Women’s tennis star Cristelle Grier will be allowed to play inthe NCAA singles tournament that begins Monday in Gainesville,Fla., Northwestern athletics officials announced Friday.
“I’m ecstatic,” said Grier, a freshman who is the No. 9 playerin the nation. “It’s a huge weight that has been lifted off mymind.”
The reinstatement of Grier, who was ruled ineligible 10 days agobecause of questions regarding the academic structure in England,involved two different NCAA committees.
The NCAA Administrative Review Subcommittee on Thursday granteda wavier of the year and residency rule, which required tennisplayers to sit out a year if they do not enroll in college within ayear of graduating high school.
Then the NCAA Student-Athlete Reinstatement Committee decidedFriday to reinstate Grier effective immediately.
Both committees are composed of university presidents, athleticdirectors and athletic administrators from across the country.
“When we found out, my assistant said I looked like a kid with abig bag of candy,” NU coach Claire Pollard said. “I’m not mad atanybody, and I’m very grateful of both committees decisions. TheNCAA did everything it could to help us this week.”
The decision follows an appeal to the NCAA that NU filed Mondayafter Grier and teammate Ruth Barnes were declared ineligible forthe Wildcats’ May 10 NCAA regional match against Kansas State.
The Cats lost that match 4-1, but now the school is only lookingahead.
“We’re not focusing on the should or the could, but what is,”said NU Compliance Coordinator Maureen Harty. “We’re very happywith the outcome of the situation.
“We’re fortunate the NCAA really made the effort to make aruling by today so Cristelle would know her fate for thetournament.”
The NCAA ruling Friday was a decision based on the specificfacts of Grier’s appeal, and it was not a decision that involvedthe more than 50 other English players who were ruled ineligiblethis week, Harty said. The committees always make rulings on acase-by-case basis.
NU does not know the status of the other players, and the schoolis also not completely certain about the future implications ofFriday’s decision.
Grier will be eligible next year, but questions of how manyyears of eligibility both English NU players have remaining willinvolve another appeals process after the season, Harty said.
The issue started because in the United Kingdom, students caneither leave their high school equivalent after five years or theycan elect to study for two more years, at what are called the”A”-level classes. Grier and Barnes studied for the full sevenyears, but the NCAA considered them graduated after only five,meaning that from the NCAA’s point of view, the players broke NCAArules by matriculating to NU after spending more than two years outof high school.
The NCAA’s decision to waive the year and residency requirementviolation has left NU’s team frazzled, but ready to move on.
“My head is still spinning from the whirlwind of the last 10days,” Pollard said. “It will be good to shift gears, and get outof town. It will feel good to be at a tennis tournament and notdealing with a bureaucracy.”
Pollard, Grier, an assistant coach and Grier’s doubles partner,junior Jessica Rush, were headed to Florida on Friday. Both Grierand Rush will compete in the doubles tournament that beginsTuesday.
Grier will find out her opponents after the tournament drawSaturday morning.
“I didn’t know what the ruling would be, but I started preparingfor the tournament at the beginning of the week,” Grier said. “It’sbeen a difficult last 10 days for everyone, but my energy has beenrestored by the sheer chance of getting to play again.”
