August 14th, 2017
Hillsborough County Dominant at USTA Florida 18 & Over League Sectionals Tennis
Hillsborough County (City of Plant City Rec. & Parks Dept., and Fishhawk Ranch in Lithia) won two titles after reaching four finals, while Broward County (Dillon Tennis Center, Oakland Park), Orange County (Azelea Park, Winter Park), Duval County (Florida Yacht Club, Jacksonville), and Miami-Dade North (Arthur Snyder Tennis Center, North Miami Beach) also took home state tennis championships at the USTA Florida 18 & Over 3.0/4.0/5.0+ League Sectional Championships, held Aug. 11-13 at the USTA National Campus in Orlando.
The winning teams next advance to represent the USTA Florida Section at the USTA League National Championships this fall. The 18 & Over 5.0+ championships will be held on Oct. 6-8 at the USTA National Campus in Orlando. The Surprise Tennis and Racquet Complex will host the 18 & Over 4.0 championships on Oct. 13-15, and the 18 & Over 3.0 championships on Oct. 20-22.
Broward County maintained its lead in the 2017 USTA Florida League Championship Cup standings, while Hillsborough County leaped into a second-place tie (see standings below). The USTA Florida League Championship Cup is awarded to the county with the most league sectionals titles during the 2017 season.
Hillsborough came close to completely dominating the weekend. In addition to claiming two titles they narrowly lost the Women’s 5.0+ final after a tiebreaker, and finished second in the Men’s 4.0 division.
“We had a roller coaster weekend!” said Hillsborough Women’s 5.0+ runner-up captain Suzanne Flament-Smith. “Our final round robin match was against Team Orange, and after a long, hard fight and grind we unfortunately lost 1-2. No doubt it was a tough way to lose, but our team name is the Strivers, and Strivers don’t ever stop striving!”
https://www.facebook.com/ustaflorida/videos/10155195195783197/
Other multiple finalists were Broward going 1-2 in finals, and Polk County 0-2. Miami-Dade County captured the Men’s 4.0 crown for the fourth straight year, and it was the second win in three years for Broward in the Women’s 4.0 division.
The event drew the top 18 & Over USTA League teams from throughout Florida, representing various clubs, parks, recreational departments and organizations that finished at the top of their local leagues. Teams consisting of two singles and three doubles lines competed in a non-elimination round-robin format, with flight winners advancing into a single-elimination semifinal followed by the final.
NTRP levels of play were 3.0/4.0/5.0+. For more information on NTRP levels go to www.usta.com/Adult-Tennis/USTA-League/Information/About_NTRP.
Championship Results:
18 & Over Women’s 3.0
Final: Hillsborough County (Fishhawk Ranch, Lithia) d. Broward County (Midtown Athletic Club, Weston) 4-1
Championship Match:
No. 1 Singles: Jackie Caouette (Hillsborough) d. Yenny Herrera 6-2, 6-3
No. 2 Singles: Ashley Toohey (Hillsborough) d. Ana Ortiz 6-3 (retired)
No. 1 Doubles: Giselle Rosasco/Martha Barliza (Broward) d. Shannon Deck/Kelly Oldham 7-5, 2-6, 1-0 (super-tiebreaker)
No. 2 Doubles: Pam Smith/Nicole Kipp (Hillsborough) d. Nathalie Schiaffino/Angie Stone 6-4, 5-7, 1-0 (super-tiebreaker)
No. 3 Doubles: Alison Dominic/Monica Eiermann (Hillsborough) d. Ana Joranhezon/Lissette Loddo 3-3 (retired)
Hillsborough Season Roster: Jackie Caouette (captain), Kelly Oldham, Christine Merrill, Wendy Bartlett, Alison Dominic, Ashley Toohey, Monica Eiermann, Shannon Deck, Andrea Cammarata, Pam Smith, Kim Ortmeier, Agnes Lirag, Nicole Kipp, Christina Sharp, Tabetha Vandeboe
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18 & Over Women’s 4.0
Final: Broward County (Dillon Tennis Center, Oakland Park) d. Polk County (Beerman Family Tennis Center, Lakeland) 4-1
Championship Match:
No. 1 Singles: Ellen Raskin (Broward) d. Jennifer Myers 6-3, 3-3 (retired)
No. 2 Singles: Jessica Fischer (Polk) d. Brenda Dumais 6-2, 6-1
No. 1 Doubles: Pam Florio/Sherri Balke (Broward) d. Rebecca Henderson/Kim Knapp 4-6, 6-2, 1-0 (super-tiebreaker)
No. 2 Doubles: Richelle Tankersley/Veronica Buckingham (Broward) d. Hayley Lockwood/Nadine Pantano 6-3, 7-6
No. 3 Doubles: Elizabeth Anderson/Erin Pasternack (Broward) d. Susan Jantomaso/Sharon Lockwood 6-1, 6-3
Broward Season Roster: Theresa Caruso (captain), Ellen Raskin, Richelle Tankersley, Caprice Thomas, Erin Pasternack, Veronica Buckingham, Brenda Dumais, Pam Florio, Casey Carlson, Cynthia Boyd, Kathy Koon, Sherri Balke, Elizabeth Anderson, Caroline Rinehart
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18 & Over Women’s 5.0+
Final: Orange County (Azelea Park, Winter Park) finished ahead of Hillsborough County (Waterchase, Tampa) tied 3-1 in round robin play with Orange County winning the sets-lost tiebreaker
Orange Season Roster: Kerry Sproles (captain), Corin Coffey, Maura Weiner, Bryn Auld, Adelaide Wood, Mimi Tran, Veronica Barni, Lisa Becket, Stacy Girdley, Ligia Bottinelli, Gabriela Chinchilla, Alana O’Hern
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18 & Over Men’s 3.0
Final: Duval County (Florida Yacht Club, Jacksonville) finished ahead of Polk County (Beerman Family Tennis Center, Lakeland) 4-0 to 3-1 in round robin play
Duval Season Roster: James Racine (captain), Nathaniel Sherman, Jordan Marchman, Eric Gebicke, Trevor Ross, Robert Schmidt, Frank Morreale, Robert Turnage, Andrew Holesko, Scott Meyer, Andrew Cleland, Walton Crosby, Charles Boyd, Childress Lee, Robert Carryl, George Martin
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18 & Over Men’s 4.0
Final: Miami-Dade North (Arthur Snyder Tennis Center, North Miami Beach) d. Hillsborough County (Fishhawk Ranch, Lithia) 5-0
Championship Match:
No. 1 Singles: Jorge Rodriguez (Miami) d. David Spohn 6-4, 6-1
No. 2 Singles: Jose Costafreda (Miami) d. Timothy Plossl 6-2, 6-2
No. 1 Doubles: Javier Castillo/Jorge Rodriguez (Miami) d. Jose Torres/Greg Goodson 6-4, 4-2 (retired)
No. 2 Doubles: Carlos Carmenate/Joel Namad (Miami) d. Mark Kanarek/Carlos Sanchez 6-2, 6-4
No. 3 Doubles: Cesar Aviles/Ivan Vigo (Miami) d. Gabriel Mead/Mike Johnson 6-1, 6-4
Miami-Dade Season Roster: Dean Dworkin (captain), Cesar Aviles, Jose Costafreda, Jorge Rodriguez, Eric Cohen, Alejandro Arraiz, Max Flesher, Javier Castillo, Michel Kulcsar, Alfonso Garcia, Ivan Vigo, Ran Cohen, Gustavo Carbone, Joel Santos, Joel Namad, Carlos Carmenate, Jorge Rodriguez, Julio Zambrano, Luis Monteagudo
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18 & Over Men’s 5.0+
Final: Hillsborough County (City of Plant City Rec. & Parks Dept.) d. Broward County (Midtown Athletic Club, Weston) 4-0 to 3-1 in round robin play
Hillsborough Season Roster: Richard Beardsley (captain), Rhett Rollyson, Mark Palus, Andy Laflin, Christopher Henderson, Christopher Muller, Matthew Litsky, Cliff Coleman, Joel Helm
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2017 USTA FLORIDA LEAGUE
CHAMPIONSHIP CUP STANDINGS
Broward County expanded its lead with a title at the 18 & Over sectionals, while Hillsborough jumped into a tie for second place. The USTA Florida League Championship Cup is awarded to the county with the most league sectionals titles during the 2017 season (standings through Aug. 14, most recent winners in bold):
1. Broward County (6 titles) — 55&Over-M4.0/M4.5,40&Over-W4.0/M4.0/M3.5,18&Over-W4.0
2T. Duval County (4) — 65&Over-W6.0,55&Over-W3.0/W4.0,18&Over-M3.0
2T. Hillsborough County (4) — 65&Over-M8.0,40&Over-W4.5+,18&Over-W3.0/M5.0+
4T. Miami-Dade County (3) — 40&Over-W3.0/W4.5+,18&Over-M4.0
4T. Orange County (3) — 55&Over-W4.5,40&Over-W3.5,18&Over-W5.0+
6T. Collier County (2) — 65&Over-W8.0,55&Over-W3.5
6T. Leon County (2) — X40&Over-7.0,40&Over-M4.0
6T. Marion County (2) — 65&Over-M7.0,55&Over-M3.0
6T. Pinellas County (2) — X40&Over-8.0/9.0
10T. Clay County (1) — 55&OverM3.5
10T. Martin County (1) — 65&Over-W7.0
10T. Volusia County (1) — X40&Over-6.0
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 Florida Sectional Championships: Aug. 18-20, 18 & Over 2.5/3.5/4.5 Sectionals, 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.
