The USTA Adult League National Championship Series began on September 29 and runs through November 12. USTA Florida has 38 teams representing the Sunshine State and so far, as of October 20, the section has a National Champion!
Miami-Dade County (Kendall Tennis Training Center) in the Adult 40 & Over 4.5 Men’s division is USTA Florida’s first National Champion this year! On top of their win, they also took home the title last year, marking consecutive titles for the team from South Florida.
This was an incredible run for the Florida team, which began with a win over Pacific Northwest and Southwest. The team was able to only drop one line across those 2 matches. However, they wrapped up pool play going 1-1, which secured them a top-4 finish and a date with the top seeded Eastern Section in the semifinals.
In that match, Eastern jumped out early, winning the top singles line and going up 1-0 in the match. However, using their experience, the Florida section was able to rebound and win all of the doubles’ lines and won the match 3-1.
In the finals, they matched up against Texas, the second-place team from pool play. The championship was back and forth the entire time. Texas was able to take the Singles line in a close 3-set match. But, the duos of Jose Zea and Alejandro Lataczewski and Marcos Lopez and Carlos Manuel Parra-Alvarez, proved too strong for their Texas foes, winning both of those matches by just a few points.
Florida was unable to close out the final line of doubles, leaving the deciding factor to win percentage in the match. With 51.25% games won, USTA Florida edged out Texas to win back-to-back titles.
Adult 40 & Over 4.5 Men’s Championship Results
Miami-Dade County won the Adult 40 & Over 4.5 Men’s National Championship for the second year in a row.
Finals: USTA Florida (Miami-Dade County) defeated USTA Texas 3-2 (FL: 51.25% games won)
No. 1 Singles: Estevam Strecker (Texas) d. Pablo Gimenez 2-6, 6-2, 1-0
No. 1 Doubles: Jose Zea/Alejandro Lataczewski (Florida) d. Jaime Diaz Perez/Andrew Swanson 6-4, 7-5
No. 2 Doubles: Marcos Lopez/Carlos Manuel Parra-Alvarez (Florida) d. Brian Notis/Carlos Alcantara 6-2, 4-6, 1-0
No. 3 Doubles: Herbert Nesloney/Subu Jayaram (Texas) d. Sebastian Martinez Christensen/Antonio Necuze 6-4, 7-5
USTA Florida Roster: Armando Cabane (Captain), Pablo Gimenez, Mario Porcelli, Antonio Necuze, Sebastian Martinez Christensen, Sebastian Covos, Randolph Seivane, Alejandro Lataczewski, Carlos Manuel Parra-Alvarez, Pedro Pozzobon, Jose Zea, G Emerson Fales, Paul Martins, Marcos Lopez, Luciano Cuneo, Dimitri Viel
Other Top Finishers from Florida
USTA Florida also had four different teams that finished in the top 4 in their Nationals run.
Adult 18 & Over 2.5 Women’s
Broward County came in fourth place at the Women’s 18 & Over 2.5 National Championship.
In the Women’s 18 & Over 2.5 draw, Broward County from Midtown Athletic Club Weston, came out hot securing a spot in the top four from pool play. They finished with a fourth-place finish to cap off a phenomenal season.
Adult 18 & Over 3.5 Men’s
Broward County came in fourth place at the Men’s 18 & Over 3.5 National Championship.
Over in the Men’s 18 & Over 3.5 Championship, it was Broward County, also from Midtown Athletic Club Weston, that had a great showing for the Florida Section. They took down some tough foes and finished the weekend in fourth place.
Adult 18 & Over 4.5 Women’s
Duval County came in third place in the Adult 18 & Over 4.5 League National Championship at the Surprise Tennis and Racquet Center in Surprise, Arizona.
For Duval County, from Beachwalk Club, in the Women’s 18 & Over 4.5, the ladies played their hearts out on the courts. The team played well and finished their season in third place.
Kymberly Kochis, the captain for the Beachwalk Club squad was ecstatic over the team’s success considering their inexperience entering the year. “We are a brand new team and our goal was to have fun and not put pressure on each other,” she said. “We went into Sectionals with only nine players thinking of it as a weekend to enjoy our time together and play lots of competitive tennis with no expectation of winning. We also had a mother and daughter on our team that got to experience Nationals together! Everyone on the team contributed to our success and our team created memories that will last a lifetime”
Adult 18 & Over 5.0 Women’s
Duval County came in third place in Adult 18 & Over 5.0 League National Championship at the El Conquistador Tennis Center in Tuscon, Arizona.
Finally, in the Women’s 18 & Over 5.0 draw, Duval County once again found themselves in a position to make some noise. The women were clicking all through pool play and finished in fourth place for the weekend.
Florida still has teams competing at the 2023 Adult League National Championship. The rest of the competition runs through November 12. The organization wishes the best of luck to all the teams competing and showcasing what Florida tennis is all about.
Make sure to follow USTA Florida on Instagram to stay updated on the second half of the Adult League National Championship, and come back to the News page on November 15, for a final update.
