All three divisions were in action on Saturday at the 2020 USTA Florida 40 & Over Men’s 3.5 & Women’s 2.5/3.5 Sectional Championships. While the two women’s divisions played in their first dual matches of the tournament, the lone men’s division concluded flight play and moved on to the knockout stages.

The men’s 3.5 competition wrapped up its flight play duals in the morning, resulting in four squads advancing to the semifinals. In Flight 1, Brevard (Kiwi Tennis Club – Indian Harbour Beach) defeated Pinellas (Seminole Lake Family Tennis – Seminole) in a battle of unbeatens while Broward (Midtown Athletic Club – Weston) dominated Flight 3 by sweeping all three of their matches. The drama took place in Flight 2, where a trio of crews finished tied at 2-1 overall; the tiebreaking procedure went the way of Hillsborough (HCC Tennis Complex – Tampa), which earned the most court victories. Securing the wild card spot into the knockout stages was aforementioned Pinellas, the second-place team with the best overall record.

In the semifinals, Brevard held off Broward by a 2-1 margin and Pinellas took down Hillsborough by the same score line. Brevard received an impressive 6-0, 6-0 singles victory from Matthew Kerr to go along with Juan Lebron and Nick George teaming up for a 6-4, 6-4 effort at the second singles position. For Pinellas, all three courts were pushed to a match tiebreak; Michael Hancock and Craig McLeod took the top spot 6-4, 4-6, 1-0 while Carlos Rodriguez and John Ramdeen battled to a 6-4, 1-6, 1-0 triumph in the other doubles matchup.

Taking the courts for the first time in the event, the women’s 2.5 division saw all six teams in the event compete in two dual matches over the course of Saturday. Both Marion (Fort King Tennis Center – Ocala) and Alachua (Haile Plantation Country Club – Gainesville) went 2-0, with Marion earning five court victories to Alachua’s four. Meanwhile, Hillsborough (FishHawk Ranch – Lithia) and Brevard (The Palmer Inn and Tennis Club – Rockledge) stayed in the mix after going 1-1 on the day.

Also getting underway was the loaded women’s 3.5 division, which consists of 19 squads in total. Duval (Julington Creek Plantation – Jacksonville) looks to be the class of Flight 1, coming through on all six courts their players contested, but Broward (Frank Veltri Tennis Center – Plantation) also managed to post a 2-0 record. Flight 2, the only flight with just four squads, is Hillsborough’s (HCC Tennis Complex – Tampa) to lose as the only crew remaining unscathed with one match to play. Flights 3 and 4 ended with similar standings, with Miami-Dade (Ron Ehmann Tennis Center – Miami) and Orange/Seminole (Grand Cypress Racquet Club – Orlando) in the driver’s seat, respectively; both flights also saw a group of three teams post one dual win to go along with one loss.

Play continues Sunday at 7:30 a.m. beginning with the men’s 3.5 final. For updated results from the 2020 USTA FL 40 & Over Men’s 3.5 & Women’s 2.5/3.5 Sectional Championships, click here.