In the inexorable march of Rosie (Vera Cruz) Bareis and Rose (Thomas) Jones into Hawaii’s Tennis Hall of Fame, their utter dominance in doubles was all but a footnote.

Their tennis gifts and skills helped them get inducted into the Hall of Fame this month at USTA Hawaii Pacific Section’s annual banquet, but there was much more to it.

They changed the face of Hawaii tennis forever, and give back much more than they ever received.

Their success — unbeaten in Hawaii doubles for nearly nine years, not dropping a set for a mind-boggling six, pulling the University of Hawaii into prominence — has been followed by distinguished careers in the game they love.

It began with a bunch of bus rides to practices and matches. They have 16 siblings between them. They were not spoiled kids with relentless parents, growing up in private clubs and schools.

They were your basic Hawaii keiki, one athletic and hardly academically inclined, the other wise beyond her years and happy to set up the punchline or, in this case, the poach.

“One coach early on said ‘Give the ball to Rosie,’ ” Jones recalled the night they were inducted. “In all of the hundreds of matches we played together I tried to do that.”

Bareis was asked why she chose Jones initially to be her doubles partner. Her answer was uncharacteristically short and sweet: “Because I want be around the best player and person possible.”

Their partnership began in 1978. Jones was about to help Kalani to successive state team championships and win a pair of state doubles titles with Kelly Michaels. Bareis was just beginning to grasp — and fall in love with — the game at Kailua.

Former University of Hawaii coach Jim Schwitters saw a future in them, individually and collectively, offering both scholarships.

“I really believe that day he said, ‘I believe you could play for UH,’ he gave me my opportunity to do something with myself,” Bareis says. “I will be forever grateful.”

They would play together 12 years in Hawaii, going unbeaten from 1978 to ’87. That didn’t include what they accomplished in a UH career that saw the Wahine go 138-14 and win 50 straight. Jones and Bareis played No. 1 doubles and captained all four years, and kicked in 100-plus singles victories each.

UH won 12 tournaments in their careers, including the 1983 Sugar Bowl, where UH’s two-person “team” took the doubles and singles (Bareis) titles to sneak past nationally ranked Arizona State.

The next year, Jones claimed the Jack Bonham Award, the athletic department’s most coveted honor. The two were inducted into the UH Sports Circle of Honor five years ago.

Now in their 50s they remain in the game, and infatuated by it.

“Tennis has given me so much I can’t regret anything,” Jones says. “Rosie says we’ve never worked a day in our life because we continue to be able to do a job where she’s on the court and I’m with accounts in a sport we both love.

“I got to play many years with this crazy woman. Playing at UH was great. I played a little after college and that was fun. Tennis has been so good me.”

Bareis is now director of tennis at the Claremont Resort, a legendary hotel and tennis mecca set in the beautiful Oakland hills above UC-Berkeley. Thomas, living in Spokane, Wash., has worked for Adidas, Prince, Wilson and now Babolat. Both have two grown children.

Both were also top-ranked singles players here and have had national success — Bareis won 11 USTA national age-group championships — but they will always be remembered for doubles. Their strategy was simple: Jones’ fluid and all but flawless backcourt game would ultimately push opponents out of position and Bareis would swoop in to terminate.

She lived for it.

“I loved being on court with Rose,” says Bareis, whose grandson Joseph stood with her at her induction speech. “I loved her backhand slice. She would always slide it out wide and give me an opportunity to poach. I loved every time she hit her left-handed serve and would say, ‘I’m going messy’ and hit with a whole bunch of spin. I knew the ball was going to kick like a mule and I was like a dog panting, waiting to poach.

“Off the court, I appreciate that we still catch up with each other. Every time I talk with her it’s so nice to catch up and make sure she is doing well, and just always being there for each other.”

Bareis was the NAIA District 29 Coach of the Year in 1987, while at Hawaii Pacific. She raised daughters Jessica and Jazmine in Northern California, where she moved in 1995 to take over Harbor Bay Club. In four years, she transformed it into the USTA’s National Organization of the Year, with the help of “life coach” and aunt Margie Peterman, who has been her mentor on the mainland.

Bareis got the call from the Claremont in 2003 and has been there since, becoming the only certified female USPTA master professional in the NorCal Section, along with winning an assortment of USTA awards.

She has coached kids at all four junior Grand Slams. Most notable is Mackenzie McDonald, an NCAA champion at UCLA and currently the world’s 79th-ranked player. He will play in next month’s Hawaii Open, along with ninth-ranked Kei Nishikori.

Both “Roses” have given much back — here, on the mainland and beyond. After sons Ethan and Shaun were out of high school, Jones went on a medical mission to Kenya and Tanzania to provide care and, of course, teach tennis to children.

“Besides having huge families, we have lots in common,” says Bareis, who had more than 100 family and friends at her induction. “We love tennis. We give back to the community as much as we possibly can.

“I am so lucky to wake up every day and be on a tennis court.”