As the calendar pages turn, USTA Florida continues to host Sectional Championships, so teams can qualify to represent that state at Nationals next month.
This weekend, the USTA National Campus hosted the Mixed 18 & Over 6.0/7.0/8.0/9.0 Sectional Championships, which saw some of Florida’s best competition take the court in a fight for the trophy.
Over in the 6.0 division, Miami-Dade battled it out with Alachua County in the one of the closest matchups from the weekend. Alachua got ahead early with a line one win, but Miami was able to storm back in the final two lines to secure their first 6.0 title.
The 7.0 draw also saw a first-time champion, in Okaloosa County. The team got the best of Escambia County in their 3-0 win. Okaloosa didn’t drop a single game across the three matches that they played.
In the Mixed 8.0, we saw our only back-to-back winner as Hillsborough swept Pinellas County for their second title in a row and third all time.
Over in the 9.0 bracket, Miami-Dade and Sarasota County matched up, with both seeking their second title in this division. Miami was able to take line one despite the team dropping the first set. Sarasota took the third line, turning all eyes to line two. In the end, Miami-Dade was able to cruise that match with two 6-3 set wins and their second 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 Mixed 18 & Over Sectional Championships.
These champions have qualified for the 2022 USTA League National Championships that will take place in October.
Final Results:
Mixed 18 & Over 6.0
Final: Miami-Dade County (Crandon Park Tennis Center) defeated Alachua County (DB Racquet Club) 2-1
Championship Match Results:
No. 1 Doubles: George Demopoulos/Rhoda Wilburn (Alachua) d. Biance Capella/Christian Miranda 7-5, 5-7, 1-0
No. 2 Doubles: Stella Chu/Martin Pollon (Miami) d. Andrew Diaz/Tara Bromirski 6-3, 1-6, 1-0
No. 3 Doubles: Julieta Peralta/Schubert Sengupta (Miami) d. Jeff Fox Darby Townsend 6-2, 6-1
Miami-Dade County Season Roster: Schubert Sengupta (Captain), Yamila Porras (Captain), Bianca Capella, Martin Pollon, Julieta Peralta, Stella Chu, DHiraj Sukhwani, Thomas Campbell, Silvana Larrarte, Christian Miranda
Mixed 18 & Over 7.0
Final: Okaloosa County (Bluewater Bay Tennis Center) defeated Escambia County 3-0
Championship Match Results:
No. 1 Doubles: Stephanie Clifton/Byron Cotton (Okaloosa) d. Brian Weil/Pressly Weil 7-5, 7-6
No. 2 Doubles: Kristie Edwards/Ruman Meman (Okaloosa) d. Brett Snyder/Kate Major 7-5, 7-5
No. 3 Doubles: John Hooks/Elisabeth Sherwin (Okaloosa) d. Zachary Schweigert/Natalie Mcelhany 6-2, 7-6
Okaloosa County Season Roster: Mark Violette (Captain), John Hooks, Stephanie Clifton, Wendy Barbary, Akiko Ichimasa, Victor Otero, Kristie Edwards, Byron Cotton, Ruman Meman, Jan Markham, Elisabeth Sherwin, Alicia Roberson, Luke Roberson
Mixed 18 & Over 8.0
Final: Hillsborough County (HCC Tennis Complex) defeated Pinellas County (Tarpon Tennis Club) 3-0
Championship Match Results:
No. 1 Doubles: Clark Maccullough/Angie Jones (Hillsborough) d. Jamie Mckibban/Valentina Ziganshina 4-6, 1-1 RET
No. 2 Doubles: Richard Helme/Olivia Rivas (Hillsborough) d. Marcy Rooks/Jose Jarabo 6-3, 6-0
No. 3 Doubles: Jeffrey Stem/Jamie Hamilton (Hillsborough) d. Kammie Bilardello/Erik Breitenbach 6-3, 6-2
Hillsborough County Season Roster: Richard Helme (Captain), Angie Jones, Olivia Rivas, Xiao Zhang, Enrique Escobar, Elizabeth Burdick, Josh Melton, John Burdick, Joy Allee, Jamie Hamilton, Matt Denaro, Tristan Jones, Clark Maccullough, Christina Dausch, Nick Hardy, Jeffrey Stern, Kammie Bilardello, Ronghui You
Mixed 18 & Over 9.0
Final: Miami-Dade County (Coral Pine Park) defeated Sarasota County (Payne Park) 2-1
Championship Match Results:
No. 1 Doubles: Daniela Gonzalez/Orlando Orozco (Miami) d. Michael Boothman/Abbie Brooks 5-7, 6-2, 1-0
No. 2 Doubles: Andres Lozano/Ivet Hernandez (Miami) d. Abigail Hincker/Dale Slimick 6-3, 6-3
No. 3 Doubles: David Brumby/Michaela Rollings (Sarasota) d. Antonio Necuze/Janine Burke 6-3, 3-6, 1-0
Miami-Dade County Season Roster: Andres Lozano (Captain), Miriam Radillo (Captain), Werner Vondrak, Daniela Gonzalez, Janine Burke, Antonio Necuze, Estefania Lacoa, Ivet Hernandez, Orlando Orozco, Ricardo Giron, Kevin Chow, Monica Toledo, Sofia Coiran, Alejandro Aller, Carin Blanchard, Michele Drucker
