History

For many years after tennis was introduced into the United States, most of the best players were students at prestigious Eastern colleges. So it's not surprising that the intercollegiate tennis championship is the oldest of the many events now conducted by the NCAA.

The U. S. Lawn Tennis Association held its first national tournament in 1881 and the first intercollegiate tournament took place just two years later, on the grounds of a mental institution in Hartford, Connecticut. Joseph Clark of Harvard was the singles champion and he teamed with Howard Taylor to win the doubles championship.

Except for a singles victory by a player from Connecticut's Trinity College in 1886, the championships were totally dominated by Ivy League schools until 1920. Philip Neer of Stanford won the singles title that year. That marked a real changing of the guard. Tennis became a genuinely national sport during the 1920s and the intercollegiate championships have reflected that, although California schools have won the major share of titles since 1920.

The USLTA and the NCAA co-sponsored the tournament from 1938 through 1940 and the NCAA took over sole control in 1941.

Only singles and doubles championships were conducted until 1946, when the team championship was added.

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