It was a wet weekend as storms loomed over the USTA National Campus. Teams from across the state assembled for some friendly competition in the Adult 40 & Over 3.5/4.5 Sectional Championships and it delivered excitement.
South Florida dominated the competition, taking two of the three divisions. In the 4.5 Women’s Draw, Broward County won its first title since 2013. While in the Men’s 4.5, Miami-Dade won their fourth championship in the past six years.
Over in the 3.5 Women’s competition, it was a nail-biter of a final between Orange and Escambia County. The match came down to a tiebreaker after the teams split the first four lines. In the end, Orange County was able to edge out Escambia for their second consecutive sectional championship.
The competing teams represented various clubs, parks, recreational departments, and organizations, and finished at the top of their local leagues during the 2022 season to advance to the USTA Florida 40 & Over Sectional Championships.
These champions have qualified for the 2022 USTA League National Championships and will compete in October.
Final results:
Adult 40 & Over 3.5 Women
Final: Orange County (Sanlando Park) d. Escambia County 3-2
Championship Match Results:
No. 1 Singles: Amy Goodman (Orange) d. Ameila Gandy 3-6, 6-4, 1-0
No. 1 Doubles: Shannon Schluter/Cherie Krohn (Escambia) d. Kathy Myers/Alida Astudillo 6-4, 6-2
No. 2 Doubles: Leah Taylor/Kris Pritchard (Escambia) d. Julie Zalloum/Jaqueline Pelliccia 2-6, 6-1, 1-0
No. 3 Doubles: Karen Crane/Kelli Forgione (Orange) d. Maureen Proctor/Dodi Stringfellow 6-1, 6-2
Orange County Season Roster: Jaqueline Pelliccia (Orange), Lisa Alpert, Julie Zalloum, Kelli Forgione, Karen Crane, Alida Astudillo, Lisa Graham, Kathy Myers, Judith Melendez, Dorothy Harris, Sarah Knorst, Amy Goodman, Mary Lutz
Adult 40 & Over 4.5 Women
Final: Broward County (Frank Veltri Tennis Center) d. Sarasota County (River Strand Golf and Country Club) 4-0
Championship Match Results:
No. 1 Singles: Kumiko Currie (Broward) d. Sonja Dickey 2-6, 6-0, 1-0
No. 1 Doubles: Gabriela Castanon/Alaina Fotiu-Wojtowicz (Broward) d. Karen Brenneman/Joan Pennello 6-4, 7-6
No. 2 Doubles: Cheryl Hicks/Jill Rickey (Broward) d. Heather Roggendorf/Desiree Lurf 6-4, 6-4
No. 3 Doubles: Andrea Wohlschlaeger/Natalia Moll (Broward) d. Kristi Henn/Julie Warren 6-1, 6-3
County Season Roster: Veronica Wank (Captain), Alaina Fotiu-Wojtowicz, Janine Burke, Sally Guerra, Jill Rickey, Cheryl Hicks, Kumiko Currie, Laura Di Lauro, Meg Jackson, Natalia Moll, Andrea Wohlschlaeger, Gabriela Castanon
Adult 40 & Over 4.5 Men
Final: Miami-Dade County (Kerdyk Biltmore Tennis Center) d. Duval County (San Jose Country Club) 4-0
Championship Match Results:
No. 1 Singles: Rick Guevara (Miami-Dade) d. Thomas Gable 7-6, 6-4
No. 1 Doubles: Marcos Lopez/Ramon Hudec (Miami-Dade) d. Kevin Grant/David Paul 6-2, 6-3
No. 2 Doubles: Alejandro Aller/Felipe Echeverri (Miami-Dade) d. Andre Herke/Patrick Douglas 6-3, 6-4
No. 3 Doubles: Javier Martinez/Antonio Necuze (Miami-Dade) d. William Morgan/Richard Redick 7-6, 4-6, 1-0
County Season Roster: Armando Cabane (Captain), Marcos Lopez, Herbert Portillo, Antonio Necuze, Werner Vondrak, Sebastian Martinez Christensen, Sebastian Abdelnur, Javier Martinez, Gonzalo Perez, Tom Davidson, Alejandro Aller, Sebastian Covos, Ramon Hudec, Gabriele Ghini, Miguel Fundora, Rick Guevara, Felipe Echeverri
