2013 Pacific Coast Men’s Doubles Championship – La Jolla Beach & Tennis Club

Written by: Staff on 26th February 2013

2013 Pacific Coast Men’s Doubles Championship – La Jolla Beach & Tennis Club |

124th ANNUAL PACIFIC COAST MEN’S DOUBLES CHAMPIONSHIP SET TO BEGIN ON THURSDAY, FEBRUARY 28 AT LA JOLLA BEACH & TENNIS CLUB

Kelly Jones, Former No. 1 Doubles Player in the World, Scheduled to Play in Tournament

La Jolla, Calif. – The 124th Annual Pacific Coast Men’s Doubles Championship featuring many of the best NCAA Men’s college tennis teams in the country and a strong field of independent players, will begin at 2 p.m. (PST) on Thursday, Feb. 28 at the La Jolla Beach & Tennis Club. The tournament will conclude on Sunday, March 3.

In addition to the 19 intercollegiate teams (please see full list below) participating in this year’s Pacific Coast Men’s Doubles Championship there will be teaching professionals, junior players, college coaches and former tour players among the independent players competing in the draw in which 128 doubles teams have entered.

The starting time for each day will be as follows: Thursday, Feb. 28 – 2 p.m.; Friday, March 1 – 8 a.m.

Saturday, March 2 – 9 a.m.; Sunday, March 3 – Semifinals at 9 a.m.; Championship Final will begin at approximately 1:30 p.m. (all times are PST).

The tournament’s top-seeded collegiate team is Campbell Johnson and Christoffer Konigsfeldt of University of California, Berkeley. The top-seeded independent team is KC Corkery, who won the tournament in 2005 and Blake Muller of San Francisco. For the complete list of seeds and draws, go to: http://tennislink.usta.com/Tournaments/TournamentHome/Tournament.aspx?T=125266

Among notable independent players entered in this year’s event is Kelly Jones, a former San Diegan who captured the California Interscholastic Federation (CIF) San Diego Section Singles Championship in 1981 while playing at Point Loma High School.

Jones played collegiate tennis at Pepperdine University where he was a four-time All-American, winning NCAA doubles titles in 1984 and 1985. He played on the ATP World Tour from 1986 to 1998 and was the number one ranked doubles player in the world in 1992 when he reached the doubles final at the Australian Open and US Open.

After finishing his professional tennis career with two singles titles and eight doubles championships, Jones served as a National Coach for the United States Tennis Association and went on to coach many players including James Blake, Mardy Fish and John Isner.

The 48-year-old Jones lives in Greenville, S.C., where he is the head coach of the Furman University men’s tennis team. Jones, a former tournament champion who won the event in 1984, will be bringing his team to La Jolla to play in this week’s tournament.

“You definitely have an incredible sense of history when you’re at the club (LJB&TC). The years this tournament has been held there and the quality of players that keep coming back, says a lot about the tournament and the organization behind it,” said Jones, who first played in the Pacific Coast Men’s Doubles Championship when he was 16 years old.

“This is coming full circle for me. Now I’m bringing my college team back to my roots. The guys on my team don’t know what to expect. They’ve never experienced this before,” Jones added. “I know they’re going to walk away realizing the same thing I did, how special this event is and what a great opportunity it is to be able to play.”

Jones is scheduled to play in the tournament with Peter Smith, head coach of the University of Southern California men’s tennis team. They are seeded fifth.

La Jolla Beach & Tennis Club welcomes tennis spectators to view the tournament with free admission. On-site parking is available for a nominal fee.

“I encourage tennis fans to come watch the doubles matches this week,” said Tournament Director Bill Kellogg. “It’s going to be another incredible tournament and fans are going to be treated to some exciting tennis at a very high level.”

Collegiate teams playing in the 2013 Pacific Coast Men’s Doubles Championship:

Boston College

Claremont McKenna-Mudd-Scripps College (CMS)

Fresno State University (FSU)

Furman University

Oklahoma State University

Pepperdine University

Rice University

San Diego State University (SDSU)

Stanford University

University of California, Davis (UC Davis)

University of California, Berkeley (CAL)

University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA)

University of California, San Diego (UCSD)

University of Central Florida

University of Nevada, Las Vegas (UNLV)

University of San Diego (USD)

University of Southern California (USC)

University of Toledo

Villanova University

Named “Club of the Year” for 2011 by the San Diego District Tennis Association and one of the “Top 50 Tennis Resorts in the World” by Tennis Resorts Online, the La Jolla Beach & Tennis Club’s reputation as a top tennis destination started when it attracted its first major tournament – the Pacific Coast Men’s Doubles Championship in 1942.

The Annual Pacific Coast Men’s Doubles Championship is one of the five-oldest tennis events in the world and the second oldest tennis event in the United States. First held in 1890 at The Hotel Del Monte in Monterey, California, the event was created to promote the sale of real estate on the Monterey peninsula. The original concept pitted the best players from the East versus those from the West. This coast-to-coast rivalry was the inspiration for the Davis Cup. Past winners of the Pacific Coast Men’s Doubles Championship include Jack Kramer, Ted Schroeder, Bobby Riggs, Pancho Segura, Don Budge, Tony Trabert, Stan Smith, Bob Lutz, Arthur Ashe, Dennis Ralston, John McEnroe, and many other world-class champions.

The Club will also be hosting the USTA National Hard Court Championships for Women’s 50-90 age groups and La Jolla Beach & Tennis Club Hard Court Tournament for Men’s 60-85 age groups on Monday, May 13, through Sunday, May 19.

Topics: Kelly Jones, La Jolla Beach & Tennis Club, NCAA Men's college tennis, Pacific Coast men's doubles championship, Sports, Tennis News