3 1st Place, 1 2nd Place for Florida Teams at USTA League Nationals Tennis

USTA Florida league teams had a banner weekend at USTA League National Championships across the country as three teams brought home national championships, and one team was narrowly defeated for a second-place finish.

Finishing in first place were the 40 & Over 4.0 men out of Parkland, the 40 & Over 4.5 women out of Tampa, and the 18 & Over 2.5 women out of Jacksonville.

The Parkland men, who play out of Quigley Park, in the 40 & Over 4.0 championship match edged a team from USTA Middle States (Ambler, Pa.) 3-2 at the USTA National Campus in Orlando. Earlier in the day the Parkland men defeated a team from USTA Southern (New Orleans) 3-2 in the semifinals. They advanced to the semifinals by winning their round-robin flight contested Friday and Saturday.

The team is co-captained by Les Liese and Atif Raoof and includes Barry Rittman, Walter Lentz, Jeff Williamson, Jonathan Rubin, Drew Wright, Christian Reyes, David Netburn, Jorge Rodriguez, Bill Day, Roland Schwend, Greg Brusey, Michael Golieb, Rudolph Bonnin, Santiago Restrepo, Michael Griffith, Maurice Wiley, David Aron, Mark Miller and Juan Hernandez.

The Tampa women, who play out of Harbour Island Athletic Club, in the 40 & Over 4.5 championship match were named co-champions along with a team from USTA Southern (Louisville, Ky.) after a rain-out at the Mobile Tennis Center in Mobile, Ala. In the semifinals the Tampa squad defeated a team from USTA Eastern (Rye, N.Y.) 3-2. They advanced to the semifinals by winning their round-robin flight contested Friday and Saturday.

The team is captained by Chris Bartos and includes Allegra Campos, Avery Zencoe, Christina Lund, Dagmar Rocker, Elizabeth Baldwin, Elizabeth Street, Gail Gibson, Gueisy Hermann, Joan Simmons, Katarina Rutherford, Lisa Balsera, and Maki Smith.

The Jacksonville women, who play out of the Florida Yacht Club, were also in rainy Mobile and were named co-champions with three other teams — Chesterville, Mo.; Bellevue, Wash.; and Memphis, Tenn. — when the semifinals and finals were rained out at the USTA League 18 & Over Women’s 2.5 National Championships at the Mobile Tennis Center.

Jacksonville is captained by Debra Taylor and the team roster includes Cheryl Flanders, Dawn Crawford, Evelyn Edenfield, Jennifer Espinosa, Katherine Sherman, and Tammy Morreale.

Finishing runner-up at the USTA League 18 & Over 3.0 National Championships were the 3.0 ladies out of the Fishhawk Ranch Tennis Club in Lithia.

The Lithia ladies in the final fell to USTA Northern California (Vacaville) 3-2 at the Surprise Tennis & Racquet Complex in Surprise, Ariz. Earlier in the semifinals the Tampa women defeated a team from USTA Texas (El Paso) 3-2. They team advanced to the semifinals by winning their round-robin flight contested Friday and Saturday.

The team is captained by Jackie Caouette and includes Kim Ortmeier, Wendy Bartlett, Alison Dominic, Ashley Toohey, Shannon Deck, Agnes Lirag, Nicole Kipp, Kelly Oldham, Pam Smith, Andrea Cammarata, Tabetha Vandeboe, Monica Eiermann, and Christine Merrilland.

Established in 1980, USTA League has grown from 13,000 participants in a few parts of the country in its first year, to over 915,000 players across the nation today, making it the world’s largest recreational tennis league.

For more information on USTA Florida Leagues go to www.ustaflorida.com/leagues.