Women’s league teams representing Orlando and Apollo Beach finished in 1st and 2nd place respectively during the latest round of USTA League National Championships held over the weekend at the USTA National Campus in Orlando.
For the women’s 55 & Over 9.0 squad (USTA National Campus, Orlando), it was a bittersweet win as the team captured the National title on their home courts. The Orange-Seminole representatives defeated USTA Eastern (Rye, N.Y.) 2-1 in the semifinals to advance to the championship match where they went on to triumph over USTA Southern (Charlotte, N.C.) with another score of 2-1.
The team is captained by Tami Florin and features Susan Wright, Terri Thomson, Ligia Bottinelli, Pamela Saffran, Janet Lower, Christine Alfert, Barby Molnar, Tolly Spengler, Katherine Foulk and Kim Frilot.
In the women’s 55 & Over 6.0, the ladies representing Hillsborough County (Apollo Beach Racquet Fitness Club, Apollo Beach) finished as the runners-up for the title after a crushing 2-1 loss to USTA SoCal (Bakersfield, Cali.). Earlier in the day, the Hillsborough squad advanced to the final after a 2-1 victory over USTA Southwest (Phoenix, Ariz.) in the semis.
The team is captained by Mary Flynn and features Karen Montembeault, Renee Hovden, Patty Trabue, JoAnn Kazura, Lisa McCarthy, Shirley Payne, Sally Raque and Lynn Malarz.
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.
