Marion County with three titles and Broward County with two were the big winners at the Tri-Level League 18 & Over Playoffs, held on Feb. 2-4, 2019 at the USTA National Campus in Orlando, Fla.
All three winning Marion County teams played out of the Ft. King Tennis Center in Ocala, while both Broward County teams played out of the Dillon Tennis Center in Oakland Park near Ft. Lauderdale.
“My players had an incredible time at the men’s Tri-Level tournament,” said Broward captain Kevin Sims. “For many it was their first time at sectionals and for some their first time playing in a USTA League. It was difficult to field two teams due to the shortage of players I had. I had players who were on both the 4.0 and 4.5 Tri-Level team. My players literally had to walk off the court and back onto another court play their next match, back-to-back. Winning two titles in the same weekend with overlapping players put me in a euphoric mood. Especially heading to Indian Wells in Palm Springs. Hopefully the best is yet to come.”
Also taking home titles were Sarasota County (Esplanade, Lakewood Ranch) and Seminole County (Sanlando Park, Altamonte Springs). The Seminole County women in the 3.5/4.0/4.5 division snapped a four-year winning streak by Orange County (Winter Park).
Tri-Level League is a doubles format designed to provide a unique team league opportunity by combining players of differing NTRP levels on teams in local competition, advancing to state/regional championships, and to the national championships for the 3.5/4.0/4.5 divisions.
“The Tri-Level program has experienced explosive grown, from just six teams only a few years ago to 33 last year, and this season expanding from four to seven divisions at the state level,” said USTA Florida Adult Tennis Event Coordinator Jodi Manning. “This socially-competitive league is a great way to enjoy the camaraderie of friends in the ultimate team experience.”
The winners of the 3.5/4.0/4.5 divisions, the women’s Seminole County (Sanlando Park, Altamonte Springs) team and men’s Broward County (Dillon Tennis Center, Oakland Park) team, advance to the national Tri-Level Championships, held March 14-17, 2019 during the final weekend of the BNP Paribas Open ATP/WTA event in Indian Wells, Calif.
For more info go to bnpparibasopen.com.
Championship results:
Women’s 4.0/4.5/5.0 Division
Final: Sarasota County (Esplanade, Lakewood Ranch) finished ahead of Broward County (Dillon Tennis Center, Oakland Park) 3-1 to 3-1 (Sarasota won sets-lost tiebreaker) in round robin play
Sarasota County Season Roster: Janet Kempton (captain), Maria Stand, Mary Beth Poncin, Julie Warren, Stephanie Means, Karen Brenneman, Courtney Spafford, Erin Bryce, Meredith Heineman-Van Vaals, Gail Gibson, Lorraine Varone, Allison Whitten, Adriana Garcia, SueAnn Sanders, Celia Marchese, Beverly Kalil
Women’s 3.5/4.0/4.5 Division
Final: Seminole County (Sanlando Park, Altamonte Springs) d. Pinellas County (St. Pete Tennis Center, St. Petersburg) 3-0
Championship Match Results:
4.5 Doubles: Elissa Rizzi/Samantha Seto (Seminole) d. JoAnn Barbetta/Ann Carlson 6-1, 6-2
4.0 Doubles: Kyrsten Crociata/Rikki Myers (Seminole) d. Ethel Murphy/Uri Covarrubias 6-4, 6-3
3.5 Doubles: Jennifer Carter/Madelyn Escudero (Seminole) d. Aspen Kahl/Beth Thompson 6-4, 6-1
Seminole County Season Roster: Elissa Rizzi (captain), Misa Kawata, Samantha Seto, Kyrsten Crociata, Elena Escamilla, Laura Savage, Rikki Myers, Anna Svaetichin, Jennifer Carter, Madelyn Escudero
Men’s 3.5/4.0/4.5 Division
Final: Broward County (Dillon Tennis Center, Oakland Park) d. Duval County (Florida Yacht Club, Jacksonville) 3-0
Championship Match Results:
4.5 Doubles: Marc Winkler/Agustin Torres (Broward) d. Andrew Rios/Glen Marshall 6-2, 7-5
4.0 Doubles: Anthony Phillips/Timothy House (Broward) d. Joe Deering/Brad Mossman 7-6, 6-1
3.5 Doubles: Andrew Brown/Michael Stites (Broward) d. Blake Ward/Joe Andrews 6-4, 6-3
Broward County Season Roster: Kevin Sims (captain), Marc Winkler, Michael Stites, Anthony Phillips, Timothy House, Juan Maldonado, Mark Blum, Kevin Johnson, Marcus Pfenninger, Wissam Bell, Julian Gil, Agustin Torres, Humphrey Allen, Eric Tucoulou, Andrew Brown, Ervin Mendel
Women’s 3.0/3.5/4.0 Division
Final: Marion County (Ft. King Tennis Center, Ocala) d. Orange/Seminole County (USTA National Campus, Orlando) 2-1
Championship Match Results:
4.0 Doubles: Jennifer Boyd/Debby Watts (Marion) d. Jamie Alamia/Genell Ferrell 7-5, 6-4
3.5 Doubles: Samantha Lutz/Lisa Miller (Osceola) d. Shaana Slaughter/Eileen Lombardo 6-4, 2-6, 1-0
3.0 Doubles: Dina Sapienza/Natalie Petsche (Marion) d. Amanda Barritt/Kathleen Sipio 6-2, 6-3
Marion County Season Roster: Debby Watts (captain), Lori Croy, Corinne Thomas, Shaana Slaughter, Amanda Daugherty, Dina Sapienza, Susan Atwell, Lisa McTaggart, Christine Godek, Natalie Petsche, Jennifer Boyd, Eileen Lombardo, Carmen Rosario, Ashley Murray
Men’s 3.0/3.5/4.0 Division
Final: Broward County (Dillon Tennis Center, Oakland Park) finished ahead of Duval County (Williams YMCA, Jacksonville) 4-0 to 2-2 in round robin play
Broward County Season Roster: Kevin Sims (captain), Michael Stites, Anthony Phillips, Humphrey Allen, Kevin Johnson, Julian Gil, Mark Blum, Marcus Pfenninger, Andrew Brown, Ara Toroyan, Juan Maldonado, Rene Elvir, Sameer Singhal, Timothy House, Fernando Calvo
Women’s 2.5/3.0/3.5 Division
Final: Marion County (Ft. King Tennis Center, Ocala) finished ahead of Alachua County (Jonesville Tennis Center, Gainesville) 2-1 to 2-1 (Marion won sets-lost tiebreaker) in round robin play
Marion County Season Roster: Christine Devito (captain), Sueanne Mazzurco, Donna Schafer, Barbara Scully, Maggie Berardi, Lisa Capps, Donna Sullivan, Patricia Saskowski, Ednaliz Schramm, Amanda Keel, Ellen Perrone, Monika Raczkowski, Deborah Borge-Shaffer, Janice Lundy, Anitha Rumalla, Michelle Shiver, Melissa Quigley
Men’s 2.5/3.0/3.5 Division
Final: Marion County (Ft. King Tennis Center, Ocala) finished ahead of Alachua County (Jonesville Tennis Center, Gainesville) 3-0 to 0-3 in round robin play
Marion County Season Roster: Joe Lagano (captain), Weston Wise, Christopher Sawdon, Jon Miller, Kellan Quigley, Christopher Procaccini, Jeffrey Bairstow, Robert Kennedy, Scott Anthony, Dillon Lagano, Jeff Zysek, Zak Bernard
For more info on Tri-Level or other USTA Florida Leagues, or to sign-up for a league, go to www.ustaflorida.com/leagues.
