OJAI, Calif. (Feb. 20, 2013) – The 113th Ojai Valley Tennis Tournament will play host to the California Community College Athletic Association (CCCAA) men’s and women’s team and individual State Championships at the nationally renowned tournament April 24-28.
The Ojai, a Southern California tennis tradition since 1896, is the oldest amateur tournament played at the same location in the United States. The Ojai features competition among more than 1,500 junior, high school, collegiate and adult players at more than 110 courts and 30 sites in Ventura County, including private courts in Ojai.
Longtime Ojai collegiate tournament official Terry Lynch of Ventura has been named the event’s tournament director.
“What’s really amazing about The Ojai hosting the California Community College State Championships is that each of the 84 men’s and women’s teams in all of California that field tennis teams will be able to participate and be represented at The Ojai,” Lynch said. “So we are hosting what we feel is a true state championship. The Ojai has had a long history and has fielded strong community college divisions for years. We’re proud to be hosting the state championships as part of The Ojai.”
The top team based on regular season performance from Northern California will face the top team from Southern California in a dual match for the CCCAA State Team Championship on Wednesday, April 24. The women’s match will begin at noon at Ventura College and the men at 1 p.m. at Pierpont Racquet Club.
“Holding the CCCAA Men’s and Women’s Championships at Ojai will be new for our programs and Association. Obviously the history associated with the Ojai Tournament and tremendous gathering of tennis talent provides a great venue and opportunity to showcase Community College tennis and we are very grateful to the organizers and staff for hosting our Championships,” said Carlyle Carter, CEO and President of the California Community College Athletic Association.
Following the team championship, there will be an awards banquet at 6:30 p.m. at the Top of the Harbor at the Crowne Plaza in Ventura.
The team championship marks the second straight year The Ojai has played host to a major conference team championships. Last year, the inaugural Pac-12 Men’s Team championship debuted at The Ojai, with four-time defending NCAA Division I champion USC taking the title.
In individual play, regional rounds, which serve as qualifying for the state championships, will be played throughout Oxnard and Ventura April 25-26. Ventura College will be the home site for the women and the Oxnard Tennis Center the home site for the men.
The top 16 singles and doubles teams that come out of regionals will then advance to the Individual Championships at The Ojai. The first two rounds will be contested on April 27 at the Ojai Valley Athletic Club, and the semifinals and finals will be played at Libbey Park on April 28.
Last year’s California Community College men’s state team champion was Fresno City College, with Foothill College’s Tobias Galskov and College of the Desert doubles duo Sergio Chip and Justin Seller taking individual state championship honors in men’s singles and doubles, respectively.
On the women’s side, the California Community College individual and team State titles are currently vacant. Santa Monica College swept the women’s state championship awards in 2011, with Katerina Mozolyuk winning in singles and Criss Rodriguez and Krystal Hansard winning in doubles.
Southern California tennis venues which have most recently hosted the California Community College State Championships were the Balboa Tennis Club in San Diego, in 2012, and the Tennis Club at Newport Beach, in 2010.
Located in the heart of downtown Ojai, Libbey Park is the tournament’s principal venue and site of the annual Pac-12 Championship matches, as well as the finals of all 30 divisions of The Ojai, including the collegiate Div. III West Regionals, Independent Colleges, Junior and CIF events, and the Open division.
The Ojai is now on Facebook and Twitter. Follow all 30 divisions on Twitter @TheOjai. Like us on Facebook at: www.facebook.com/theojaitennistournament
About The Ojai Valley Tennis Tournament
The Ojai Valley Tennis Club, founded in 1895, and sponsor of the largest amateur tennis tournament in the United States, will present the 113th Ojai Valley Tennis Tournament April 24-28. The bucolic southern California community of Ojai, surrounded by rugged mountains and nestled among orange groves, has hosted the tournament, referred to as ‘The Ojai®,’ since 1896, when it was founded by NCAA doubles champion William L. Thacher to promote amateur tennis in California. Operating with no paid employees and no tennis courts of its own, the non-profit Ojai Valley Tennis Club produces The Ojai through the concerted efforts of more than 500 volunteers. The club led the effort to rebuild the city’s four upper public courts in 2003, and completed reconstruction of the four lower courts in 2011. The Ojai finished runner-up in the USTA’s “Best Tennis Town in America” ratings in 2009. Libbey Park is the main venue for the tournament. The courts, in the heart of downtown Ojai, are the site of the annual Pac-12 Championship and California Community College matches, and the finals of all divisions of The Ojai, including Div. III West Regionals, Independent Colleges, Junior and CIF events, and the Open.
About the CCCAA
The California Community College Athletic Association (CCCAA) is the governing body providing oversight of intercollegiate athletics within the California Community College System. The single largest educational system in the world, with attendance in excess of over 2.6 million students annually, the California Community College system serves one-third of all community college students in the United States. The CCCAA establishes the rules and regulations to administer the intercollegiate athletic activities of the nearly 27,000 student athletes attending California’s community colleges. To view the latest news, information, and updates of all 23 CCCAA-sanctioned sports visit www.cccaasports.org.
CONTACT:
Steve Pratt (310) 408-4555, [email protected]
Damian Secore (818) 462-5614, [email protected]
Jason Boggs, CCCAA Communications, (916) 444-1600, [email protected]
