By CLAIRE CRUZ, Staff Writer
LYFORD — The University Interscholastic League released updated calendars Wednesday for volleyball, team tennis, swimming & diving and wrestling, and set tentative dates for spring athletics.
The volleyball and team tennis updates are only for postseason play and reveal the elimination of state and regional tournaments for both sports.
The regional semifinals for Class 1A through 4A volleyball teams will be Nov. 9-10, followed by the regional finals Nov. 12-14 and the state semifinals Nov. 16-17. All four state championship matches will be played Nov. 21 at the Curtis Culwell Center in Garland.
Class 5A and 6A will play regional semifinal matches Nov. 30-Dec. 1, followed by the regional finals Dec. 3-5 and the state semifinals Dec. 7-8. The 5A and 6A state championship matches are scheduled for Dec. 12, also at the Curtis Culwell Center.
The team tennis postseason for all classifications will begin Oct. 26. In lieu of a regional tournament, teams will play three rounds to advance through their respective regions. The regional quarterfinals are scheduled for Nov. 2-3, regional semifinals Nov. 6-7 and regional finals Nov. 9-10. State semifinal matches will be played Nov. 13-14, and the state championships are set for Nov. 17.
Regional and state meets are still scheduled, tentatively, in the spring for swimming & diving and wrestling.
Additional competition guidelines were released for swimming & diving.
Class 5A and 6A swimming & diving programs can start competition Sept. 7, though local programs will be sidelined until at least Sept. 28. Their district certification deadline is Jan 30, and the postseason will begin Feb. 5-6 with regional meets. The girls state meet is scheduled for Feb. 19-20, with the boys state meet to follow Feb. 26-27, both at the Lee & Joe Jamail Texas Swimming Center in Austin. The top four finishers in all events advance from district meets to regional meets.
“Regional and state meets will be 1-day meets with prelims in the morning and finals in the afternoon,” reads an item on the UIL website. “At both the regional and state meets there will be two prelim heats and two heats in the finals, a championship heat and a consolation heat. The first-place winner in each event of eight regional swimming & diving meets will advance to the state meet, plus the next eight swimmers with the best regional final times overall… In diving, two divers will qualify at each of the eight regional meets to the state meet… All 16 divers will compete in prelims and finals/consols at the state meet.”
Swimming & diving programs can only do dual and tri-meet competitions this year, with only one level of competitors and a maximum of three teams allowed at a facility at any given time. Meets that are diving competitions only, with no swimming events, can have a maximum of 40 divers participating with no limit on how many teams are represented.
Wrestling programs, regardless of classification, can begin dual meets and tournaments Feb. 15. The district certification deadline is April 10, regional meets are scheduled for April 16 & 17 and the state meet is set for April 23 & 24. The UIL will release additional information “concerning invitational tournaments, district, regional and state meets” at a later date.
The UIL also set tentative dates for soccer, tennis, track & field, softball and baseball.
Soccer practice kicks off Nov. 30 with games following Dec. 29. Softball is set to start practicing Jan. 22 with games commencing Feb. 15. Baseball will follow with the first day of practice Jan. 29 and games starting Feb. 22.
The tennis district certification deadline is set for April 17. Regional tennis meets will be April 26-29, followed by the state meet May 20-21. Track & field has a district certification deadline of April 10 and an area certification deadline of April 17. Regional meets will take place April 23-24, and the state meet is scheduled for May 7-8.