December 12th, 2016
Hillsborough Wins 2 Titles at USTA Florida Combo 50 & Over League Tennis Sectionals
Hillsborough County claimed two titles and Collier County was a repeat champion at the 2016 USTA Florida Combo 50 & Over League Sectional Championships, held Dec. 9-11 at the Florida Tennis Center in Daytona Beach.
Florida state title winners were Collier County (Greater Marco Family YMCA, Marco Island) in the Women’s 6.5 division, Escambia County (independent) in the Men’s 6.5 division, Manatee County (Lakewood Ranch Athletic Center) in the Women’s 7.5 division, Brevard County (Fee Avenue Tennis, Melbourne) in the Men’s 8.5 division, and Hillsborough County in the both the Men’s 7.5 (Buckhorn Springs C.C., Valrico) and Women’s 8.5 (Hillsborough Community College Tennis Complex, Tampa) divisions.
Collier County won for a second straight time in the Women’s 6.5 division, while Brevard County in the Men’s 8.5 division stopped Hillsborough County from winning a third straight division title.
Collier County’s win vaulted them into a second-place tie in the 2016 USTA Florida Adult League Section Championship Title Standings (see below). It was the first sectional title of the season for Brevard, Escambia, Hillsborough and Manatee counties.
Final results:
Combo 50 & Over Women’s 6.5 Division
Final: Collier County (Greater Marco Family YMCA, Marco Island) d. Martin County (Monarch C.C., Palm City) 2-1
Championship Match Results:
No. 1 Doubles: Tanya Green/Janet Wesch (Martin) d. Elizabeth Midkiff/Jean Martin 3-6, 6-4, 1-0 (super-tiebreak)
No. 2 Doubles: Luanne Kerins/Peggy Chandler (Collier) d. Heather Jackson/Nancy Pribble 6-2, 6-2
No. 3 Doubles: Beth Rainey/Susan Rafferty (Collier) d. Stephanie Battjer/Marianne Watson 2-6, 6-1, 1-0 (super-tiebreak)
Collier Season Roster: Karen Lewis (captain), Jacqueline Heise, Lorraine Graefenstein, Jean Martin, Elizabeth Midkiff, Peggy Chandler, Debra Caudill, Maria Earl, Beth Rainey, Luanne Kerins, Lisa Meurgue, Marlea Bowser, Stephanie Opel, Susan Rafferty, Nancy Sroka, Mary Fischer
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Combo 50 & Over Men’s 6.5 Division
Final: Escambia County (independent) finished ahead of Marion County (Ft. King Tennis Center, Ocala) 4-0 to 1-3 in round robin play
Escambia Season Roster: David DelGallo (captain), Andrew Hillman, A. Hayne Haigler, John Fuller, Russell Ball, Tony Dorsey, Kenneth Horn, Robert Greenberg, Kenneth Wallace, Phillip Drlicka
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Combo 50 & Over Women’s 7.5 Division
Final: Manatee County (Lakewood Ranch Athletic Center) d. Marion County (Ft. King Tennis Center, Ocala) 2-1
Championship Match Results:
No. 1 Doubles: Lorraine Varone/Karen Nicholson (Manatee) d. Pamela Plumlee/Nancy Little 6-3, 6-3
No. 2 Doubles: Lynn Swets/Michele Saxon (Marion) d. Heidi Cox/Anna Seal 6-3, 4-6, 1-0 (super-tiebreak)
No. 3 Doubles: Mary Hennessy/Marcia Caplan (Manatee) d. Nicole Wigelsworth/Wendy MacMurray 7-5, 6-4
Manatee Season Roster: Lorraine Varone (captain), Linda Frazier, Rita Heller, Karen Nicholson, Mary Hennessy, Heidi Cox, Mary Poncin, Julie Wolfe, Kerstin Hylen-Sundstrom, Marcia Caplan, Anna Seal
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Combo 50 & Over Men’s 7.5 Division
Final: Hillsborough County (Buckhorn Springs C.C., Valrico) d. Duval County (Boone Park, Jacksonville) 2-1
Championship Match Results:
No. 1 Doubles: Stephen Bennett/David Prichard (Duval) d. Herbert Nold/James Whitaker 6-4, 6-4
No. 2 Doubles: Chris Haughee/John Walker (Hillsborough) d. Tim Fritz/Tan Pham 6-2, 6-4
No. 3 Doubles: James Schneider/Barry Shollenberger (Hillsborough) d. Richard Rivas/Eugene Kasper 3-6, 7-6, 1-0 (super-tiebreak)
Hillsborough Season Roster: Jay Bortner (captain), John Figlewski, Joe Izzo, Joe Panfilio, James Whitaker, Terry Tetzlaff, Marshall Veatch, John Walker, Herbert Nold, James Schneider, Chris Haughee, Barry Shollenberger
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Combo 50 & Over Women’s 8.5 Division
Final: Hillsborough County (Hillsborough Community College Tennis Complex, Tampa) finished ahead of St. Johns County (Ponte Vedra Inn & Club) 4-0 to 2-2 in round robin play
Hillsborough Season Roster: Darla Gatesman (captain), Therese Gardner, Leah Knapp, Lisa Oonk, Gail Pierce, Stephanie Geshel, Lisa Freeman, Kathleen Stein, Judith Sly, Michiele Sherman, Gillian Irving, Michele Ironsmith
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Combo 50 & Over Men’s 8.5 Division
Final: Brevard County (Fee Avenue Tennis, Melbourne) finished ahead of Hillsborough County (Avila C.C., Tampa) 4-0 to 2-2 in round robin play
Brevard Season Roster: Scott Cohen (captain), Michael Phelipa, Mark Poole, Jose Marin, Bobby Barwick, Toney McIntosh, Michael Bailey, Don Hart
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The competing teams represented various clubs, parks, recreational departments and organizations that finished at the top of their local leagues during the 2016 season in the state of Florida to advance to the USTA Florida Combo 50 & Over 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 go to www.usta.com/Adult-Tennis/USTA-League/Information/About_NTRP.
2016 USTA FLORIDA ADULT LEAGUE
SECTION CHAMPIONSHIP TITLE STANDINGS
Here are the current league sectional title leaders this year (through Dec. 12, recent winners in bold):
1. Pinellas County (5 titles) — 55&Over W4.0/M4.0, 40&Over X8.0/X9.0, 18&Over X9.0
2T. Broward County (4) — 55&Over M4.5, 18&Over M3.5/X7.0/X8.0
2T. Clay County (4) — 55&Over W3.0, 40&Over W3.5, 18&Over W3.0/W4.0
2T. Collier County (4) — 65&Over W6.0, 55&Over M3.5/W4.5, Combo 50&Over W6.5
2T. Miami-Dade County (4) — 40&Over W4.0/M4.0, 18&Over M4.0/M4.5
2T. Orange County (4) — 18&Over W4.5, 18&Over M5.0+, 40&Over W4.5+, 40&Over M3.5
2T. Volusia County (4) — 40&Over X7.0, 55&Over W3.5, 18&Over X6.0/ W-Open
8. Marion County (3) — 55&Over M3.0, 40&Over X6.0/M3.0
9. Hillsborough County (2) — Combo 50&Over M7.5/W8.5
10T. Alachua County (1) — 65&Over M6.0
10T. Brevard County (1) — Combo 50&Over M8.5
10T. Duval County (1) — 18&Over W2.5
10T. Escambia County (1) — Combo 50&Over M6.5
10T. Manatee County (1) — Combo 50&Over W7.5
10T. Martin County (1) — 65&Over W7.0
10T. Leon County (1) — 18&Over M3.0
10T. Nassau County (1) — 65&Over W8.0
10T. Palm Beach County (1) — 18&Over W5.0
10T. Polk County (1) — 65&Over M8.0
10T. Sarasota County (1) — 40&Over M4.5+
10T. Seminole County (1) — 18&Over W3.5
10T. St. Johns County (1) — 40&Over W3.0
Note: County determined by location of team’s home club. Season-ending ties to be broken by teams’ results at USTA League Nationals.
Next 2016 Sectional Championship: Combo 18 & Over 6.5/8.5 Sectional Championships, Jan. 6
For more USTA Florida Leagues championship information go to www.ustaflorida.com/events/category/adultevents/ustafloridaleaguetennis/ustafloridaleaguesectionchamps/list.
