July 10th, 2018
Leon Defends Title at USTA Florida 40 & Over 3.0/4.0 League Tennis Sectionals
Leon County successfully defended a championship, and Miami won for the third time in the last four years at the USTA Florida 40 & Over 3.0/4.0 League Sectional Championships, held July 8-10, 2018 at the USTA National Campus in Orlando.
Leon County (Forestmeadows Park and Athletic Center, Tallahassee) won the men’s 3.0 division for the second time in a row and for the fourth time in the last six seasons. Miami-Dade South (Tamiami Tennis Center, Miami) won the men’s 4.0, the third time in the last four years a Miami tennis team has captured the men’s 4.0 title.
Collier County (Heritage Bay Golf and Country Club, Naples) edged Hillsborough County (Westchase Community Association Inc., Tampa), the current leader in the USTA Florida League Championship Cup Standings (see below) 3-2 for the women’s 4.0 title, while Osceola County (Star Island Resort, Kissimmee) won its first sectional title of the year in the women’s 3-0 division.
“We had such a an amazing three days and met some of the nicest woman and challenging competition,” said Osceola/Kissimmee captain Traci Kendall. “The tournament was well organized, staff friendly and helpful and of course the facilities are stunning. Thanks you to my two coaches Yari Gaeta and Kevin Brandt for helping us get to nationals!”
Duval County went 0-2 in finals over the weekend, falling in the men’s and women’s 3.0 finals.
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. 26-28 — for the 3.0 at the Mobile Tennis Center in Mobile, Ala., and for the 4.0 at the Darling Tennis Center in Las Vegas.
Division winners and finalists:
40 & Over Women’s 4.0 Division
Final: Collier County (Heritage Bay Golf and Country Club, Naples) d. Hillsborough County (Westchase Community Association Inc., Tampa) 3-2
Championship Match Results:
No. 1 Singles: Gwendolyn Messonnier (Collier) d. Sonya Sherrell 6-1, 6-2
No. 2 Singles: Wendy Baier (Hillsborough) d. Juliane Callis 6-3, 6-1
No. 1 Doubles: Anne Chasteen/Allison Wipfli (Hillsborough) d. Terry Dirr/Jocelyn Badiu 2-6, 4-3, retired
No. 2 Doubles: Donna Charbonneau/Lynne Hancock (Collier) d. Jennifer Davis/Carolyn Fitzgerald 6-1, 3-6, 1-0
No. 3 Doubles: Sindi Sanzica/Diane Cahill (Collier) d. Emily Signoracci/Debbie Dawson 2-6, 6-1, 1-0
Collier Season Roster: Mira Rochford (captain), Trish Erickson, Terry Dirr, Sindi Sanzica, Robin Jelinek, Maureen Wells, Juliane Callis, Lynne Hancock, Tamara Small, Diane Cahill, Carole Flegel, Catherine Barsky, Jocelyn Badiu, Anne Mortillaro, Liana Franke, Debbie Sweeney, Christine Raber, Donna Charbonneau, Jane Zito, Gwendolyn Messonnier
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40 & Over Men’s 4.0 Division
Final: Miami-Dade South (Tamiami Tennis Center, Miami) d. Orange County (Villagewalk at Lake Nona, Orlando) 4-1
Championship Match Results:
No. 1 Singles: John Narus (Miami) d. Hervin Alvarez 6-1, 6-2
No. 2 Singles: Federico Valencia (Miami) d. Johnny Velasquez 3-6, 5-4, retired
No. 1 Doubles: Gustavo Gomez/Ruben Sepulveda (Orlando) d. Guillermo Brito/Cristian Mateluna 6-2, 6-2
No. 2 Doubles: Jose Zambrano/Ricardo Deliz (Miami) d. Julio Infante/Gaurang Gandhi 6-3, 6-4
No. 3 Doubles: Nelson Rodriguez/Jesus Minjares (Miami) d. Pedro Estrada/Luis Mir 6-3, 6-2
Miami Season Roster: Eli Parnell (captain), Armando Cabane, Federico Valencia, Jesus Minjares, Ciro Vasquez, Jaime Kang, Noel Chang, Jose Lebron, John Narus, Gerardo Perdigon, Patrick Kettel, Jose Zambrano, Ricardo Deliz, Cristian Mateluna, Mario Hidalgo, Nelson Rodriguez, Noel Barengo, Guillermo Brito, Juan Liriano
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40 & Over Women’s 3.0 Division
Final: Osceola County (Star Island Resort, Kissimmee) d. Duval County (Charles J. Williams YMCA, Jacksonville) 3-2
Championship Match Results:
No. 1 Singles: Patricia Wubker (Osceola) d. Christina Biggers 6-4, 6-4
No. 2 Singles: Svetlana Mityul (Duval) d. Natasha Holland 6-2, 6-2
No. 1 Doubles: Dina Meng/Natalia Bonavia (Osceola) d. Heather Parrish/Mary Townsend 6-0, 6-0
No. 2 Doubles: Jenni Westbrook/Siri Jansen (Duval) d. Jennifer Heistand/Jennifer Johnson 5-7, 6-0, 1-0
No. 3 Doubles: Lisa Pierzynski/Leslie Hartog (Osceola) d. Pam Cowden/Joni Smith 3-6, 6-3, 1-0
Osceola Season Roster: Traci Kendall (captain), Shelly Crema, Jennifer Heistand, Natalia Bonavia, Tara Marvin, Leslie Hartog, Victoria Karen, Patricia Wubker, Nicole Prihoda, Dina Meng, Melissa Tyrcha, Jennifer Johnson, Lisa Pierzynski, Natasha Holland
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40 & Over Men’s 3.0 Division
Final: Leon County (Forestmeadows Park and Athletic Center, Tallahassee) finished ahead of Duval County (Jacksonville Golf and Country Club) 3-1 to 2-2 in round robin play
Leon Season Roster: Sunil Patel (captain), Craig Dennis, Ryan Kiessig, Tripp McElroy, Chris Thomson, Thomas Curry, Jay Jaskolski, Ricardo Schneider, Jim Feng, John Luque, Jeff Chanton, Gregory Simpson, Steve Cutright, Andri Randrianasolo, Dennis Caldwell
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Teams consisting of three doubles lines competed in a non-elimination round-robin format. The winner of each flight/division was determined by team matches won. The winner of each flight then advanced into a single-elimination semifinal followed by the final. NTRP levels of 40 & Over team play were 3.0 and 4.0. For more information on NTRP levels go to www.usta.com/en/home/play/play-as-a-member/national/about-ntrp-ratings.html.
2018 USTA FLORIDA LEAGUE
CHAMPIONSHIP CUP STANDINGS
Collier takes sole possession of 3rd place after adding a sectionals title at the 40 & Overs in July. The USTA Florida League Championship Cup is awarded to the county with the most league sectionals titles during the 2018 season (standings through July 10, recent winners in bold):
1. Hillsborough County (5 titles) — 55&Over-M3.5/4.0/4.5,W4.5, X40&Over-7.0
2. Pinellas County (4) — 65&Over-W7.0/8.0, 55&Over-W3.5/4.0
3. Collier County (3) — 65&Over-M7.0/8.0, 40&Over-W4.0
4T. Duval County (2) — 65&Over-W6.0, 55&Over-W3.0
4T. Miami-Dade County (2) — X40&Over-9.0, 40&Over-M4.0
6T. Escambia County (1) — X40&Over-6.0
6T. Leon County (1) — 40&Over-M3.0
6T. Martin County (1) — X40&Over-8.0
6T. Osceola County (1) — 40&Over-W3.0
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 13-15, 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.
