A familiar foe stood on the other side of the net in one of the biggest matches Jami Yonekura-Jones would ever play – the 1988 NCAA Division I Women’s Doubles final. 

A top-ranked junior growing up in San Diego, Yonekura-Jones had traveled east to play her college tennis on scholarship at the University of Miami. But she and partner Ronnis Reis would be making the return back to the Southland and the campus of UCLA, host of that year’s NCAAs, where the senior/freshman pairing of Allyson Cooper and Stella Sampras awaited them in the final. 

“Stella and I had been friends and doubles partners growing up playing the juniors together,” Yonekura-Jones recalled recently of the longtime UCLA coach, who she paired with to reach a No. 3 national junior doubles ranking. “And now here we were playing each other for the NCAA title. We lost 6-4 in the third.”

Despite being on the losing end to her friend in such a close match, the Del Mar resident Yonekura-Jones thinks back on that 35-year-old memory fondly. 

The 55-year-old San Diego City College women’s tennis coach will no doubt spend time recalling that NCAA finals run and her other big career accomplishments as both player and coach on Sunday, August 6th, when she is honored with the second annual Women & Girls Who Ace Award. 

The award recognizes an outstanding Southern California-based leader and role model, dedicated to the mentorship and advancement of women in sport. The two-day Women & Girls Who Ace event will be held in San Diego August 6-7, held in conjunction with the start of the USTA Billie Jean King 18s & 16s National Championships. For a complete schedule and registration information for all the events at the University of San Diego, click here.

“I’m so honored to be receiving this award,” Yonekura-Jones said. “Being a college tennis coach is very rewarding. I’ve been fortunate to mentor my players and send some of them off to continue their college playing careers.” 

One of those players is Briana Hooks, who Yonekura-Jones still keeps in touch with. Hooks had the desire to play tennis after San Diego CC and Yonekura-Jones helped steer her to Cal-State Stanislaus in the Bay Area. “And now she’s a Park Ranger,” Yonekura-Jones said. “I’m so happy she kept with it and followed through with her degree. I’m not sure she would have done that otherwise. I like to think I might have had a little hand in making that happen.”

Since her college playing days ended Yonekura-Jones has always a been a coach – minus an 11-year stint from 1997 to 2008 to raise three boys Kyle, Ty and Dylan with husband Eugene. 

After graduating Phi Beta Kappa and cum laude with a degree in English Literature, Jones became the Assistant Women’s Tennis Coach at the University of Arizona. In 1993, Jones became the Head Women’s Tennis Coach at Long Beach State University.

It was a chance run-in with old tennis friend Gretchen Magers at the USTA Girls’ Nationals some 10 years ago that enabled Yonekura-Jones to learn about an opening for the women’s job at San Diego City College that Magers would soon be departing. 

“At the Division I level you need to win and the focus is different,” Yonekura-Jones said. “It was definitely a change going from that to where anyone can join the team. I’ve had players who I taught in class come out for the team. It’s hard to get girls to commit to playing community college tennis, but it’s very rewarding for me when they do. They are staying in school and enjoying a great sport with teammates they will know for the rest of their lives.”

Yonekura-Jones has served on the Boards of both the San Diego District Tennis Association and the USPTA San Diego Division. In 2016, she was the SDDTA Female Pro/Coach of the Year as well as the USPTA San Diego Female Player of the Year. In 2022, she completed her Master of Science degree in Sport Administration from Arkansas State University.

With her youngest boy headed off to college in the fall, Yonekura-Jones hinted she may be ready to get back into a full-time coaching and teaching role. “I really enjoy coaching at San Diego City College and don’t think we could ever leave the area. It’s such a rewarding job, but you never know.” 

The schedule for the Sunday Coaching Workshop to take place at the University of San Diego that will precede the awards reception is as follows:

• 9am-11:45am – Unique on-court workshop delivered by top national female trainers (Presenters: Milena Vidos & Marley Woods).
• 12pm-1pm – Lunch while observing the best American juniors compete in the USTA Billie Jean King Girls’ 18s & 16s National Championships for a spot in the US Open.
• 1pm-4pm – Off court interactive leadership training presented by PTR-W (Presenters: Linda Low & Sarah McQuade) and a CIF Coach Panel (Presenter: Ron Marquez).
• 4:15pm-6:00pm – Annual Women & Girls Who Ace Award reception atop San Diego Bay honoring Jami Yonekura-Jones.

To register for the Women & Girls Who Ace Coaching Workshop at USD, click here.

To learn more about Women & Girls Who Ace, visit ustasocal.com/womenwhoace.