Sunday saw the conclusion of the 2018 USTA League National Adult 55 & Over 7.0/9.0 Championships, which is the fourth of five USTA League National events scheduled at the USTA National Campus this fall.

Overall, three different Sections were represented amongst the team champions. Southern California (Winner’s Tennis Club – Solana Beach, Calif.) would take the Women’s 7.0 Crown, Southern (Sea Pines Country Club, Hilton Head Island, SC) would win the Men’s 9.0 title. The Texas Section will bring two titles back to the Lone Star State as the teams from Huffhines Tennis Center in Richardson and the Life Time Athletic  team in Plano would win the Men’s 7.0 and Women’s 9.0 titles, respectively.

In the 7.0 Women’s Division, top seeded Southern California (Winner’s Tennis Club – Solana Beach, Calif.) continued their undefeated team match streak and bested Caribbean (Independent – Puerto Rico) 3-0. However Caribbean put up a good fight, as two of three lines with to a tiebreak. California’s Holly Barrett and Shelly Donnelly won line with a 6-2, 7-5 victory. Caribbean extended lines two and three into tiebreak territory, however it would be California’s Crista Hubbard and Lisa Otten that came out on top in line two with a (6-3, 6-7, 1-0) victory; and Gracie Jones and Kimberly Kessler secured victory for the Golden State team 6-4, 5-7, 1-0. Second seed Eastern (Quest Racquet Club – Mahwah, NJ) beat third seeded Florida (Countryside Country Club – Clearwater, Fla.) with a 3-0 record. All three of Eastern’s duos claimed straight-sets victories. Julie Paterson and Diane Gimbel took line one 6-4, 6-4. Line two’s Lisa Clifford and Mariela Zelaya picked up a 6-3, 6-3; and line three’s Frances Heath and Maribel Unanue got a quick 6-2, 6-2 victory, securing their team’s spot in the final.

Southern California’s win streak would continue into the finals, as they picked up the title with a 2-1 win over Eastern. At line one, Barrett and Donnelly were pushed to the limit but won the first set 7-6, and dominated the second set, picking up the victory 6-1. California’s Gracie Jones and Grace Norwood rallied after dropping 6-7 in the first set to finish the second set 6-3, and picked up the tiebreak win to seal the team’s victory. Eastern’s Lisa Clifford and Mariela Zelaya won line two 6-1, 6-3. Captained by Crista Hubbard, the victorious Southern California team includes Lisa Otten, Shirley Platzer-Stocks, Danielle Moore, Sara Cheng, Mary Jo Preti, Susie Burger, Elizabeth Royse, Shelly Donnelly, Martina Chapkis, Gracie Jones, Kimberly Kessler, Grace Norwood and Holly Barrett.

In the 7.0 Men’s division, top seed Caribbean (Independent – Puerto Rico) beat Southern (Highland Ridge – Marietta, Ga.) in a close contest. Caribbean’s Vladimir Piereschi and Henry Carrion came back from dropping the first set 3-6 to win the second set 6-4 and earn a tiebreak victory. At line two,  Luis de la Haba and Angel Cruz won the first set 6-2, and despite dropping the second set 3-6 came back to secure the tiebreak victory, sending Caribbean to the finals. Southern’s Mike Marsico and William Duty won line three 6-2, 6-2. Second seed Texas (Huffhines Tennis Center – Richardson, Texas) beat Missouri Valley (Topeka Country Club – Topeka, Kan.) 3-0 to secure their spot in the finals. At line one, Mike Fincher and Mier Brown picked up a 7-5, 6-3 victory, and  Jeffrey Yarbrough and Tex Torrez won at line two 6-3, 6-1. Securing the sweep was Keith Clark and Tom Schindler, who won line three 6-1, 6-1.

Top tennis was on display in the final, as Caribbean and Texas battled for 7.0 supremacy. And despite a competitive loss on line one (won by Caribbean’s Piereschi and Carrion 0-6, 7-6, 1-0), the Lone Star State will bring home the crown. Victories from line two’s Clark and Schindler (6-1, 6-3) and line three from Fincher and Brown (6-2, 6-4) would seal the deal. Captained by Keith Clark, the complete Texas roster includes Mier Brown, Mike Fincher, Leonard Hutchison, Mark Myers, Mark Sweeney, Tom Schindler, Jeffrey Yarbrough, Rene Alzuro, Kerry Keener, Tex Torrez and Shyh-Ming Chern.

The 9.0 Women’s semifinal became upset territory, as fourth seeded Texas (Life Time Athletic – Plano, Texas) took out Southern California (Lower Peters Canyon Park – Irvine Calif.) with a 2-1 team score. The competition was stiff in this semifinal, as no set finished with a score lower than 6-4. Southern California’s Kelly Ross and Vicky Blanco won line one 6-4, 7-6. However Texas came battling back at lines two and three, where Gayle Prejean and Lynn Rush won 7-6, 7-5 at line two; and Sallie Canan and Kate Poplin Ikeda secured the win 6-4, 6-4 at line three.  On the other side of the bracket, Hawaii (Castle High School – Kaneohe, Hawaii) bested Northern California (Gold River Racquet Club – Gold River, Calif.) 2-1. The Aloha state’s Lori Roberston and Jeanette Bean took line one in a 6-2, 6-3 victory; and Luanne Apo and Loreen Hirano were victorious at line two 6-4, 6-1. Northern California’s Kris Law and Kelly Johnson won line three 6-3, 7-5.

However, the women of Texas would take their Cinderella run all the way to the finals. All three lines of the 9.0 Women’s final would go to a tiebreak, ultimately ending with the Lone Star State women winding up on top. Texas’s Lynn Rush and Gayle Prejean took line one 3-6, 6-3, 1-0 and Suzanne Ortolano and Cynthia Johnson’s line two victory (6-3, 2-6, 1-0) would seal the championship deal. Hawaii’s Anna Hinkley and Loreen Hirano would pick up a win at line three (6-3, 6-7, 1-0). Captained by Cynthia Johnson, the championship roster is made up of Kate Poplin Ikeda, Lynn Rush, Cheryl Halpern, Jackie Reily, Suzanne Ortolano, Julie Salomon, Gayle Prejean, Debbie Koporec, Trish Chandler, Sallie Canan, BJ Landers and  Ruth Brown.

In the 9.0 Men’s Division, top seeded Midwest (South Barrington Tennis Club – Barrington, Ill.) beat Florida (Palma Ceia – Tampa, Fla.) 2-1. Midwest’s Rob Hopkins and George Charuk secured a key victory at line one with a 6-4, 3-6, 1-0 victory. Midwest’s William Dutton and Steve Issleib cruised through line two 6-2, 6-1; and Florida’s Ignacio Molina and Tim O’Brien got the line three victory, 6-3, 6-3. Third seeded Southern (Sea Pines Country Club – Hilton Head, SC) topped Missouri Valley (Kansas City Racquet Club – Merriam, Kan.) 2-1 in their quest to become repeat champions. Both teams brought their A-game to the semifinals, as two of the three lines were decided by a tiebreak. Southern’s Gavin Cox and Mark Sheaffer picked up the 6-4, 2-6, 1-0 victory at line one, as well as Glenn Sheaffer and Daniel Lieberman taking line two 7-5, 6-4. Missouri Valley’s Tim Weber and Brent Filbert took line three 2-6, 6-0, 1-0.

The upsets continued as the 9.0 Men’s final saw third-seeded Southern take the crown against top-seeded Midwest. For Southern, victories came at lines one and two, where Cox and Sheaffer took line two (6-4, 7-6) and Tiger Buford and Richard Murray earned victory at line one. After losing the first set 4-6, the duo rallied to win the second set 6-1 and a tiebreak victory secured their national championship. Midwest’s Scott Bondurant and David Martin earned the line three victory 3-6, 6-2, 1-0. Captained by Daniel Lieberman, the victorious Southern roster is made up of Robert Tillison, John Brittis, Gavin Cox, Richard Muarry, Mark Sheaffer, Glenn Sheaffer and Tiger Buford.

A full listing of the updated divisional standings can be found at the following links: 7.0 Women; 7.0 Men; 9.0 Women; 9.0 Men

Established in 1980, USTA League has grown from 13,000 players in a few parts of the country in its first year to more than 900,000 players across the nation today, making it the world’s largest recreational tennis league.

USTA League was established to provide adult recreational players throughout the country with the opportunity to compete against players of similar ability levels. Players participate on teams in a league format, which is administered by the USTA through its 17 sections. 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 the 2018 USTA League National Championships, click here.