The two remaining divisional finals were contested Monday morning at the USTA Florida Combo 18 & Over 6.5/8.5 Sectional Championships, where just a handful of points was the difference in both duals. 

In the end, the Alachua (D B Racquet Club – Gainesville) 6.5 women and Hillsborough (River Hills Country Club – Valrico) 8.5 men prevailed, joining the Broward (Lauderdale Tennis Club) 6.5 men and Pinellas (Tarpon Tennis Club) 8.5 women as sectional champions form the event.

Teams were competing in dual matches consisting of three courts of doubles contests; at least two of those three courts had to be won in order to claim the dual.

The day seemed to be going well for Orange/Seminole/Lake (USTA National Campus – Orlando) in the women’s 6.5 final after they earned opening sets on courts two and three. The duo of Christina Le and Krieshanne Taze Sanchez dominated line two from start to finish, turning in a 6-0, 6-1 result. Meanwhile, the pairing of Anna Ligman and Megan Molyneux countered for Alachua by winning 6-1, 6-4 at the top spot. That turned the focus to the third position, where Orange/Seminole/Lake’s Kim Han and Cattien Nguyen grabbed set one 6-3 but let their lead slip away. Ultimately, it would be Rhoda Wilburn and Andrea Love rallying back for Alachua for the crucial 3-6, 6-3, 1-0 comeback victory.

Donald Blair serves as the captain for the Alachua (D B Racquet Club – Gainesville) crew with Molyneux as the co-captain. Their complete roster includes Tara Edelstein, Marlene Townsend, Mickie Anderson, Irina Madorsky, Heather Gibson, Pamela Wright, Heather Adkins, Shirley Clark, Caroline Sutton, Love, Candis Aurora Wiggins, Wilburn, and Ligman.

Broward (Weston Hills Country Club) also took an early lead in the men’s 8.5 championship dual only to see it dissolve. Victor Caba and Daniel Delgado teamed up to cruise 6-2, 6-2 at line one; however, Stephen Lappano and Kurt Williams managed to close out court two 6-2, 7-6 for Hillsborough. Line three saw a major momentum shift after the first set, as Hillsborough’s Connor Molina and Jeffrey Benelli stormed back for the decisive 3-6, 6-1, 1-0 triumph.

Chris Canfield’s full Hillsborough roster consists of Ben DeBrocke, Williams, Ignacio Molina, Lappano, Michael Quinn, Fred Wu, Benelli, Gavin Smith, Manuel Alvarez, Dane Houston, Mike Moenter, and Connor Molina.

For complete results from the USTA Florida Combo 18 & Over 6.5/8.5 Sectional Championships, click here.