Three Americans Named 2008 NCAA Doubles Champions
Americans' prowess in doubles chronicled in new book, "American Doubles"FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
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05/27/08 - Tulsa, Okla.—Californians Tracy Lin, Riza Zalameda, and Kaes Van't Hof extended America's domination in doubles by winning the 2008 NCAA Doubles Championships. The top-seeded UCLA tandem of Lin-Zalameda defeated Fresno State's Melanie Gloria of Canada and Tinesta Rowe of Jamaica 6-2, 4-6, 6-3. UCLA also won the NCAA Team Championship last week. On the men's side, USC's Van't Hof paired with Colombian Robert Farah to beat Jonas Berg and Erling Tveit, Scandinavians who play for University of Mississippi.
The women's win marks a 27-year winning streak by Americans in NCAA doubles, and Van't Hof's victory marks 32 years (out of 35) that an American has competed for the doubles title. The success of Americans in college doubles has remained constant despite the influx of foreign players.
The phenomenon of American success in doubles is chronicled in American Doubles, which debuted at the NCAA Championships held at the University of Tulsa. The book, written by tennis journalist Marcia Frost, explores the United States' doubles prowess from the successes of such legends as Billie Jean King and Stan Smith to today's top-ranked men's doubles players Bob and Mike Bryan.
American Doubles is packed with touching stories of how some players conceded a chance at singles stardom to preserve ties with a doubles partner, how sibling pairings are tough to beat, and how Americans thrive in a team environment. Readers will learn that the success of Americans in the doubles game runs deep—at the junior and college levels, wheelchair tennis, mixed doubles, World TeamTennis and the pro tours.
Stanford University's Director of Tennis Dick Gould, who coached the Bryans as well as John and Patrick McEnroe, says the book offers "a close-up view that is intriguing, exciting and impossible to put down."
“We’ve felt a renewed interest in doubles the past few years and this book will help the great game even more," says Bob Bryan, who won the doubles championships at the ATP Masters Series Rome this month with brother Mike. "We love the dynamics of the team thing and it is captured so well by Marcia Frost in this work." It was their doubles team who clinched the 2007 Davis Cup Final for the United States.
The book, published by Mansion Grove House (ISBN-13: 978-1-932421-16-3), runs over 200 pages with photographs. It's available on AmericanDoublesBook.net, Amazon.com, BN.com, and at Barnes & Noble and other fine book shops.
ABOUT MARCIA FROST
Frost is a longtime journalist, based in New York, who started covering tennis in 1981. Her work includes editing and writing for CollegeAndJuniorTennis.com (published by the Port Washington Tennis Academy in New York), Tennis.com, USTA magazine, Smash Magazine, Tennis Life, Racquet Sports Industry, and Tennis Championships magazine. She volunteers on the USTA/Eastern college tennis committee and speaks at college showcases.
For interviews, excerpts and art, contact pr@mediamoxie.com.
