Hillsborough County was dominant, winning one title in three finals last weekend at the 2019 USTA Florida 40 & Over 3.0/4.0 Sectional Championships, held July 20-22 at the USTA National Campus in Orlando.
Hillsborough’s Tampa Yacht Club team won the women’s 3.0 division title, while Tampa teams representing the Westchase Community Association and Hillsborough Community College lost in finals.
The title lifted Hillsborough, last year’s USTA Florida League Championship Cup winner, into a second-place tie in the 2019 standings. Broward County (Midtown Athletic Club, Weston) won the men’s 3.0 title, vaulting them into first place (see updated cup standings below).
Broward in the men’s 3.0 final defeated Leon County, ending Tallahassee’s two-year stranglehold on the men’s 3.0 division.
Martin County (Buttonwood Tennis Club, Stuart) won its first sectionals title of the year in the women’s 4.0 division, as did Orange County (Villagewalk at Lake Nona, Orlando) in the men’s 4.0.
The event drew the top 40 & 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.
The championship teams next advance to represent the USTA Florida Section at the USTA 40 & Over League National Championships on Oct. 11-13 for the 4.0 division at the Surprise Tennis & Racquet Complex in Surprise, Ariz., and Oct. 18-20 for the 3.0 division at the USTA National Campus in Orlando.
Division winners and finalists:
40 & Over Women’s 4.0
Final: Martin County (Buttonwood Tennis Club, Stuart) d. Hillsborough County (Westchase Community Association, Tampa) 4-1
Championship Match:
No. 1 Singles: Guadalupe Avinzano (IRC) d. Sonya Sherrell 6-1, 7-6
No. 2 Singles: Wendy Baier (Hillsborough) d. Elisabeth Smith 6-4, 6-2
No. 1 Doubles: Cynthia DiNenna/Lori Glaspey (IRC) d. Jennifer Davis/Emily Signoracci 6-3, 6-4
No. 2 Doubles: Somhathai Immerman/Theresa Dubiel (IRC) d. Charlotte Tao/Melinda London 7-6, 6-2
No. 3 Doubles: Sandy Palma/Angela Cramer (IRC) d. Elaine Aschenbrenner/Melissa Sheridan 6-4, 1-6, 1-0
Martin County Season Roster: Sandy Palma (captain), Cynthia DiNenna, Somhathai Immerman, Theresa Dubiel, Karen Higgins, Guadalupe Avinzano, Marie-Paule Cafmeyer, Lori Glaspey, Angela Cramer, Beth Daly, Elisabeth Smith, Beth Grossnickle
40 & Over Men’s 4.0
Final: Orange County (Villagewalk at Lake Nona, Orlando) d. Hillsborough County (Hillsborough Community College, Tampa) 4-1
Championship Match:
No. 1 Singles: Hervin Alvarez (Orange) d. Jeffrey Stern 6-3, 3-6, 1-0
No. 2 Singles: Ray Eckstein (Hillsborough) d. Constantino Trimarchi 6-2, 5-4, retired
No. 1 Doubles: Julio Infante/Ignacio Guida (Orange) d. Marvin Ho/Robert Miller 7-5, 6-2
No. 2 Doubles: Ruben Sepulveda/Pedro Estrada (Orange) d. Tu Phan/Richard Helme 6-0, 6-1
No. 3 Doubles: Gaurang Gandhi/Nicholas Anderson (Orange) d. Joe Orsini/Jeff Huser 6-3, 6-3
Orange County Season Roster: Fernando Colon (captain), Ralph Lennen, Emir Valladares, Manuel Perez, Ruben Sepulveda, Bob Dasilva, Tony Stingley, Carlos Soto-Busigo, Nestor Alvarez, Constantino Trimarchi, Julio Infante, Harry Fauquier, Pedro Estrada, Marvin Diaz, Nicholas Anderson, Luis Mir, Hervin Alvarez, Ignacio Guida, Patrick Dennis, Gaurang Gandhi
40 & Over Women 3.0
Final: Hillsborough County (Tampa Yacht Club, Tampa) d. Pinellas County (Belleair C.C., Belleair) 4-1
Championship Match:
No. 1 Singles: Jana Bridge (Hillsborough) d. Stacey Reznicek 6-4, 4-4, retired
No. 2 Singles: Louise Del Basso (Pinellas) d. Carol Bennett 6-2, 2-1, retired
No. 1 Doubles: Ali Garrity/Kelly Ruggles (Hillsborough) d. Stacy Perry/Kelly Nash 6-3, 6-3
No. 2 Doubles: Lesley Metzler/Jacqueline Carricato (Hillsborough) d. Ann Lea/Lori Emery 6-3, 7-5
No. 3 Doubles: Christine Dietrich/Shannon Derbes (Hillsborough) d. Janette Parkinson/Haven Poirier 6-0, 6-2
Hillsborough County Season Roster: Ali Garrity (captain), Lauren Schellman, Kelly Ruggles, Christine Dietrich, Carol Bennett, Shannon Derbes, Jana Bridge, Ana Lautersztain, Kim Lancer, Jacqueline Carricato, Michele Milazzo, Nichole Vogt, Erica Brandon, Sarah Weaver, Lesley Metzler
40 & Over Men’s 3.0
Final: Broward County (Midtown Athletic Club, Weston) finished ahead of Leon County (Tom Brown Park, Tallahassee) 4-0 to 3-1 in round robin play
Broward County Season Roster: Saeid Sadoughi (captain), Samir Asaad, Carlos Alesson, Roberto Carrasco, Carlos Said, Ricardo Uliambre, Julio Gomez Madrigal, Sebastian Golitz, Andreu Colell, Jorge Alejandro Romo, Miguel Cotamo, Jorge Cortes, Pedro Prado, Aldri Franco, Elias Nunez
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 June 23, recent winners in bold):
1. Broward County (3 titles) — 65&Over-M8.0, X40&Over-9.0, 40&Over-M3.0
2T. Collier County (2) — 65&Over-W6.0, X40&Over-7.0
2T. Duval County (2) — 65&Over-W7.0, 55&Over-M4.5
2T. Hillsborough County (2) — 55&Over-W4.5,40&Over-W3.0
2T. Sarasota County (2) — 55&Over-W4.0, X40&Over-8.0
6T. Alachua County (1) — 55&Over-W3.5
6T. Clay County (1) — X40&Over-6.0
6T. Escambia County (1) — 55&Over-W3.0
6T. Marion County (1) — 65&Over-M7.0
6T. Martin County (1) — 40&Over-W4.0
6T. Miami-Dade South (1) — 55&Over-M3.5
6T. Orange County (1) — 40&Over-M4.0
6T. Palm Beach County (1) — 55&Over-M4.0
6T. Pinellas County (1) — 65&Over-W8.0
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: July 27-29 — 40 & Over 3.5/4.5+, 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.
