After a spring and summer full of cancellations due to COVID-19, USTA Florida is thrilled to say USTA League tennis is back!
17 teams and around 150 players made their way to Orlando to represent their counties in the Mixed 40 & Over 6.0/8.0 Sectional Championships, held Sept. 19-21 at the USTA National Campus. With the safety and well-being of all players and event personnel as the first and foremost consideration of USTA Florida, the event was modified for safety and strictly followed USTA Florida’s league guidelines, National Campus guidelines, and local health and safety regulations. Besides masking up and practicing social distancing, Captains submitted match information via their phones as USTA Florida utilized a Virtual Tournament Desk as a new and safer way to deliver these tournaments.
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Kicking things off with 2020 division wins were Volusia County (Florida Tennis Center, Daytona Beach) and Broward County (Weston Tennis Center, Weston). Despite a rain delay on Sunday that cancelled all play, Volusia County defeated Duval County (Deercreek Country Club, Jacksonville) in round robin play to recapture the 6.0 title for the first time since 2017. In the 8.0, 2019 USTA Florida League Championship Cup winner Broward County edged out the team from Martin County (Buttonwood Tennis Club, Stuart) to capture its very first Mixed 40 & Over 8.0 division win.
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 Mixed 40 & Over 6.0/8.0 Sectional Championships.
Final results:
Mixed 40 & Over 6.0
Final: Volusia County (Florida Tennis Center, Daytona Beach) finished ahead of Duval County (Deercreek Country Club, Jacksonville) 2-0, 0-1 in round-robin play
Volusia County Season Roster: Russell McDonald (Captain), Michelle McDonald, Mike Kogelschatz, Mary Hoffman, Stephen Lucas, Linda Leyva, Albert Weigel, Brad Gifford, Valentino Santiago, Stacey Effner, Jerry Boatright, Saroj Kasturi, Heather Patton, Susan Hrycyk
Mixed 40 & Over 8.0
Final: Broward County (Weston Tennis Center, Weston) d. IRSML County (Buttonwood Tennis Club, Stuart) 2-1
Championship Match Results:
No. 1 Doubles: Marcos Daniel Gonzalez Tonanez/Frances Cubano (Broward) d. Alex Aligata/Abigail Flood 6-2, 6-4
No. 2 Doubles: Jason Magnan/Tanya Mikel (IRMSL) d. Juan Maldonado/Andrea Cornelissen 6-4, 7-6
No. 3 Doubles: Alejandro Matheus/Natasha Torres (Broward) d. Larry Shull/Cynthia DiNenna 6-1, 6-2
Broward County Season Roster: Juan Maldonado (Captain), Loren Levine, Alejandro Matheus, Noelia Diaz, Frances Cubano, Maria Lanza, Marcos Daniel Gonzalez Tonanez, Andrea Cornelissen, Brad Staskowski, Raiza Matheus, Natasha Torres, Timothy House
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 Sept. 22):
1T. Broward County (1 title) — 40&Over-X8.0
1T. Volusia County (1) — 40&Over-X6.0
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. 3-5, Mixed 40 & 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.
