So two decades years later, when it came time for Rob's son Jake to choose where to play college tennis, Idaho jumped to the top of his list.

"My dad was definitely a positive influence in my decision to come play tennis here at Idaho," Jake said. "He told me stories of the great times he had when he was playing here."

Jake, a Richland, Wash., native and now a sophomore on the Idaho tennis team, has experienced a bit of his own success on the court as a Vandal. In his last tournament of the fall season, Jake teamed up with Abid Akbar to win the doubles title at the Pacific Northwest Intercollegiate.

"His strength in doubles is a combination of having a lot of experience playing doubles growing up, and the style of game he plays," Idaho coach Jeff Beaman said. "His style is looking to attack the net, and that is the perfect style of play in doubles."

With tennis in the family, and a tradition of success in doubles play in particular, Jake and Rob headed to San Diego, Calif., to compete in the USTA National Father/Son doubles championships earlier this month.

After dropping their opening match of the event in nail-biting fashion, a 6-2; 6-7; 5-7 loss, the father-son duo regrouped heading into the consolation bracket, where they rattled off six consecutive victories to claim the consolation title.

"It felt great getting to play with my dad and win the back draw," Jake said. "We both got a little nervous in our first match and couldn't close it out, but we came back and started playing a lot better. My dad has been a big driving force behind my tennis career, he has always been there to help me improve my game, by giving me lessons and helping me with my technique and strategies."

But tennis isn't limited to the men's side of the Knox family. Jake's sister Kasey played college tennis at Eastern Washington, and his other sister, Molly, started out as one of the top players at Portland State before transferring to Idaho this season.

In her first semester of tennis at Idaho, Molly has found success as well. She won the doubles draw at the Eastern Washington/Gonzaga Fall Invitational with teammate Yvette Ly. And like her brother and father, Molly teamed up with her mother, Judy, to win the USTA National Mother/Daughter championships in June of 2010.

"It's great having my sister here, we are a pretty close family and get along very well," Jake said. "I did have some influence on her decision to come here, she was looking for a school where she could pursue a degree in biology and be part of a strong women's tennis team."

With the Knox siblings in the lineup, look for the Vandal men's and women's tennis teams to continue to rise to the top of the Western Athletic Conference.