
If you agree and want to bring fair play to high school tennis in MCAL, please help by signing my petition below. Let’s create a fair and transparent environment for all kids to enjoy high school tennis.
Thank you!