Duval County Takes 2 at USTA Florida 55 & Over 3.0/4.0 League Tennis Sectionals

Duval County (Deercreek and Southside in Jacksonville) won two championships, while Broward County (Tennis Center at Quigley Park, Parkland) and Marion County (The Tennis Club at Golden Ocala) also collected state titles at the USTA Florida 55 & Over 3.0/4.0 League Sectional Championships, held May 5-7, 2017 at the USTA National Campus in Orlando.

The four championship teams next advance to represent the USTA Florida Section at the USTA 55 & Over League National Championships on Oct. 27-29 at the USTA National Campus in Orlando.
 
Broward and Marion counties were both a match away from becoming two-time winners. The Broward women were edged in the 4.0 division final, and the Marion women likewise lost 2-1 in the 3.0 final.

The Marion County 3.0 men advanced to nationals for the third time in the last four years, and the Duval County women successfully defended their title from last year in the 4.0 division.

Teams consisting of three doubles lines competed in a non-elimination round-robin format. The winner of each flight/division was determined by team matches won. The winner of each flight then advanced into a single-elimination semifinal followed by the final. NTRP levels of play were 3.0 and 4.0. For more information on NTRP levels go to www.usta.com/Adult-Tennis/USTA-League/Information/About_NTRP.

Duval County moved into first place in the 2017 USTA Florida League Championship Cup Standings (see below), while last year’s champion Broward County debuts on the standings at No. 3.

Division winners and finalists:

Adult 55 & Over Women’s 3.0

Final: Duval County (Deercreek C.C., Jacksonville) d. Marion County (Ft. King Tennis Center, Ocala) 2-1

[row] [column md=”6″]

[/column] [column md=”6″] [/column] [/row]

Championship Results:
No. 1 Doubles: Bethann VanDenHandel/Victoria Clark (Marion) d. Nancy Blacker/Michelle Abner 6-1, 6-3
No. 2 Doubles: Donna Bernard/Barbara Smith (Duval) d. Trish Mosby/Emily Speaker 6-1, 6-2
No. 3 Doubles: Bonnie King/Janet Daechsel (Duval) d. Jeri Conrad/Connie McNeill 6-3, 6-2

Duval Season Roster: Barbara Smith (captain), Karen Sayre, Donna Bernard, Michelle Abner, Marie Malloy, Janet Daechsel, Bonnie King, Judy Peace, Nancy Blacker, Pamela Ernst

Adult 55 & Over Men’s 3.0

Final: Marion County (The Tennis Club at Golden Ocala) with no sectionals opponent advances directly to USTA League Nationals

Ocala Season Roster: Jay Claus (captain), Charlie Quick, Richard Gilbert, Thomas Croley, Robert Salat, Lawrence Albritton, Danny York, Steve Gray, Maynard Luetgert

Adult 55 & Over Women’s 4.0

Final: Duval County (Southside Tennis Complex, Jacksonville) d. Broward County (Dillon Tennis Center, Oakland Park) 2-1

[row] [column md=”6″]

[/column] [column md=”6″] [/column] [/row]

Championship Results:
No. 1 Doubles: Ellen Raskin/Kathy Koon (Broward) d. Kelly Groce/Nina Appleby 6-4, 6-4
No. 2 Doubles: Sharon Anderson/Carol Whitmire (Duval) d. Lou Armstrong/Katherine Milam 6-2, 6-1
No. 3 Doubles: Teresa Borchelt/Diane Smowton (Duval) d. Cynthia Boyd/Veronica Buckingham 6-4, 6-2

Duval Season Roster: Mary Armstrong (captain), Susan Walters, Holly Middleton, Kelly Groce, Nina Appleby, Diane Smowton, Pam Tyler, Sharon Anderson, Robin Albaneze, Teresa Borchelt, Carol Whitmire

Adult 55 & Over Men’s 4.0

Final: Broward County (Tennis Center at Quigley Park, Parkland) d. Miami-Dade South (Royal Palm Tennis Club, Pinecrest) 2-1

[row] [column md=”6″]

[/column] [column md=”6″] [/column] [/row]

Championship Results:
No. 1 Doubles: Lawrence Cole/Timothy Battle (Miami) d. Michael Golieb/Roland Schwend 6-4, 6-3
No. 2 Doubles: Jonathan Rubin/Walter Lentz (Broward) d. Jorge Hernando/John Dubois 6-2, 3-6, 1-0 (super-tiebreaker)
No. 3 Doubles: Bill Day/Michael Kelly (Broward) d. Charles Seitz/Paul Neumann 7-5, 7-5

Broward Season Roster: Les Liese (captain), Howard Weinstein, Walter Lentz, Frank Rosso, Bill Day, Roland Schwend, Jonathan Rubin, Michael Golieb, Jaime Saenz, Michael Kelly, Mark Miller, Gary Kimmelman

For more tournament information go to https://www.ustaflorida.com/event/2017-adult-55-3-04-0-sectional-championship.

 
2017 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 2017 season (standings through May 8, most recent winners in bold):

1. Duval County (3 titles) — 65&Over-W6.0, 55&Over-W3.0, 55&Over-W4.0

2. Marion County (2) — 65&Over-M7.0,55&Over-M3.0

3T. Broward County (1) — 55&Over-M4.0
3T. Collier County (1) — 65&Over-W8.0
3T. Hillsborough County (1) — 65&Over-M8.0
3T. Martin County (1) — 65&Over-W7.0

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.

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.