From Maine to Southern California and from Minnesota to Atlanta they have come, and that's just for the first part of the week.
The top NCAA Division III tennis programs in the country will dine tonight at the Hunter Museum and will begin play Monday in the national team tournament at the Champions Club in Rivermont. Some of the players from those teams will be joined by many others for the individual tournament Thursday through Saturday, preceded by another banquet Wednesday night at the Tennessee Aquarium.
Eight women's teams and eight men's teams from a total of 10 schools have advanced through the first three rounds to reach this final site and play NCAA quarterfinals Monday. Women's matches are set for 8:30 and 11:30 a.m., men's for 2 and 4:30 p.m.
Women's semifinals are scheduled for 10 a.m. Tuesday and the men's for 2 p.m., and the finals are set for the same times Wednesday. There is no admission charge.
The University of the South at Sewanee is the host school for the event, in partnership with the Chattanooga Sports Committee - an arm of the Chattanooga Visitors Bureau - and the Champions Club city tennis complex. Baylor and McCallie will make their indoor courts available in case of rain, and Girls Preparatory School will join them in providing facilities for practice.
Many of Sewanee's coaches and other athletic department personnel already have been working to get things ready. Even the local NCAA Division I school is providing support. Some University of Tennessee at Chattanooga representatives will be helping Sewanee staffers with media and athletic training needs.
Then there are the many volunteers coordinated by the Chattanooga Tennis Association.
"This is a massive undertaking for the city and for Sewanee, but there's been a lot of cooperation," said tournament director John Shackelford, Sewanee's men's coach for 32 years and twice the chairman of the NCAA Men's and Women's Tennis Committee. "(Sports Committee president) Tim Morgan and Brant Donlon from the Visitors Bureau, and all the other people involved, deserve a lot of congratulations."
"In my experience working with the NCAA championships," Shackelford added Saturday, "Chattanooga has truly exceeded my expectations in preparations for this event. Cities like Kalamazoo, Michigan, and Claremont, California, have a long history of successfully hosting this event; however, despite being awarded this championship on short notice, the city of Chattanooga has stepped up in impressive fashion with municipal, university and volunteer support, and I believe we are ready to offer these student-athletes a first-class experience."
The 2017 Division III National Championships originally were set for Cary, N.C., but the NCAA had to move them during its ban on holding major events in North Carolina. Morgan's committee, after getting advice from Shackelford and assurance that Sewanee would serve as the required host school, joined groups from 11 other cities in submitting bids.
One of those was Rome, Ga., which also consulted with Shackelford. Rome has a new 54-court outdoor complex "but no indoor backup," he noted.
"There will be about 300 participants here, between the team and individual tournaments," Shackelford pointed out, "and countless parents, fans, coaches and administrators of the schools involved. Probably another 40 to 50 schools will be represented in the individual tournament."
Andrew Rogers of Chattanooga will be the chief umpire for the week, and he has served in that role in his share of prrominent and large tournaments. None bigger than this one, however.
"Certainly this event has a lot of prestige associated with it. It's a tremendous honor for Chattanooga having all these teams and players," Rogers said Thursday while helping Shackelford and a group from Sewanee decorate the Champions Club with logos of the NCAA and the participating schools.
"This is definitely the biggest event I've ever been chief umpire for."
Emory (Atlanta), Claremont-Mudd-Scripps (California), Washington-St. Louis, Williams (Mass.), Bowdoin (Maine) and Middlebury (Vt.) qualified both their women's and men's teams for Chattanooga. They are joined by the Wesleyan (Conn.) and Gustavus Adolphus (Minn.) men and Chicago and Johns Hopkins (Md.) women.
The Emory women and Bowdoin men are defending national champions.
"That's another thing about this tournament," Shackelford said. "These are the best academic schools in the United States. These are true student-athletes."
Sewanee's Avery Schober will be making his third appearance in a national individual tournament, and Clementina Davila from the Sewanee women - coached by Conchie Shackelford, John's wife - will be making her second in a row. The Tigers' Jack Gray and Alejandro Becker are fourth alternatives for doubles.
Davila was named this past week the ITA Atlantic South women's player to watch for 2017.
"We're very proud of them," John Shackelford said.
He's also very proud of what has been put together for this week.
Contact Ron Bush at rbush@timesfreepress.com or 423-757-6291.