Pinellas, Volusia Counties Win 1st 2017 Titles at USTA Florida League Tennis Sectionals

Pinellas County (St. Pete Tennis Center, St. Petersburg) successfully defending its 8.0 division title from last year, and Volusia County (Florida Tennis Center, Daytona Beach) was the 6.0 division winner at the 2017 USTA Florida Mixed 40 & Over League 6.0/8.0 Sectional Championships, held June 2-4 at the USTA National Campus in Orlando.

Pinellas in the 8.0 championship match denied Broward County, last year’s USTA Florida League Championship Cup winner and the current No. 2 in the 2017 standings (see below).

It was the first sectionals championship win of the season for both Pinellas and Volusia. Both teams will next advance to represent the USTA Florida Section at the USTA Mixed 40 & Over 6.0/7.0/8.0/9.0 League National Championships on Nov. 10-12 at the Mobile Tennis Center in Mobile, Ala.

The event drew the top Mixed 40 & Over teams from throughout Florida, representing various clubs, parks, recreational departments and organizations that finished at the top of their local leagues. Teams consisting of three doubles lines competed in a non-elimination round-robin format, with flight winners advancing into a single-elimination semifinal followed by the final.

NTRP levels of play were a combined 6.0 and 8.0. For more information on NTRP levels go to www.usta.com/Adult-Tennis/USTA-League/Information/About_NTRP.

Championship results:

Mixed 40 & Over 6.0

Final: Volusia County (Florida Tennis Center, Daytona Beach) finished ahead of Alachua County (Westside Park, Gainesville) tied 4-1 win-loss, tiebreak determined by head-to-head

Head-to-Head Result:
No. 1 Doubles: David Spitzer/Barbara Bonarrigo (Volusia) d. Cary Blakely/Silvia Menendez 6-3, 3-6, 1-0 (super-tiebreaker)
No. 2 Doubles: Thu-Ha Burwell/Saroj Kasturi (Volusia) d. Rick Melzer/Colleen Anderson 6-2, 6-3
No. 3 Doubles: Marc Schnoll/Amanda Fuller (Alachua) d. Russell McDonald/Janie Panasis 4-6, 6-4, 1-0 (super-tiebreaker)

Volusia Season Roster: James Devis (captain), Barbara Bonarrigo, Chris Tepovich, Diana Gopen, David Spitzer, Saroj Kasturi, Janie Panasis, Exe Rahnefeld, Thu-Ha Burwell, Martin Barrett, Russell McDonald

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Mixed 40 & Over 8.0

Final: Pinellas County (St. Pete Tennis Center, St. Petersburg) d. Broward County (Midtown Athletic Club, Weston) 3-0

Championship Match Results:
No. 1 Doubles: Josh Melton/Sunday Richardson (Pinellas) d. Humberto Furtado/Maria del Rosario Pia Diodato de Brozzi 7-5, 6-3
No. 2 Doubles: Clark Maccullough/Karen Young (Pinellas) d. Laurent Leclerc/Janilka Perez 6-3, 3-6, 1-0 (super-tiebreaker)
No. 3 Doubles: Richard Helme/Kay Caldwell (Pinellas) d. Ricardo Cardenas/Cindy Conine 6-4, 6-4

Pinellas Season Roster: John Green (captain), Samuel Biller, Kathleen Stein, Richard Helme, Tania Biller, Karen Koch, Clark Maccullough, Sandy Trail, Darla Gatesman, Karen Young, Sunday Richardson, Josh Melton, Gayle Brennan, Kay Caldwell, Tu Phan, Edward Anthony, David Kenny

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For more tournament information go to www.ustaflorida.com/event/2017-mixed-40-6-08-0-sectional-championship.

2017 USTA FLORIDA LEAGUE
CHAMPIONSHIP CUP STANDINGS

Duval retains the lead, while Pinellas and Volusia counties get on the board after their first sections titles of the year at the Mixed 40 & Over 6.0/8.0 League Sectional Championships. The USTA Florida League Championship Cup is awarded to the county with the most league sectionals titles during the 2017 season (standings through June 5, most recent winners in bold):

1. Duval County (3 titles) — 65&Over-W6.0, 55&Over-W3.0, 55&Over-W4.0

2T. Broward County (2) — 55&Over-M4.0, 55&Over-M4.5
2T. Collier County (2) — 65&Over-W8.0, 55&Over-W3.5
2T. Marion County (2) — 65&Over-M7.0, 55&Over-M3.0

5T. Clay County (1) — 55&OverM3.5
5T. Hillsborough County (1) — 65&Over-M8.0
5T. Martin County (1) — 65&Over-W7.0
5T. Orange County (1) — 55&Over-W4.5
5T. Pinellas County (1) — X40&Over-8.0
5T. Volusia County (1) — X40&Over-6.0

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 Florida Sectional Championships: 2017 USTA Florida Mixed 40 & Over 7.0/9.0 League Sectionals, June 9-11, 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.