Escambia County (Roger Scott Tennis Center, Pensacola) was the lone multi-title winner out of six championships decided on Nov. 10-12, 2019 at the USTA Florida Combo 50 & Over 6.5/7.5/8.5 League Sectionals, held at the USTA National Campus in Orlando.
The winners were Escambia County (Roger Scott Tennis Center, Pensacola) in the women’s 6.5, Marion County (Ft. King Tennis Center, Ocala) in the men’s 6.5, Escambia County (Roger Scott Tennis Center, Pensacola) in the women’s 7.5, Collier County (Vineyards Golf & Country Club, Naples) in the men’s 7.5, Sarasota County (Lakewood National, Bradenton) in the women’s 8.5, and Miami-Dade South (Don Shula’s Athletic Club, Hialeah) in the men’s 8.5.
Sarasota County was a repeat winner in the women’s 8.5 division, while Marion County and Escambia County won their second title in the last three years in the men’s 6.5 and women’s 7.5 divisions respectively.
Alachua County was a heartbreaking 0-3 in finals over the weekend.
Escambia and Miami-Dade leapt into a second-place tie with Orange County in the standings for the USTA Florida League Championship Cup standings, awarded at season’s end to the county that wins the most USTA Florida League Sectionals titles in 2019 (see standings below).
The competing teams represented various clubs, parks, recreational departments and organizations, and finished at the top of their local leagues during the 2019 season to advance to the USTA Florida Combo 50 & Over League Sectional Championships.
For Combo 50 & Over 6.5-8.5 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.
Final results:
Combo 50 & Over Women’s 6.5
Final: Escambia County (Roger Scott Tennis Center, Pensacola) d. Alachua County (Jonesville Tennis Center, Gainesville) 3-0
Championship Match Results:
No. 1 Doubles: Selma Horne/Thuy Nguyen (Escambia) d. Terri Lowery/Genne McDonald 6-0, 6-0
No. 2 Doubles: Kelly Dempsey/Tanya Hughes (Escambia) d. Gina Dell/Colleen Anderson 6-2, 6-2
No. 3 Doubles: Terry Armstrong/Jeannette Fabbro (Escambia) d. Jane Catalanotto/Vicki Johnson 6-3, 6-1
Escambia County Season Roster: Jacqueline Wallace (captain), Terry Armstrong, Barbara French, Jeannette Fabbro, Kelly Dempsey, Thuy Nguyen, Tanya Hughes, Sue Nast, Deb Tabor, Selma Horne, Karen Penn
Combo 50 & Over Men’s 6.5
Final: Marion County (Ft. King Tennis Center, Ocala) finished ahead of Alachua County (Jonesville Tennis Center, Gainesville) 4-0 to 0-4 in round robin play
Marion County Season Roster: Scott Kiefer (captain), William Thomas, Danny York, Earl Schwartz, Ralf Barckhausen, Christopher Clements, Scott Lovell, Rick Durham, Robert Brombach, Joe Lagano, Grady Grimes, Stephen Bernard, Michael Garlisi
Combo 50 & Over Women’s 7.5
Final: Escambia County (Roger Scott Tennis Center, Pensacola) d. Polk County (City of Winter Haven Municipal Courts) 2-1
Championship Match Results:
No. 1 Doubles: Betty Wolff/Jacqueline Wallace (Escambia) d. Susan McGill/Jackie Edwards 6-1, 3-6, 1-0
No. 2 Doubles: Tami Manning/Darlene Warner (Escambia) d. Susan Fearnow/Melissa Voelker 6-2, 5-7, 1-0
No. 3 Doubles: Kelley Cargle/Norma Solters (Polk) d. Shellie McCall/Lisa Greskovich 1-6, 7-6, 1-0
Escambia Season Roster: Shellie McCall (captain), Debbie Cook, Tracey Mcclurd, Tonya DelGallo, Betty Wolff, Lisa Greskovich, Darlene Warner, Karen Richardson, Tami Manning, Kelly Dempsey, Renee Baggett, Wendy Hart, Jacqueline Wallace, Jeanie Ephron, Gina Bevino
Combo 50 & Over Men’s 7.5
Final: Collier County (Vineyards Golf & Country Club, Naples) d. Alachua County (Jonesville Tennis Center, Gainesville) 3-0
Championship Match Results:
No. 1 Doubles: Paul Michaels/Daniel Toppin (Collier) d. Muhammad Ali/Sorin Fratila 6-4, 6-1
No. 2 Doubles: James Shepherd/Ben Yocom (Collier) d. Scott Thompson/Anand Paul 6-4, 6-2
No. 3 Doubles: Andrzej Marcisz/Andy Mintz (Collier) d. Ed Stark/Kevin Athearn 6-3, 7-6
Collier County Season Roster: Randie Fischel (captain), Andy Mintz, James Shepherd, Daniel Toppin, Ronald Bartlett, Andrzej Marcisz, Paul Michaels, Richard Begando, Pete Zink, Steven Kremer, Jeffrey Macie, Ben Yocom
Combo 50 & Over Women’s 8.5
Final: Sarasota County (Lakewood National, Bradenton) finished ahead of Miami-Dade South (Crandon Park, Key Biscayne) 4-0 to 3-1 in round robin play
Sarasota County Season Roster: Lorraine Varone (captain), Elizabeth Warrier, Celia Marchese, Beverly Kalil, Julie Warren, Donna Hannigan, Christine Adelman, Karen Brenneman, Marilyn Weisenberg, Kim Eck, Lauren Ash, SueAnn Sanders
Combo 50 & Over Men’s 8.5
Final: Miami-Dade South (Don Shula’s Athletic Club, Hialeah) finished ahead of Hillsborough County (Avila Golf & Country Club, Tampa) 3-0 to 2-1 in round robin play
Miami-Dade South Season Roster: Gustavo Risquez (captain), Jose Chavez, Joaquin Jugo, Alessandro De Vito, Rubens Jacob, Alan Benarroch, Daniel Halle, Juan Rios, Richard Mangas, Leonardo Torrellas, Carlos Lopez, Ervin Mendel, Jay Eisenberg
2019 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 2019 season (standings through Nov. 13, recent winners in bold):
1. Broward County (10 titles) — 65&Over-M8.0, X40&Over-9.0, 40&Over-M3.0,M3.5; 18&Over-M3.5/M4.0/M4.5/W4.5, X18&Over-7.0,8.0
2T. Escambia County (4) — 55&Over-W3.0, 18&Over-W2.5, 50&Over-W6.5/W7.5
2T. Miami-Dade (4) — 55&Over-M3.5, 40&Over-M4.5+, X18&Over-9.0, 50&Over-M8.5
2T. Orange County (4) — 40&Over-M4.0, 18&Over-W4.0,M5.0+,X10.0
5T. Alachua County (3) — 55&Over-W3.5, 40&Over-W3.5, 18&Over-W2.5
5T. Collier County (3) — 65&Over-W6.0, X40&Over-7.0, 50&Over-M7.5
5T. Duval County (3) — 65&Over-W7.0, 55&Over-M4.5, 18&Over-W3.0
5T. Hillsborough County (3) — 55&Over-W4.5,40&Over-W3.0, 18&Over-W5.0+
5T. Sarasota County (3) — 55&Over-W4.0, X40&Over-8.0, 50&Over-W8.5
10T. Marion County (2) — 65&Over-M7.0, 50&Over-W6.5
10T. Pinellas County (2) — 65&Over-W8.0, 40&Over-W4.5+
12T. Brevard County (1) — X18&Over-6.0
12T. Clay County (1) — X40&Over-6.0
12T. Leon County (1) — 18&Over-M3.0
12T. Martin County (1) — 40&Over-W4.0
12T. Palm Beach County (1) — 55&Over-M4.0
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: Nov. 16-18, Mixed 55 & Over Invitational Championship, St. Petersburg Tennis Center
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.
