October 16th, 2017
3 First-time Winners at USTA Florida Mixed 18 & Over Sectionals Tennis
The Sportsmanship Award presentation at the Mixed 18 & Over 6.0/8.0/10.0 Sectionals
Three first-time champions for 2017 won USTA Florida League Sectionals titles over the weekend when Alachua, Okaloosa and Brevard counties were victorious at the USTA Florida Mixed 18 & Over 6.0/8.0/10.0 League Sectional Championships, Oct. 13-15 at the Florida Tennis Center in Daytona Beach.
Alachua County (Westside Tennis Center, Gainesville) rolled past two-time 2017 sectionals winner Leon County (Forestmeadows Park, Tallahassee) 3-0 in the 6.0 championship match. A first-time winner was guaranteed in the 8.0 final where Okaloosa County (Shalimar) edged Palm Beach County-South (Delray Beach Swim & Tennis) 2-1, with two of the three matches determined in super-tiebreakers. Brevard County (Kiwi Tennis Club, Melbourne) topped four-time winner Orange County, a team of USTA employees playing out of the USTA National Campus in Orlando, 2-0 in round robin play in the 10.0 division.
“We’ve been trying for over 10 years to recruit well enough and practice hard enough to win sectionals,” said Shalimar team captain Kevin Dunworth. “We are so excited our little group from Shalimar finally succeeded. Nationals at any level will be a first for almost everyone on the team. The other players from around Florida were generally a pleasure to play, and we certainly relished the challenging competition. The USTA staff was most helpful and quite organized, even when rain put us on hold. We appreciate their hard work, as well that of so many coordinators and captains from around the state. That’s what made it all possible.”
The three winning teams next advance to represent the USTA Florida Section at the USTA Mixed 18 & Over League National Championships on Nov. 3-5 at the Mobile Tennis Center in Mobile, Ala.
The event drew the top Mixed 18 & Over USTA League teams from throughout Florida, representing various clubs, parks, recreational departments and organizations that finished at the top of their local leagues. Teams consisted of three doubles lines competing in a non-elimination round-robin format, with flight winners advancing into a single-elimination semifinal followed by the final.
NTRP levels of play were mixed 6.0/8.0/10.0. For more information on NTRP levels go to www.usta.com/Adult-Tennis/USTA-League/Information/About_NTRP.
Championship Results:
Mixed 18 & Over 6.0
Final: Alachua County (Westside Tennis Center, Gainesville) d. Leon County (Forestmeadows Park, Tallahassee) 3-0
Championship Match Results:
No. 1 Doubles: Justin Clark/Kristina Ford (Alachua) d. Raymond Johnson/Leslee Horner 6-4, 6-1
No. 2 Doubles: Mark Martin/JiYoun Myung (Alachua) d. Jeremy Harrell/Jane Swingler 6-4, 3-6, 1-0 (super-tiebreak)
No. 3 Doubles: Brent Sumerlin/Amanda Fuller (Alachua) d. David Bradford/Emily Corbett 6-3, 6-4
Alachua Season Roster: Mark Martin (captain), Kristina Ford, Marc Schnoll, Ted Goodman, Colleen Anderson, Yena Kim, Julia Chi, Henry Hatton, Brent Sumerlin, Raksha Ramkissoon, Cary Blakely, Amanda Fuller, Justin Clark, Silvia Menendez, Rick Melzer, Aaron Harris, JiYoun Myung
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Mixed 18 & Over 8.0
Final: Okaloosa County (Shalimar) d. Palm Beach County-South (Delray Beach Swim & Tennis Club) 2-1
Championship Match Results:
No. 1 Doubles: Gregory Bennett/Leslie Hadley (Okaloosa) d. Ronald Coletto/Carla Neopensi 2-6, 7-5, 1-0 (super-tiebreak)
No. 2 Doubles: Agustin Torres/Marieli Tirado (PBC) d. Lubomir Kaderjak/Van Hughes 6-4, 6-4
No. 3 Doubles: Byron Cotton/Jenna Kafferly (Okaloosa) d. Juan Molina/Karen Williams 2-6, 6-2, 1-0 (super-tiebreak)
Okaloosa Season Roster: Kevin Dunworth (captain), William Grigsby, Dale Rice, Charlotte Dunworth, Gregory Bennett, Kim Pennington, Byron Cotton, Maria Button, Victor Otero, Jenna Kafferly, Leslie Hadley, Mark Pennington, Lubomir Kaderjak, Van Hughes, Laura Howard
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Mixed 18 & Over 10.0
Final: Brevard County (Kiwi Tennis Club, Melbourne) d. Orange County (USTA National Campus, Orlando) 2-0 in round robin play
Brevard Season Roster: Mary Devereaux (captain), Richard Boysen, Elaine Vicari, Thomas Knights, Lisa Liberman, Joseph Romanelli, Bryan Nelson, Anna Stroman, Stephanie Falconi, Julie Loy-Markey, Lawrence Jones
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2017 USTA FLORIDA LEAGUE
CHAMPIONSHIP CUP STANDINGS
Broward County remains a title ahead of Duval County with three teams trailing in third place after Mixed 18 & Over League Sectionals. The USTA Florida League Championship Cup is awarded to the county with the most league sectionals titles during the 2017 season (standings through Oct. 16, most recent winners in bold):
1. Broward County (7 titles) — 55&Over-M4.0/M4.5, 40&Over-W4.0/M4.0/M3.5, 18&Over-W4.0/W3.5
2. Duval County (6) — 65&Over-W6.0, 55&Over-W3.0/W4.0, 18&Over-M3.0/W2.5, X18&Over-7.0
3T. Hillsborough County (4) — 65&Over-M8.0, 40&Over-W4.5+, 18&Over-W3.0/M5.0+
3T. Miami-Dade County (4) — 40&Over-W3.0/W4.5+, 18&Over-M4.0/M4.5
3T. Orange County (4) — 55&Over-W4.5, 40&Over-W3.5, 18&Over-W5.0+/M3.5
6. Pinellas County (3) — X40&Over-8.0/9.0, x18&Over-9.0
7T. Collier County (2) — 65&Over-W8.0, 55&Over-W3.5
7T. Leon County (2) — X40&Over-7.0, 40&Over-M4.0
7T. Marion County (2) — 65&Over-M7.0, 55&Over-M3.0
10T. Alachua County (1) — X18&Over-6.0
10T. Brevard County (1) — X18&Over-10.0
10T. Clay County (1) — 55&Over-M3.5
10T. Martin County (1) — 65&Over-W7.0
10T. Okaloosa County (1) — X18&Over-6.0
10T. Seminole County (1) — 18&OverW4.5
10T. 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.
Next Florida Sectional Championships: Nov. 3-5, 2017 Mixed 55 & Over Invitationals, St. Petersburg
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.
