December 11th, 2017
Tallahassee Wins 3rd Year Straight at USTA Florida Combo 18 & Over Sectionals Tennis
Five divisions produced five different winners as Duval County (Southside Tennis Center, Jacksonville), Leon County (Tom Brown Park, Tallahassee), Pinellas County (Waterchase, Tampa), Polk County (Lake Wales C.C., Lake Wales), and Seminole County (Red Bug Park, Casselberry) won state titles over the weekend at the USTA Florida Combo 18 & Over 5.5/7.5/9.5 League Sectional Championships, held Dec. 8-10, 2017 at the USTA National Campus in Orlando.
Leon County’s won the men’s 5.5 division for the third season in a row.
“It was a great privilege for Leon County to get qualified and participate as a team,” said Tallahassee men’s 5.5 team captain Rony Joseph. “We lost our first game against Marion as we were a little nervous and it took time to be comfortable on the courts, especially playing against a great team. Second game we won against Alachua and we gained good confidence. Our team did a really good job throughout the sectionals.”
Polk County saved its best for last, winning its first sectionals title of the year in the men’s 7.5 division, while Pinellas County won a fourth title on the year.
“We had a terrific team weekend, full of competitive tennis, great sportsmanship, and friendship,” said Pinellas County women’s 9.5-winning captain Elizabeth Baldwin, who had leadership help from co-captains Suzanne Smith and DeDe Agnew. “In the finals against Alachua, tied at 1-1, it came down to line No. 3 and a 10-point tiebreak. Pinellas overcame a 4-7 start to win 10-8! A very exciting finish to a great competitive weekend. Many thanks to the officials who work long hours and ran the tournament smoothly despite the rain and cold. Lake Nona is a beautiful facility, and we in Florida are lucky to have it.”
The Combo 18 & Over 5.5/7.5/9.5 League Sectional Championships was the final sectional championships of the 2017 season. Duval’s title was one short for the overall season as it finished a title behind Broward County’s eight in the final standings for the USTA Florida League Championship Cup (see standings below).
For Combo doubles-only 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 tennis pair may not exceed 0.5. For more information on NTRP levels go to https://www.usta.com/en/home/play/play-as-a-member/national/usta-league-faqs.html.
Championship Results:
Combo Women’s 5.5 Division
Final: Duval County (Southside Tennis Center, Jacksonville) d. Leon County (Forestmeadows Park, Tallahassee) 2-1
Championship Match Results:
No. 1 Doubles: Phinely Popera/Ruby Rupac (Duval) d. Leslee Horner/Sandy Tomberlin 6-2, 6-1
No. 2 Doubles: Mariela Santurri/Naama Nagar (Leon) d. Sandy Wedge/Kelly Armagost 6-4, 6-4
No. 3 Doubles: Sampat Choudhary/Rita Lenahan (Duval) d. Rhonda Tullos/Julie Espy 6-3, 4-6, 1-0 (super-tiebreaker)
Duval Season Roster: Sandy Wedge (captain), Kelly Armagost, Tiffany Davis, Alpana Oomrigar, Rita Lenahan, Susan Powell, Cheryl Pearthree, Juliet Rogers, Robin Trinh, Amber Aultman, Valencia Oglesby, Lindy Green, Lisa Hellier, Phinely Popera, Ruby Rupac, Sampat Choudhary, Tiffany VillacortaBuer
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Combo Men’s 5.5 Men Division
Final: Leon County (Tom Brown Park, Tallahassee) finished ahead of Marion County (Ft. King Tennis Center, Ocala) 3-1 to 2-2 in round robin play
Leon Season Roster: Rony Joseph (captain), Sridhar Kati, Vinay Kempegowda, Sanjeev Jayaprakash, Sumanth Gadde, Vishveshwar Kontham, Vijay Sridhar, Ravi Chappa, Vijay Voddiraj, Ashutosh Kumar, Aditya Avadhoot
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Combo Women’s 7.5 Division
Final: Seminole County (Red Bug Park, Casselberry) d. Broward County (Midtown Athletic Club, Weston) 2-1
Championship Match Results:
No. 1 Doubles: Madelyn Escudero/Emily Osburne (Seminole) d. Ann Jerred/Cristina Tomadin 6-2, 6-3
No. 2 Doubles: Evelyn Stephen/Natalia De Gregorio (Broward) d. Lynn Piper/Brandi Holston 6-4, 6-4
No. 3 Doubles: Kyrsten Crociata/Jean Zambrano (Seminole) d. Elizabeth Gordillo/Lorena Villar Seminario de Guzman-Barron 7-5, 6-3
Seminole Season Roster: Madelyn Escudero (captain), Lynn Piper, Brandi Holston, Isabelle Welsh, Jean Zambrano, Tina Gamb, Sarah Zimmer, Christine Jablonski, Maureen Gile, Emily Osburne, Kyrsten Crociata, Lynn Hilborn, Libby Tazioli, Paula Siqueiros
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Combo Men’s 7.5 Division
Final: Polk County (Lake Wales C.C., Lake Wales) d. Miami-Dade South (Doral Park, Doral) 2-1
Championship Match Results:
No. 1 Doubles: Maikon Bonani/Scott Holladay (Polk) d. Santiago Anda/Jose Lebron 6-3, 6-4
No. 2 Doubles: Paul Mankowski/Steven Whitaker (Polk) d. Alberto Pierini/Federico Silvestre 6-4, 2-6, 1-0 (super-tiebreaker)
No. 3 Doubles: Ricardo Alvarez/Jaime King (Miami) d. Matt Zito/Jeremy Goff 4-6, 6-4, retired
Polk Season Roster: William Floyd (captain), Maikon Bonani, Steven Whitaker, Matt Zito, Paul Mankowski, Jeremy Goff, James Barron, James Whitaker, Chad Barnhardt, Scott Holladay
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Combo Women’s 9.5 Division
Final: Pinellas County (Waterchase, Tampa) d. Alachua County (Jonesville Tennis Center, Gainesville) 2-1
Championship Match Results:
No. 1 Doubles: Tanja Magoc/Ekanong Van Roy (Alachua) d. Denise Agnew/Erin Rogerson 6-1, 6-2
No. 2 Doubles: Andrea Lord/Kelly Sincich (Pinellas) d. Sandra Phillips/Cari Trapp 4-6, 6-0, 1-0 (super-tiebreaker)
No. 3 Doubles: Natalie Paiva/Gueisy Herrmann (Pinellas) d. Agostina Moran/Marta Ferraz-Valles 6-2, 6-7, 1-0 (super-tiebreaker)
Pinellas Season Roster: Elizabeth Baldwin (captain), Denise Agnew, Suzanne Flament-Smith, Gueisy Herrmann, Allegra Campos, Kelly Sincich, Erin Rogerson, Natalie Paiva, Andrea Lord, Maki Smith, Danielle Hollis, Lilivette Arroyo
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2017 USTA FLORIDA LEAGUE
CHAMPIONSHIP CUP STANDINGS
Broward County edged Duval County by one title to win the USTA Florida League Championship Cup for the second consecutive year. The USTA Florida League Championship Cup is awarded to the county with the most league sectionals titles during the USTA Florida League season (final 2017 standings, most recent winners in bold):
1. Broward County (8 titles) — 55&Over-M4.0/M4.5, 40&Over-W4.0/M4.0/M3.5, 18&Over-W4.0/W3.5, Combo 18&Over-W8.5
2. Duval County (7) — 65&Over-W6.0, 55&Over-W3.0/W4.0, 18&Over-M3.0/W2.5, X18&Over-7.0, Combo 18&Over-W5.5
3. Hillsborough County (6) — 65&Over-M8.0, 40&Over-W4.5+, 18&Over-W3.0/M5.0+, Combo 50&Over-M8.5, Combo 18&Over-M8.5
4T. Marion County (4) — 65&Over-M7.0, 55&Over-M3.0, Combo 50&Over-M6.5/M7.5
4T. Miami-Dade County (4) — 40&Over-W3.0/W4.5+, 18&Over-M4.0/M4.5
4T. Orange County (4) — 55&Over-W4.5, 40&Over-W3.5, 18&Over-W5.0+/M3.5
4T. Pinellas County (4) — X40&Over-8.0/9.0, x18&Over-9.0, Combo 18&Over-W9.5
8T. Leon County (3) — X40&Over-7.0, 40&Over-M4.0, Combo 18&Over-M5.5
8T. Seminole County (3) — 18&OverW4.5, Combo 18&Over-W6.5, Combo 18&Over-W7.5
10T. Collier County (2) — 65&Over-W8.0, 55&Over-W3.5
10T. Martin County (2) — 65&Over-W7.0, Combo 50&Over-W6.5
10T. St. Johns County (2) — Combo 50&Over-W8.5, Combo 18&Over-M6.5
13T. Alachua County (1) — X18&Over-6.0
13T. Brevard County (1) — X18&Over-10.0
13T. Clay County (1) — 55&Over-M3.5
13T. Escambia County (1) — Combo 50&Over-W7.5
13T. Okaloosa County (1) — X18&Over-6.0
13T. Polk County (1) — Combo 18&Over-M7.5
13T. Volusia County (1) — X40&Over-6.0
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.
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.
