Brevard County (Rockledge Park, Rockledge), St. Lucie County (Magnolia Lakes, Port St. Lucie) and Broward County (Midtown Athletic Club, Weston) were the decided winners at the USTA Florida 55 & Over 6.0/8.0 Sectional Championships, held Oct. 9-12 at the USTA National Campus.
It was Brevard and St. Lucie’s first USTA Florida League Sectionals titles of the year and the third for Broward County, giving them the sole possession of first place in the USTA Florida League Championship Cup Standings (see below). The USTA Florida League Championship Cup is awarded to the county with the most league sectionals titles during the 2020 season.
The 6.0 women’s squad from St. Lucie County representing IRMSL defeated Hillsborough County (Apollo Beach Racquet Fitness Club, Apollo Beach) by a 2-1 margin, after countering Hillsborough’s quick 6-1, 6-2 effort.
In the women’s 8.0, the Brevard crew denied Lee County’s (Park Meadow Tennis Club, Fort Myers) attempt to capture its first division win of the year on Saturday. It was quite the turnaround for Brevard, who began the day with a loss to Pinellas County (Bardmoor Golf Tennis Club, Largo), which resulted in a three-way tie atop Flight 2. The tiebreaker went in Brevard’s favor and the women topped Pinellas with more individual matchup victories and a head to head win over Hillsborough.
Broward shined in the men’s 8.0 division, sweeping Duval County (Boone Park, Jacksonville) 3-0 in their contest. Broward surrendered just 10 games on courts one and two, meanwhile, the squad was awarded the matchup on court three when their opponents retired.
The competing teams represented various clubs, parks, recreational departments and organizations, and finished at the top of their local leagues during the 2020 season to advance to the USTA Florida 55 & Over 6.0/8.0 Sectional Championships.
Final results:
55 & Over Women’s 6.0
Final: St. Lucie County (Magnolia Lakes, Port St. Lucie) d. Hillsborough County (Apollo Beach Racquet Fitness Club, Apollo Beach) 2-1
Championship Match Results:
No. 1 Doubles: Sally Raque/Mary Flynn (Hillsborough) d. Linda Delo/Veronica Tempone 6-1, 6-2
No. 2 Doubles: Pat Mazone/Teresa Wood (IRMSL) d. Karen Montembeault/Renee Hovden 6-3, 6-1
No. 3 Doubles: Margarita Ponte/Paula Via (IRMSL) d. Shirley Payne/Lynn Malarz 4-6, 6-1, 1-0
IRMSL County Season Roster: Veronica Tempone (Captain), Pat Mazone, Cheri Snyder, Linda Delo, Teresa Wood, Paula Via, Margarita Ponte, Janice McKenna, Maureen Holley, Ina Singh, Regina Meno
55 & Over Women’s 8.0
Final: Brevard County (Rockledge Park, Rockledge) d. Lee County (Park Meadow Tennis Club, Fort Myers) 2-1
Championship Match Results:
No. 1 Doubles: Jodi Hynes/Kaye Kuhfeld (Lee) d. Joni Smith/Susan Noble 6-4, 6-0
No. 2 Doubles: Sylvia Segura/Anna Butler (Brevard) d. Jane Zito/Karen Steuber 6-3, 6-1
No. 3 Doubles: Nan Fleming/Robin Stember (Brevard) d. Karen Orlando/Sheri Coleman 3-6, 6-3, 1-0
Brevard County Season Roster: Sylvia Segura (Captain), Robin Stember, Linda Madyda, Susan Noble, Nan Fleming, Anna Butler, Joni Smith, Patricia Spoerle
55 & Over Men’s 8.0
Final: Broward County (Midtown Athletic Club, Weston) d. Duval County (Boone Park, Jacksonville) 3-0
Championship Match Results:
No. 1 Doubles: Rafael Oropeza/Jorge Cortes (Broward) d. Gregory Mueller/Felix Nazareno 6-2, 6-4
No. 2 Doubles: Gustavo Risquez/Juan Rios (Broward) d. Sanford Aldrich/George Sanders 6-2, 6-2
No. 3 Doubles: Andres Cabrero/Ruben Lisman (Broward) d. Robert Williamson/Patrick Swafford 4-6, 2-1 retired
Broward County Season Roster: Gustavo Risquez (Captain), Matthew Kenick, William Guasch, Melvin Villafane, Jorge Cortes, Carlos Haupt, Juan Rios, David Marmol, Ruben Lisman, Andres Cabrero, Michael Srebnick, Rafael Oropeza, Steve Glover, Rick Buckley
2020 USTA FLORIDA LEAGUE CHAMPIONSHIP CUP STANDINGS
The USTA Florida League Championship Cup is awarded to the county with the most league sectionals titles during the 2020 season (standings through Oct. 13, recent winners in bold):
1. Broward County (3 titles) — X40&Over-7.0/8.0, 55&Over-M8.0
2T. Brevard County (1) — 55&Over-W8.0
2T. Pinellas County (1) — X40&Over-9.0
2T. St. Lucie County (1) — 55&Over-W6.0
2T. 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 Sectionals: Oct. 24-26, Adult 55 & Over 7.0/9.0 Sectional Championships, 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.
