Pinellas County collected their first title of the 2020 season while Broward County secured their second at the USTA Florida Mixed 40 & Over 7.0/9.0 Sectional Championships, held Oct. 3-5 at the USTA National Campus.
Broward County (Midtown Athletic Club, Weston) won the Mixed 7.0 division, defeating Volusia County (Florida Tennis Center, Daytona Beach). All three individual matchups in the championship dual finished in straight sets, with the Broward squad edging-out the 7.0 title. This was Broward’s first Mixed 40 & Over 7.0 division championship win.
Inclement weather was a major opponent in the 9.0 division, which suffered a schedule reduction and concluded after two days of competition. The original double round-robin schedule was cut in half and pitted Pinellas County (Innisbrook Resort, Palm Harbor) against Miami-Dade South (Ron Ehmann Tennis Center, Miami) for the title. Pinellas prevailed on all three courts, reclaiming the 9.0 title for the first time in two years.
The competing teams represented various clubs, parks, recreational departments and organizations, and finished at the top of their local leagues during the 2020 season to advance to the USTA Florida Mixed 40 & Over 7.0/9.0 Sectional Championships.
Final results:
Mixed 40 & Over 7.0
Final: Broward County (Midtown Athletic Club, Weston) d. Volusia County (Florida Tennis Center, Daytona Beach) 2-1
Championship Match Results:
No. 1 Doubles: Filmon Yohannes/Stacey Effner (Volusia) d. Jorge Alejandro Romo/Lizette Ibarra 6-0, 6-4
No. 2 Doubles: Ronald Coletto/Sondra Carpio (Broward) d. Anthony Truong/Susan Hrycyk 6-2, 6-1
No. 3 Doubles: Jorge Cortes/Maria Moreno (Broward) d. Tom Robinson/Mary Hoffman 7-6, 6-3
Broward County Season Roster: Enrique Guzman Barron Escobedo (Captain), Maria Moreno, Jorge Prado, Pradip Chhadva, Jorge Alejandro Romo, Ronald Coletto, Sondra Carpio, Jorge Cortes, Tatiana Jimenez, Claudia Torres, Carla Velasquez, Maria Suarez, Haim Sasson, Lizette Ibarra, Kerri Paul
Mixed 40 & Over 9.0
Final: Pinellas County (Innisbrook Resort, Palm Harbor) finished ahead of Miami-Dade South (Ron Ehmann Tennis Center, Miami) 3-0, 2-1 in round-robin play
Pinellas County Season Roster: Michael Erbe (Captain), Ignacio Molina, Mike Moenter, Chris Canfield, John Hollis, Marcy Rooks, Kim Cashman-King, Rhett Rollyson, Judi Alford, David King, Linda Thomson, Andre Herke, Avery Zercoe, Michele Ironsmith
2020 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 2020 season (standings through Oct. 6, recent winners in bold):
1. Broward County (2 titles) — X40&Over-7.0/8.0
2T. Volusia County (1) — X40&Over-6.0
2T. Pinellas County (1) — X40&Over-9.0
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 Sectionals: Oct. 9-12, Adult 55 & Over 6.0/8.0 Sectional Championships, USTA National Campus, Orlando.
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.
