Pacific Coast Doubles Championship
NCAA Tennis Teams Expected to Compete in La Jolla
If you were asked what is the second longest continuously run tennis tournament in the world would you guess the Pacific Coast Doubles Championship?
Pacific Coast Doubles hosted at La Jolla Beach and Tennis Club since 1942
After hosting the 2008 Fed Cup tie between the United States and Germany earlier this month, the La Jolla Beach and Tennis club in La Jolla California will be back at it next week. They will be hosting the 119th Annual Pacific Coast Doubles Championship, the second longest continuously running tennis tournament in the world. Play begins on February 29th and extends through March 2nd.
Tournament has a rich tennis history
According to Bill McGrath, Tennis Director at the La Jolla Beach and Tennis Club this tournament is rich in history from its start in 1890 as a way to test the best college tennis teams from the East and West Coasts. According to McGrath it was also a way to showcase real estate in the Monterrey Pennisula, the early home of the tournament and is credited with being an inspiration for Davis Cup.. Reading the list of past champions on the trophy which sits inside the La Jolla Beach and Tennis Club is like reading the who's who of tennis. From the earlier champions like Don Budge, Jack Kramer, Bobby Riggs, Tony Trabert to more recent players like Stan Smith, Robert Lutz, Raul Ramirez, and later John McEnroe, Rick Leach, Kelly Jones, Jim Grabb and Jeff Austin. The tournament moved to the La Jolla Beach and Tennis Club in 1942 and with the exception of one rain-out year in the 80s has been an annual affair at that venue ever since.
Strong Field Expected
History aside this tournament annually fields some of the top names in college tennis as well as top independent players in the country. Leading the field this year will be teams from USC and UCLA, preseasoned ranked #8 and #9 in the country. Joining them will be PAC-10 opponents Stanford, Cal, and Arizona State. Also expected are Pepperdine, Fresno State, San Diego State, University of San Diego, and Rice University among others. This tournament seeds college teams seperately from independents but eveyone plays in the main draw. There is always the posibility of seeing former champions like Chris Dunk or former ATP pros like Chris Tonz or Peter Smith playing the best players in college tennis. To follow this tournament more closely you can tune into radiotennis.com or plan on spending a day in beautiful La Jolla enjoying the action. As can be seen from history today's players sometimes become tomorrow's stars.
