Alachua County was the sole multi-title winner while Orange County, the USTA Florida League Championship Cup leaders, kept their momentum going with another victory at the USTA Florida Combo 18 & Over 5.5/7.5/9.5 League Sectional Championship, held Feb. 26-28, 2022, at the USTA National Campus in Orlando.
The winning squads represented five counties – Alachua County (Hawkstone Golf & Tennis Club, Gainesville) in the men’s 5.5, Orange County (Isleworth Tennis Club, Windermere) in the women’s 5.5, Duval County (Southside Tennis Complex, Jacksonville) in the men’s 7.5, Alachua County (DB Racquet Club, Gainesville) in the 7.5 women’s, OWB (Rosemary Beach Racquet Club, Rosemary Beach) in the men’s 9.5 and Broward County (Lauderdale Tennis Club, Fort Lauderdale) swept up the women’s 9.5.
In both 5.5 competitions, the last time Alachua or Orange sat on top of their respective divisions was nine years ago, in 2013. In the women’s 7.5, Alachua dominated the division for its second consecutive title while Duval County captured its first-ever title in the men’s 7.5. Broward defended its position as the reigning division champion in the women’s 9.5 for the second year in a row, while OWB recaptured the crown in the men’s 9.5 after last winning the division in 2016.
The competing teams represented various clubs, parks, recreational departments and organizations, and finished at the top of their local leagues during the 2021 season to advance to the USTA Florida Combo 18 & Over League Sectional Championships.
For Combo 18 & Over 5.5/7.5/9.5 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 pair may not exceed 0.5. For more information on NTRP levels, click here.
Championship results:
Combo 18 & Over Men’s 5.5
Final: Alachua County (Hawkstone Golf & Tennis Club, Gainesville) finished ahead of Marion County (Fort King Tennis Center, Ocala) 3-0, 0-3 in round-robin play
Alachua County Season Roster: Robert Tangeman (Captain), Thomas Duffaut, Joseph Cox IV, Bryan Edelstein, Ted Gingrich, Jason Bromirski, Matt Thomas, Keith Myers, Sunil Anand, Kevin Smith, Paul Lipori, Jason Robertson
Combo 18 & Over Women’s 5.5
Final: Orange County (Isleworth Tennis Club, Windermere) d. Broward County (Midtown Athletic Club, Weston) 2-1
Championship Match Results:
No. 1 Doubles: Florencia Azar/Lily Siviglia (Orange) d. Ili Montnor/Paloma Seminario 6-1, 6-2
No. 2 Doubles: Jill Ata/Jessica O’Brien (Orange) d. Mariana Silva/Marcela Cury 6-7, 7-5, 1-0
No. 3 Doubles: Andrea Cordova/Tatiana Prado (Broward) d. Erica Amadori/Claudine Galt 3-6, 6-1, 1-0
Orange County Season Roster: Katharine Foley (Captain), Florencia Azar, Kimberly Ehrhard, Erica Amadori, Claudine Galt, Amy Beaulieu, Jill Ata, Dorothy Lidsky, Bridget Burris, Beth Visser, Kristie Mansilla, Elizabeth Rahter, Jessica O’Brien, Candice Davis, Lily Siviglia, Carey Sheffield
Combo 18 & Over Men’s 7.5
Final: Duval County (Southside Tennis Complex, Jacksonville) d. Miami-Dade County (Crandon Park Tennis Center, Key Biscayne) 3-0
Championship Match Results:
No. 1 Doubles: Eugene Kasper/Charlie Chacos (Duval) d. Cristian Mateluna/Florian Hafner 6-1, 6-0
No. 2 Doubles: Ravikiran Annareddy/Vijay Periasamy (Duval) d. Diego Mateluna/Alex Wilson 2-6, 6-3, 1-0
No. 3 Doubles: Jason Wilson/Marcus Hodges (Duval) d. Ignacio Avila/Gustavo Ossa 3-6, 4-3
Duval County Season Roster: Vijay Periasamy (Captain), Jason Wilson, Mahesh Sarasam, Andrew De Jong, Scott Wohlers, David Smyyh, Venkatesh Srinivasan, David Pitcher, Charlie Chacos, Ravikiran Annareddy, Paul Begley, Eugene Kasper, Marcus Hodges, Subramanian Parlikkad
Combo 18 & Over Women’s 7.5
Final: Alachua County (DB Racquet Club, Gainesville) d. Orange County (USTA National Campus, Orlando) 2-1
Championship Match Results:
No. 1 Doubles: Quynh Sunhachawi/Christina Le (Orange) d. Darby Townsend/Marlene Townsend 6-3, 6-4
No. 2 Doubles: Aubrey Hall/Haile Ratliff (Alachua) d. Mary Ann Ballelos/Nikki Anne Ballelos 6-2, 6-3
No. 3 Doubles: Debbie McMillan/Megan Molyneux (Alachua) d. Krieshanne Taze Sanchez/Rianne Taz Sanchez 6-4, 6-4
Alachua County Season Roster: Susie Finfrock (Captain), Dorie Frum, Susan Benton, Marlene Townsend, Kathleen Outman, Michelle Ivanowski, Darby Townsend, Anna Ligman, Megan Molyneux, Aubrey Hall, Debbie McMillan, Dawn Dean, Haile Ratliff, Celia Martin, Christa Arnold, Tracy Hodson
Combo 18 & Over Men’s 9.5
Final: Okaloosa/Walton/Bay (Rosemary Beach Racquet Club, Rosemary Beach) finished ahead of Alachua County (Jonesville Tennis Center, Gainesville) 2-1, 1-2 in round-robin play
OWB County Season Roster: Jason McLemore (Captain), Byron Townsend, Luke Hawk, Michael Manley, Chip Thomas, Michael Matisons, Marvin Colley, William Petro
Combo 18 & Over Women’s 9.5
Final: Broward County (Lauderdale Tennis Club, Fort Lauderdale) finished ahead of Sarasota County (Payne Park, Sarasota) 3-0, 0-3 in round-robin play
Broward County Season Roster: Amy Sauerman (Captain), Betty Brener, Sheri Puppo, Anna Rachman, Victoria Baca, Rocio Rodriguez, Colette Kienle, Annie Brey, Janine Burke, Alaina Fotiu-Wojtowicz
2021 USTA FLORIDA LEAGUE CHAMPIONSHIP CUP STANDINGS
The USTA Florida League Championship Cup is awarded to the county with the most league sectionals titles during the 2021 season (standings through Mar. 1, recent winners in bold):
1. Orange/Seminole/Lake (11 titles) — 55&Over-W7.0/W8.0/W9.0, 40&Over-W3.5/W4.5, 18&Over-M3.0/W3.5/X6.0, Combo 18&Over-W5.5/W6.5/M6.5
2. Duval County (10) — 55&Over-M7.0/X7.0, 40&Over-X6.0/M4.0, 18&Over-W4.0/W5.0/X7.0, Combo 50&Over-M6.5/M7.5, Combo 18&Over-M7.5
3. Hillsborough County (9) — 55&Over-W6.0, 40&Over-X9.0/W4.0/W5.0, 18&Over-M4.0/W4.5/M5.0/X8.0, Combo 18&Over-W8.5
4. Pinellas County (8) — 65&Over-W7.0/W8.0/M8.0, 55&Over-M9.0/X8.0, 40&Over-X7.0/X8.0, 18&Over-M4.5
5. Broward County (7) — 40&Over-M3.0/M3.5/M4.5, 18&Over-M3.5/X9.0, Combo 18&Over-M8.5/W9.5
6. Marion County (4) — 65&Over-W6.0/M7.0, 40&Over-W2.5, 55&Over-X6.0
7T. Alachua County (3) — 18&Over-W2.5, Combo 18&Over-M5.5/W7.5
7T. Miami-Dade County (3) — 40&Over-W3.0, Combo 50&Over-W6.5/M8.5
8T. Brevard County (1) — 18&Over-X10.0
8T. Collier County (1) — Combo 50&Over-W7.5
8T. Escambia County (1) — 55&Over-M8.0
8T. OWB (1) — Combo 18&Over-M9.5
8T. Polk County (1) — 18&Over-W3.0
8T. Sarasota County (1) — Combo 50&Over-W8.5
Note: County determined by the 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.
