Preview: USTA Florida Combo 18 & Over 5.5/7.5/9.5 League Championships

USTA Florida Sectional champions will be determined, and teams will seek to defend their Florida Sectional titles from the previous season, this weekend when the Florida Tennis Center in Daytona Beach hosts the USTA Florida Combo 18 & Over (5.5/7.5/9.5) League Tennis Championships on Jan. 9-11, 2015.

Competing teams advanced to the sectional championships by winning local USTA League play. Defending Florida Sectional champions in this year’s field are:

Combo 18 & Over Women 7.5 Division — Orange/Seminole counties
Combo 18 & Over Men 5.5 Division — Alachua County
Combo 18 & Over Men 7.5 Division — South Miami-Dade County
Combo 18 & Over Men 9.5 Division — Hillsborough County

Forty-seven teams representing 20 counties or regions will participate, including the counties or regions of Alachua, Brevard, Broward, Collier, Duval, Escambia, Hillsborough, Indian River/St. Lucie/Martin, Lee/Charlotte, Leon, Marion, North Miami-Dade, North Palm Beach, Orange/Seminole, Pinellas, Polk, Sarasota/Manatee, South Miami-Dade, South Palm Beach, and Volusia/Flagler counties.

For Combo 18 & Over 5.5/7.5/9.5 division play, the combined NTRP (National Tennis Rating Program) ratings of each doubles team may not exceed the level in which they are competing, and the NTRP rating difference between members of an individual doubles pair may not exceed 0.5. 

Here are the teams competing this weekend:

MEN’S PARTICIPATING TEAMS

Combo Men’s 5.5 Division

Alachua County (captain: Bradley Canaday)
Leon County (Andrew Lawyer)
Marion County (Carlos Ramirez)

Combo Men’s 7.5 Division

Flight 1
Collier County (captain: Randie Fischel)
Escambia County (Adam Kendig)
Marion County (Matt Yelkin)
Pinellas County (Kevin Fantauzzo)

Flight 2
Alachua County (captain: Pinal Patel)
Broward County (Gustavo Risquez)
Hillsborough County (Mike Johnson)
Lee/Charlotte counties (Kevin Bouffard)
Leon County (Kevin Ragsdale)

Flight 3
Duval County (captain: Ken Gordon)
Indian River/St. Lucie/Martin counties (Nick Liguori)
Sarasota/Manatee counties (Marc Pelletz)
South Miami-Dade County (Eli Panell)
South Palm Beach County (Moussa Hanna)

Combo Men’s 9.5 Division

Alachua County (captain: David Porter)
Hillsborough County (Richard Beardsley)
Sarasota/Manatee counties (Alan Amero)

WOMEN’S PARTICIPATING TEAMS

Combo Women’s 5.5 Division

Flight 1
Alachua County (captain: Linda Vaughn)
Duval County (Sandy Ellis)
Hillsborough County (Zoe Vidal)
Leon County (Renee Pitts)

Flight 2
Brevard County (captain: Jahanara Irons)
Escambia County (Erin Gliddon)
Marion County (Janisse Watkins)
South Miami-Dade County (Doris Perlman)

Combo Women’s 7.5 Division

Flight 1
Alachua County (captain: Gabriela Ghita)
Leon County (Jacqueline Larson)
North Miami-Dade County (Jennifer Quinton)
Volusia/Flagler counties (Sirikit Press)

Flight 2
Broward County (captain: Carla Neopensi)
Hillsborough County (Anh Flinter)
Marion County (Christy Drawdy)
Orange/Seminole counties (Kyrsten Crociata)
Pinellas County (Dori Hazama)

Flight 3
Brevard County (captain: Nancy Aumuller)
Duval County (Marla Steiner)
North Palm Beach County (Dianne Rescigno)
Polk County (Winkle Adair)
South Miami-Dade County (Wendy Sosa)

Flight 4
Escambia County (captain: Lauren Haack)
Sarasota/Manatee counties (Ruth Harshman)
Indian River/St. Lucie/Martin counties (Cynthia Harkins)
Collier County (Susanne Navarro)
Lee/Charlotte counties (Tracy DiBiase)