Four counties, including USTA Florida League Championship Cup-leading Broward, were title winners at the USTA Florida Combo 18 & Over 5.5/7.5/9.5 held Dec. 14-16 at the USTA National Campus in Orlando.
Broward jumped to a total of 16 sectional championship wins with titles in the men’s 7.5 (Dillon Tennis Center, Oakland Park), men’s 9.5 (Midtown Athletic Club, Weston) and women’s 9.5 (Weston Hills Country Club, Weston). The women’s 9.5 was a battle to the very end as Broward managed to edge out Orange County’s Lake Cane squad 3-1 to 3-1 in round-robin play, which ultimately came down to individual match scores.
Other teams raising sectional championship trophies were Alachua County (Westside Park, Gainesville) in the women’s 7.5, Hillsborough County (Westchase Community Assoc., Tampa) in the women’s 5.5, and Leon County (Tom Brown Park, Tallahassee) re-captured the men’s 5.5 division for the fourth time in five years.
“Four out of our total nine players on this team only started playing tennis in just the past year or so, so the biggest challenge for us was to get them up to speed,” said Tallahassee men’s 5.5 team captain Nagendra Yelugoti. “We practiced regularly, worked hard on our game, and it was a great team effort.”
It was the final USTA Florida League Sectionals of 2019, and the win for Broward County as they reclaimed the USTA Florida League Championship Cup for the third time in four years.
The competing teams represented various clubs, parks, recreational departments and organizations, and finished at the top of their local leagues during the 2019 season to advance to the USTA Florida Combo 18 & Over League Sectional Championships.
Final results:
Combo 18 & Over Men’s 5.5
Final: Leon County (Tom Brown Park, Tallahassee) d. Alachua County (Westside Park, Gainesville) 4-0 to 0-4 in round-robin play
Leon County Season Roster: Nagendra Yelugoti (Captain), Raj Maheswarapu, Sai Phanidhar Pavuluri, Sumanth Gadde, Goutham Raghavarapu, Ashutosh Kumar, Nitinumar Patel, Sanjeev Jayaprakash, Vishveshwar Kontham, Rahul Reddy Lotla
Combo 18 & Over Women’s 5.5
Final: Hillsborough County (Westchase Community Assoc., Tampa) d. Duval County (Durbin Crossing, St. Johns) 2-1
Championship Match Results:
No. 1 Doubles: Sherri Ouchi/Sarah Huffamn (Duval) d. Monika Leon/Trina Ashour 6-2, 6-0
No. 2 Doubles: Catherine Ansel/Natalie Martinez (Hillsborough) d. Mary Helen Goodwin/Liza Rodriguez 7-6, 3-6, 1-0
No. 3 Doubles: Anne Marie Lennox/Heidi Pogue (Hillsborough) d. Nikki Warner/Oksana Andersen 6-4, 6-2
Hillsborough County Season Roster: Moira Konyk (Captain), Kristen DeAngelo, Natalie Martinez, Sarah Perron, Gina Lund, Heidi Pogue, Trina Ashour, Megan Corn, Michalene Sennet, Christine Lahiff, Monika Leon, Cara Anderson, Catherine Ansel, Anne Marie Lennox, Kelly Machonis, Melissa Bode
Combo 18 & Over Men’s 7.5
Final: Broward County (Dillon Tennis Center, Oakland Park) d. Orange County (USTA National Campus, Orlando) 2-1
Championship Match Results:
No. 1 Doubles: Lenny Santiago/Franck Desboyaux (Orange) d. Kelly Painter/Le Corney 6-3, 6-7, 1-0
No. 2 Doubles: Anthony Phillips/Eliu Montero (Broward) d. Peter Breuer/Diego Hermano 6-4, 6-4
No. 3 Doubles: Charles Gould/Marcus Pfenninger (Broward) d. Andre Geraldo Pires de Mello/Giberto Brandolezi 6-4, 6-3
Broward County Season Roster: Kevin Sims (Captain), Juan Maldonado, Anthony Phillips, Armando Orozco, Marcus Pfenninger, Charles Gould, Eliu Montero, Michael Stites, Kelly Painter, Ronald Coletto, Le Corney, Patricio Casali, Rene Elvir
Combo 18 & Over Women’s 7.5
Final: Alachua County (Westside Park, Gainesville) d. Miami-Dade South (Salvadore Park, Coral Gables) 2-1
Championship Match Results:
No. 1 Doubles: Marissa Valentine-King/Amanda Fuller (Alachua) d. Sandra Bazain/Beth Pritchett 6-2, 6-3
No. 2 Doubles: Rachel Rodriguez/Lan Hoang-Minh (Alachua) d. Gricel Boto Bernales/Garvine Recalde 6-2, 6-2
No. 3 Doubles: Estefania Lacoa/Alejandra Siller (Miami-Dade) d. Christa Arnold/Peggi Bockman 6-2, 6-0
Alachua County Season Roster: Marissa Valentine-King (Captain), Elaine Almond, Amanda Fuller, Susan Benton, Cynthia Thibault, Christa Arnold, Alison Sagas, Samantha Walton, Peggi Bockman, Kirstyn Quandt, Paula Rios-Glusberger, Rachel Rodriguez, Allison Shinn, Lan Hoang-Minh
Combo 18 & Over Men’s 9.5
Final: Broward County (Midtown Athletic Club, Weston) d. Hillsborough County (Freedman Tennis Complex, Tampa) 3-0 to 2-1 in round-robin play
Broward County Season Roster: Emilio Baez (Captain), Eduardo Pacheco, Antonio Maciasvaldes, Justin Touchstone, Ricardo Cardenas, Tony Faso, Jesus Rafael Rovero, Willy Sandoval, Inigo Ojer, Todd Schlorf, Laurent Leclerc, Pedro Ramirez, Dario Spilkin, Kenny Torrellas, Jeff Bill, Santiago Lopez, Joshua Sagille, Leonardo Torrellas
Combo 18 & Over Women’s 9.5
Final: Broward County (Weston Hills Country Club, Weston) d. Orange County (Lake Cane Tennis Center, Orlando) 3-1 to 3-1 in round-robin play
Broward County Season Roster: Doris Montero (Captain), Alaina Fotiu-Wojtowicz, Natalia Moll, Leyvis Concepcion, Victoria Pierruccini, Katrina Elder-Bush, Nastasha Rodriguez, Elizabeth Galphin, Gabriela Castanon, Kelsey Matthews, Sherril Colombo
For more information on USTA Florida Leagues or to view local league schedules for 2020 go to www.ustaflorida.com/leagues.
