Miami Men 1st, Deland Women 3rd at USTA League National Championships

The USTA League Nationals title haul for the USTA Florida Section continued over the weekend as teams from Miami and Deland finished first and third in their respective divisions in California and Arizona.

The men’s 40 & Over 4.0 team from Miami (Coral Reef Park) won their national championship at the La Quinta Resort & Club in La Quinta, Calif. In the final the Miami men defeated USTA Middle States (Sewell, N.J.) 3-2.

Earlier in the day the Miami men defeated USTA Eastern (Bronxville, N.Y.) 4-1 in the semifinals. They advanced to the semifinals after successfully navigating round robin play on Friday and Saturday.

The season roster for the team was comprised of Raymond Valme (captain), Jack Astaphan, Frank Fernandez, Stephane Camguilhem, Ronald Valme, Tony AhChow, Sebastian Abdelnur, Julio Fernandez, Troy Wee Tom, Giampaolo Guarino, Peltan Humes, Rafael Sanchez, Gregory Joseph, Hector Meneses, and Rafael Sangiovanni.

“It’s unbelievable,” said the Miami captain Valme. “It was all teamwork. We did it together. We had very strong singles players in the lineup and we really worked hard the last six months. It’s something that we’re going to cherish as friends and players.”

Finishing in third place in Surprise, Ariz., was the women’s 55 & Over 7.0 team playing out of the Deland Tennis Club. They defeated USTA Missouri Valley (Omaha, Neb.) 2-1 in the 3rd/4th place playoff match.

In the semifinals the Deland women were edged 2-1 by USTA Eastern (Rye Brook, N.Y.), which went on to finish runner-up to USTA Southern California (La Quinta, Calif.) 2-1 in the championship match. They advanced to the semifinals after successfully navigating round robin play on Friday and Saturday.

The Deland women’s season roster was captain Connie Fenchel along with Ria Voss, Nancy McLarnon, Cindy Chomic, Margot Raisler, Cynthia Rawlins, Regina Butera, Judy Snure, Dorothy Harris, Dianne Krupski, Susan Uhrig, Harriett Williams, Ida Burgos, Lynn Ford, Sandra Smedberg, and Patricia Comings.

About USTA League
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. The 2016 USTA League season is the fourth season with an updated structure and format that offers four age categories (Adult 18 & Over, Adult 40 & Over and Adult 55 & Over and Mixed 18 & Over) to better align participants with players their own age. A fifth age division, the Mixed 40 & Over, was added in 2014.

To learn more about USTA Leagues in Florida go to www.ustaflorida.com/leagues.

For more info on USTA League Nationals go to www.usta.com/Adult-Tennis/USTA-League/National-Championships/usta_league_national_championships_results.