DeLand, St. Pete Teams Win at 2018 USTA Florida Mixed 55 & Over Invitational

Teams from Volusia County (DeLand) and Pinellas County (St. Petersburg) raised trophies earlier this month at the 2018 USTA Florida Mixed 55 & Over 7.0/8.0 Invitational Tournament, held Nov. 3-5 at the St. Petersburg Tennis Center.

Approximately 120 players and 12 teams took part in the non-sectionals invitational tournament.

The 7.0 champions from DeLand

The 7.0 finalists from Marion County

The Volusia County/Deland team won the 55 & Over 7.0 division, finishing with a 5-0 win-loss round robin record ahead of second-place Marion County (Glenview Tennis Center, The Villages) with a 4-1 record.

Players on the Volusia County/Deland team were Blaine Roseberry (captain), Shirley Tyler, G. Bohrer, Michael Vinacke, Alan Vinacke, Mary Lutz, Renata Pytel, Janusz Pytel, Cindy Dickinson and Andy Dickinson. Players on the runner-up Marion County/Glenview squad were Mike James (captain), Kent Bradford, David Cable, Lorna Cable, Barb Cox, Patricia James, Bob Kluemper, Debby McCoy, Elfie Meyer, Marcia Plante, Jim Robertson and John Ulrich.

“This year was no different from last, as the final match was the deciding match for the 7.0  division,” said the Volusia 7.0 winning captain Roseberry, who saw his county win the division for the second year running. “With the same core players from last year and adding one new partnership, I knew it would be a huge challenge to repeat. Monday morning’s final match came down to the two 4-0 teams battling it out for the championship. Each mixed partnership coming through with a huge win during the tournament when most needed. We look forward to the opportunity to make it next year to try to defend once again.”

The 8.0 champions from Pinellas

The 8.0 runner-up team from Clay County

The Pinellas County/St. Pete Tennis Center team won the 8.0 division title with a 4-1 win-loss record, edging Clay County/Eagle Harbor, which also had a 4-1 win-loss, but Pinellas won the tiebreaker with 12 individual matches won to 10 for Clay.

Pinellas’ team was comprised of Ellen Johnson (captain), Brian Kenney (acting captain), Randy Chapman, Eric Landrum, Linda Wolf, Darla Gatesman, Bill Bond, Izzy Arango and Jamie Stein. On the Clay County team were Kraig Hamel (captain), Jolene Hamel, Kandee Townsend, Nancy Wentz, Debbie Sutton, Matt Hutto, Luke Lawley, David Phillips and Dan Singleton.

Other participating teams, with some counties entering multiple teams, were from Collier County (Marco YMCA), Marion County (Fort King Tennis Center), Alachua County (Westside Park), Leon County (Forestmeadows Park), and Duval County (Southside Tennis).

For additional info go to www.stpetetenniscenter.com.