Kronemann at home

Trevor Kronemann has been a part of countless matches during his career in tennis, whether it be coaching or competing.

He has played at all of professional tennis’ Grand Slam events — the Australian Open, the French Open, Wimbledon and the U.S. Open.

But the matches that now mean the most to Kronemann, at least professionally, are the ones he’s made in the past year in Orange County.

Kronemann, 38, was named men’s tennis coach at his alma mater, UC Irvine, last July. Then, he was named coach of the Newport Beach Breakers of World Team Tennis in March.

For Kronemann, it’s about more than returning to his roots. It’s about making a difference in tennis where those roots were planted some 20 years ago, when he was a four-time All-American tennis player for the Anteaters.

And to be coach of the Breakers, a team which he has coached against for the past seven years as Springfield Lasers coach, couldn’t be better.

“It’s the final piece,” said Kronemann, who lives in Mission Viejo with his wife, Melanie, and three children ranging from eight-months to 7 years old. “It’s a true homecoming. It made my whole life come full-circle, because I played tennis in Orange County and I have connections in Orange County. It’s the icing on the cake.”

He grew up in Florida, but he began making his tennis mark when he came out west to UC Irvine in 1986 on a tennis scholarship. Four years later, Kronemann, who helped UCI become Big West champion all four years, was named conference Player of the Year in 1990.

The ‘Eaters also made it to the No. 4 national ranking that year.

“We had some great teams,” Kronemann said. “Pepperdine, USC, UCLA, UC Irvine, Long Beach State and Stanford. Those were the ‘schools of tennis’ then, if you will. It was a really special time of my life.”

It was Kronemann, with partner Mike Briggs, who made it to the final of the NCAA Division I doubles tournament in 1989. The UCI Hall of Fame member also made a connection with former UCI Coach Greg Patton, who also coached Kronemann when he was on Newport Beach’s old WTT team, the Dukes.

In 1993, Kronemann was named the Co-MVP of the league. And the ’94 Dukes squad is one of the few teams in WTT history to finish 14-0 in the regular season.

Kronemann has never lost that winning spirit. It’s something Newport Beach Breakers Executive Director Jeff Purser said he noticed when the Breakers were interviewing coaching candidates following the departure of Dick Leach.

“He brings a lot of energy and a lot of drive,” Purser said. “Trevor wants to win and, as much as [World Team Tennis] is about entertainment, it’s about competition. Trevor wants to play hard and wants to win the championship.”

That attitude was certainly nurtured during a successful career on the Assn. of Tennis Professionals Tour during the 1990s, when Kronemann won six doubles titles and was ranked as high as No. 19 in the world.

Still, Kronemann, who coached at Cal Poly San Luis Obispo for five seasons before returning to UCI, certainly knows what it feels like to be on the losing end. In that 1989 NCAA final with Briggs, he served for the match before losing. And, while playing with the Dukes in the championship match, he and his partner needed to win just three games in the last set for the WTT title.

They won just two.

“The times I remember the most are some of the big matches I lost,” Kronemann said. “It’s great to win, but you’ve got to take the good with the bad. I played tournaments about 40 weeks a year for 10 years, and I went home with the trophy six times. That’s a pretty small percentage.”

So Kronemann is also a realist. And as much as he’s glad to coach players like Pete Sampras and Maria Sharapova with the Breakers, as well as regulars like Rick Leach and Ramon Delgado, he also enjoys the collegiate coaching experience.

“It’s a passion for the game,” Kronemann said. “It’s watching young players grow into young men, academically and athletically.”

Only two coaching goals remain, he said. No. 1 is bringing a World Team Tennis championship to Orange County. The other is bringing an NCAA men’s tennis championship to UC Irvine.

Lofty goals. Then again, Kronemann has never been about aiming low.

“When interviewing, he talked about winning,” Purser said. “He asked ‘What can I do to help us grow this into a great product?’ And he’s a local guy. He has ties to the community, and that’s important.”

Important to the Breakers and Kronemann alike.

“I’m here where I belong in Orange County,” he said. “This is it. This is where I want to retire as coach.”

MATT SZABO may be reached at (714) 966-4614 or at matthew.szabo@latimes.com.