I was very disappointed to read Jim Dileo's article, "USTA Team Tennis: Increasing Your Chances to Play for a National Title" in the May/June 2009 edition of Long Island Tennis Magazine. Mr. Dileo takes the approach that, in order to be competitive and win, you need to “game” the system when self-rating players. His article is an attempt to show the flaws in the self-rate process and how to exploit a "loophole" in order to gain a coveted spot for a team at Nationals. Speaking from experience, nothing can be further from the truth. Attempts to "game" the system have not only failed miserably, but they have led to multiple captains, as well as players, being suspended, placed on probation and re-rated. Countless matches have been reversed due to disqualifications for abuses in the self-rating process and many teams who saw Section Championships within their reach have seen their teams go from playoff contenders to also-rans at the stroke of a computer key.