UCLA Duo Wins Pacific Coast Men's Doubles Tournament in La Jolla

Editor's Note: La Jolla Beach & Tennis Club released the following tournament results on March 3, 2013.

In an exciting finish at the 124th Annual Pacific Coast Men’s Doubles Championship, third-seeded Marcos Giron and Dennis Novikov of UCLA scored a thrilling 6-7 (5), 6-3, 6-4 victory over fifth-seeded Max De Vroome and Eric Johnson of USC in Sunday’s final.

Giron and Novikov become the first UCLA Bruin doubles team to win the prestigious doubles title at the La Jolla Beach & Tennis Club since 2009 when Haythem Abid and Nick Meister combined to win the tournament.

Both teams exchanged service breaks early in the first set, and later after De Vroome dropped serve at 4-4, Novikov served for the set at 5-4, but was broken as he double faulted on break point.

The set was eventually decided in a tiebreaker as Johnson and De Vroome jumped out to a 4-1 lead in the tiebreak. Giron and Novikov rallied and fought off two set points, but the USC duo prevailed 7-5 to win the first set.

Novikov and Giron came back quickly to take a 4-1 lead in the second set and would go on to win the set in only 18 minutes as they lost only four points in their service games.

With the match tied at a set apiece, Giron and Novikov broke Johnson’s serve at love in the fifth game to take a 4-2 lead in the final set. Later, Giron served for the match at 5-4 and took a 40-0 lead only to see Johnson and De Vroome win the next three points to extend the game to deuce. However, Giron proceeded to serve out the match, which took one-hour and 40 minutes.

“It’s great winning such a historic event. This was a confidence booster for both of us,” Giron said following the trophy presentation. “It was a tough match. We really shouldn’t have lost the first set. We knew that even though we lost the set, we knew we could win (the match).”

This year’s Pacific Coast Men’s Doubles Championship featured a draw of 128 doubles teams and entries from 19 collegiate men’s tennis teams. On Saturday, a tournament record 148 scheduled matches were played.

For complete tournament draws, click here for results.

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.