Florida Women 2nd, Men 4th at USTA League 18 & Over 3.5 Nationals Tennis

The Casselberry 18 & Over 3.5 national runner-ups, from left to right: Ida Raquel Burgos, Michelle Berganini, Mandy Murphy, Victoria Bushey, Ashley Pleasants, Dianne Harrington-Gocek, Jeannie Marie Allen (captain), Kelly Bushey (co-captain), Ana Arango, Wendy Lynne Sutch, Jennifer La Rue Adams, Jerri Sue Buck, Kristina Godiksen, Alison Crothers Hanshaft, Ann Lalor Jones

Both the Florida 18 & Over 3.5 men’s and women’s national-qualifying teams placed in the top four over the weekend at the USTA League 18 & Over 3.5 National Championships in Indian Wells, Calif.

The 18 & Over women’s 3.5 team out of Orange/Seminole counties (Red Bug Park, Casselberry) finished second after losing in the championship 5-0 to the team from USTA Southern California (Irvine, Calif.). Earlier in the day the Casselberry team defeated a team from Tuscaloosa, Ala., 3-2 in the semifinals. They advanced to the semifinals by winning their round-robin flight contested Friday and Saturday.

“It took a lot of hard work to get here,” said Southern California team captain Cynthia Wu after defeating the Casselberry women. “We came out here, had fun and played focused. It’s been a great experience.”

The Casselberry women’s regular-season roster was comprised of Jeannie Allen (captain), Kelly Bushey, Victoria Bushey, Michelle Berganini, Jerri Buck, Denise Turner, Hajnal Rawlins, Ashley Pleasants, Ann Jones, Jenny Moran, Julia Balson, Lisa Medla, Kristina Godiksen, Mandy Murphy, Jennifer Adams, Alison Hanshaft, Ida Burgos, Ana Arango, Timea Manfredi, Mei Verniani, Dianne Harrington-Gocek, Wendy Sutch, Sandy White, and Janet Jablonski.

The Tallahassee 18 & Over 3.5 national 4th place finishers, from left to right: Vishwanath Adiraju, Alan Abramowitz, Harsha Avinash Panasa, Chaz Gulan, Anthony Cammarata (captain), Richard Clary, Andrew Lawyer (co-captain), Brandon Mauer, Srikanth Tirupati, Robert Cornwell, Dane Clare

The 18 & Over men’s 3.5 team out of Leon County (Forest Meadows Park & Recreation, Tallahassee) finished fourth after losing 4-1 in the 3rd/4th round playoff to the team from USTA Northern California (Hayward, Calif.).

In the semifinals earlier they were edged 3-2 by the team from USTA Texas (Houston) that went on to defeat a team from USTA Southern California (Arcadia) in the championship match. The Tallahassee team advanced to the semifinals by winning their round-robin flight contested Friday and Saturday.

The Tallahassee men’s regular-season roster was comprised of Anthony Cammarata (captain), Richard Clary, Sudirman Lasappe, Dustin Caldwell, Francisco Acevedo, Dohoun Kim, Srikanth Tirupati, Matt Hefelfinger, Robert Cornwell, Vishwanath Adiraju, Dane Clare, Alan Abramowitz, Andrew Lawyer, Harsha Panasa, Brandon Mauer, and Chaz Gulan.

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 865,000 players across the nation today, making it the world’s largest recreational tennis league. Players participate on teams administered by the USTA and its 17 sections across the U.S. 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.

The 2015 USTA League season will be the third season with the updated structure and format which offers four age categories (Adult 18 & Over, Adult 40 & Over and Adult 55 & Over and Mixed 18 & Over) to better align participants with players their own age. A fifth age division, the Mixed 40 & Over division, was added last year. The restructuring guarantees more frequency of play opportunities at more appropriate age groups.

For more information about USTA Leagues in Florida go to www.ustaflorida.com/adulttennis/usta-leagues.