The Ojai Valley Tennis Tournament – Ventura County’s spring tradition unlike any other – comes with a new wrinkle for the 118th edition of the tournament April 25-29.
The Ojai will introduce a new Women’s Division III Invitational division that will feature the top NCAA Division III universities on the west coast competing against each other in singles and doubles competition. Each draw will include a bracket of 32 singles entries and 16 in doubles, with a consolation back draw in singles.
The Women’s Division III Invitational division will award trophies to the champion and runner-up in the individual draws as well as a team trophy to the university with the most combined success in singles and doubles (via a points system) at The Ojai’s host venue, Libbey Park, on Sunday, April 29.
“California has, arguably, the best collegiate tennis in the country. This is an opportunity for our tennis fans to see many of the best collegiate players up close and personal in a beautiful, intimate setting,” said Terry Lynch, collegiate tournament director of The Ojai.
“We are thrilled to begin a new era at The Ojai with the Women’s Division III Invitational division, and we believe this provides the tournament with a nice, complementary balance to The Ojai’s Men’s Division III West competition.”
The Women’s Division III Invitational replaces what was the Women’s Independent Colleges division among the tournament’s 26 divisions competing on the court.
Those divisions range from the prodigious boys and girls junior and CIF (high school) draws to the famed men’s and women’s Open divisions, to the fiercely competitive Pac-12 Men’s Team Championships and Women’s Individual Championships annually televised across the nation on the Pac-12 Network.
Founded in 1896 by William Thacher, The Ojai is North America’s longest running amateur tennis tournament played at the same location. Tournament competition is played on courts across West Ventura County, including Ojai private homes, Ventura, and Oxnard. Pac-12 men’s team play and finals are hosted at Libbey Park in downtown Ojai. All told, approximately 1,500 players take to the hardcourts during the week of The Ojai.
Updated tournament information, including tickets to the tennis action at Libbey Park, the Ojai Valley Inn and the Ojai Athletic Club, can be found at the tournament’s official website, theojai.net.