August 14th, 2018
6 Different Winners at USTA Florida 18 & Over 3.0/4.0/5.0+ League Sectionals
Hillsborough County won the Men’s 5.0+ title for the second straight year and took over sole possession of first place in the USTA Florida League Championship Cup race when the USTA Florida 18 & Over 3.0/4.0/5.0+ League Sectionals completed on Monday at the USTA National Campus in Orlando.
Hillsborough County (Northdale Golf & Tennis Club, Tampa) finished ahead of Orange County (Orlando Tennis Center) 3-0 to 2-1 in round robin play in the Men’s 5.0+ final. Other division winners were Duval County (Florida Yacht Club, Jacksonville) in the Women’s 5.0+ division, Collier County (Heritage Bay, Naples) in the Women’s 4.0, Broward County (Weston Tennis Center) in the Men’s 4.0, Miami-Dade South (Crandon Park, Key Biscayne) in the Women’s 3.0, and Leon County (Forestmeadows Park, Tallahassee) in the Men’s 3.0.
Broward County in the Men’s 4.0 broke a four-year winning streak in the division by Miami-Dade. Escambia and Marion counties were both a heartbreaking 0-2 in finals over the weekend, with Marion appearing in its first final of 2018.
Duval County (Jacksonville) in the Women’s 5.0+ final edged a team containing USTA National Campus (Orlando) employees 2-1 in the final.
The event drew the top 18 & Over division USTA League teams from throughout Florida, representing various clubs, parks, recreational departments and organizations that finished at the top of their local leagues. Teams consisting of two singles and three doubles lines (one singles and two doubles in the 5.0+) competed in a non-elimination round-robin format, with flight winners advancing into single-elimination rounds or finals.
The championship teams next advance to represent the USTA Florida Section at the following USTA 18 & Over League National Championships:
5.0+ — Oct. 5-7, USTA National Campus, Orlando, Fla.
4.0 — Oct. 5-7, Arlington Tennis Center, Arlington, Texas
3.0 — Oct. 12-14, Darling Tennis Center, Las Vegas, Nev.
Division winners and finalists:
18 & Over 5.0+ Women
Final: Duval County (Florida Yacht Club, Jacksonville) d. Osceola County (USTA National Campus, Orlando) 2-1
Championship Match Results:
No. 1 Singles: Nicole Flower (Duval) d. Jodi Kleiner 6-1, 6-1
No. 1 Doubles: Adelaide Wood/Brittany Hill (Osceola) d. Taylor Morgan/Marie-Laure Bougnol-Potter 6-1, 6-1
No. 2 Doubles: Ashley Cowart/Natalia Lebedeva (Duval) d. Cristina Brace/Stacey Percival 6-3, 6-3
Duval Season Roster: Susan Kirby (captain), Casey Cohen, Ashley Cowart, Estela De Paula, Nicole Flower, Viviana Rojas, Marie-Laure Bougnol-Potter, Katerina Janosek, Taylor Morgan, Natalia Lebedeva
[row] [column md=”6″]
18 & Over 5.0 Men
Final: Hillsborough County (Northdale Golf & Tennis Club, Tampa) finished ahead of Orange County (Orlando Tennis Center) 3-0 to 2-1 in round robin play
Hillsborough Season Roster: Richard Beardsley (captain), Christopher Henderson, Jason Hood, Andrew Laflin, Jonathas Sucupira, Stephen Lappano, Jim Overton, Christopher Muller, Nestor Vargas
[row] [column md=”6″]
18 & Over 4.0 Women
Final: Collier County (Heritage Bay, Naples) d. Escambia County (Roger Scott Tennis Center, Pensacola) 4-1
Championship Match Results:
No. 1 Singles: Sindi Sanzica (Collier) d. Beata Antal 3-6, 7-6, 1-0
No. 2 Singles: Juliane Callis (Collier) d. Ashle Tran 6-3, 6-3
No. 1 Doubles: Melissa Paravalos/Rachel Trahan (Escambia) d. Mira Rochford/Lynne Hancock 6-3, 6-3
No. 2 Doubles: Terry Dirr/Carole Flegel (Collier) d. Renee Baggett/Angela Stewart 7-6, 7-6
No. 3 Doubles: Samantha Kennedy/Carla Klumpp (Collier) d. Tami Manning/Mary Jane Evertz 6-2, 6-1
Collier Season Roster: Carole Flegel (captain), Catherine Barsky, Juliane Callis, Sherry Newland, Lisa Ruffolo, Carla Klumpp, Anne Mortillaro, Lynne Hancock, Tasha Kawell, Robin Jelinek, Mira Rochford, Samantha Kennedy, Barbara Dovin, Trish Erickson, Linda Wheeler, Terry Dirr, Gwendolyn Messonnier, Sindi Sanzica
[row] [column md=”6″]
18 & Over 4.0 Men
Final: Broward County (Weston Tennis Center) d. Escambia County (Roger Scott Tennis Center, Pensacola) 3-2
Championship Match Results:
No. 1 Singles: Luke Racine (Escambia) d. Jose Peraza 2-6, 6-4, 1-0
No. 2 Singles: Roberto Nieves (Broward) d. Glenn Shane 7-5, 6-3
No. 1 Doubles: Alejandro Izquierdo/Francisco Marcano (Broward) d. Kevin Groom/Russ Parris 6-1, 6-3
No. 2 Doubles: Stephen Baes/Christopher Brown (Escambia) d. Tony Alzuru/Hugo Moreno 6-4, 6-4
No. 3 Doubles: Andres Piske/Efrain Torres (Broward) d. Harley Spann/Benjamin Barrow 1-6, 6-1, 1-0
Broward Season Roster: Jorge Evaristo (captain), Andres Piske, Humberto Cuffaro, Francisco Marcano, Osvaldo Canel, Jose Peraza, Jorge Corrales, William Villalobos, Hugo Moreno, Brian Wilner, Roberto Nieves, Alejandro Izquierdo, Pedro Garcia, Humberto Valbuena, Efrain Torres, Tony Alzuru, Carlos Casadevall, Jorge Yegres
[row] [column md=”6″]
18 & Over 3.0 Women
Final: Miami-Dade South (Crandon Park, Key Biscayne) d. Marion County (Ft. King Tennis Center, Ocala) 4-1
Championship Match Results:
No. 1 Singles: Pamela Kulniszewski (Marion) d. Shayna Lopate 6-2, 6-1
No. 2 Singles: Debora von Habsburg (Miami) d. Dina Sapienza 6-3, 6-4
No. 1 Doubles: Gema De Dios/Margarita Nunez (Miami) d. Natalie Petsche/Carmen Rosario 7-5, 3-6, 1-0
No. 2 Doubles: Marangelli Orellana/Anisley Tarragona (Miami) d. Lauren Joyce/Amanda Keel 6-0, 6-2
No. 3 Doubles: Yvonne Imbert/Kiki Buigas (Miami) d. Monika Raczkowski/Carol Mecca 6-4, 6-4
Miami Season Roster: Yvonne Imbert (captain), Carter Sox, Anisley Tarragona, Sara Valles, Shayna Lopate, Kiki Buigas, Maria Perez, Margarita Nunez, Debora von Habsburg, Marangelli Orellana, Ana Gotay, Gema De Dios, Valentina Michel
[row] [column md=”6″]
18 & Over 3.0 Men
Final: Leon County (Forestmeadows Park, Tallahassee) finished ahead of Marion County (Ft. King Tennis Center, Ocala) 3-0 to 2-1 in round robin play
Leon Season Roster: Chris Thomson (captain), Ryan Kiessig, Craig Dennis, Jay Jaskolski, Michael Schoeneberg, Riley Pool, Thomas Curry, Tyler Allee, Andri Randrianasolo, John Luque, Ricardo Schneider, Jayson Shannon, Ira Simons, Dennis Caldwell
[row] [column md=”6″]
NTRP levels of 18 & Over team play were 3.0, 4.0 and 5.0+. For more information on NTRP levels go to www.usta.com/en/home/play/play-as-a-member/national/about-ntrp-ratings.html.
2018 USTA FLORIDA LEAGUE
CHAMPIONSHIP CUP STANDINGS
Hillsborough County takes sole control of first place following the 18 & Over 3.0/4.0/5.0+ league sectionals. The USTA Florida League Championship Cup is awarded to the county with the most league sectionals titles during the 2018 season (standings through Aug. 14, recent winners in bold):
1. Hillsborough County (6 titles) — 55&Over-M3.5/4.0/4.5,W4.5, X40&Over-7.0, 18&Over-M5.0+
2. Pinellas County (5) — 65&Over-W7.0/8.0, 55&Over-W3.5/4.0, 40&Over-W4.5+
3. Collier County (4) — 65&Over-M7.0/8.0, 40&Over-W4.0, 18&Over-W4.0
4T. Broward County (3) — 40&Over-M3.5/W3.5, 18&Over-M4.0
4T. Duval County (3) — 65&Over-W6.0, 55&Over-W3.0, 18&Over-W5.0+
4T. Miami-Dade County (3) — X40&Over-9.0, 40&Over-M4.0, 18&Over-W3.0
7. Leon County (2) — 40&Over-M3.0, 18&Over-M3.0
8T. Escambia County (1) — X40&Over-6.0
8T. Martin County (1) — X40&Over-8.0
8T. Orange County (1) — 40&Over-M4.5+
8T. Osceola County (1) — 40&Over-W3.0
Note: County determined by location of team’s home club. Season-ending ties to be broken by teams’ 1st-4th place results at USTA League Nationals.
Next Sectionals: Aug. 18-20, 18 & Over 2.5/3.5/4.5, USTA National Campus, Orlando
Established in 1980, USTA League has grown from 13,000 participants in a few parts of the country in its first year to more than 904,000 players across the nation today, making it the world’s largest recreational tennis league. The league groups players by using six National Tennis Rating Program (NTRP) levels, ranging from 2.5 (entry) to 5.0 (advanced). USTA League is open to any USTA member 18 years of age or older.
For more information on USTA Florida Leagues go to www.ustaflorida.com/leagues.
