The 2019 USTA Florida 18 & Over 2.5/3.5/4.5 Sectional Championships concluded on Monday, as five teams earned titles. Highlighting the day was a dominating effort by squads representing Broward, as representatives from that region took home the crown in the 3.5 men’s (City of Oakland Park), 4.5 men’s (Midtown Athletic Club – Weston), and 4.5 women’s (Lauderdale Tennis Club – Fort Lauderdale) divisions.

The women’s 2.5 competition came down to a match tiebreak at the top doubles spot. The other two courts wrapped up quickly, with Escambia’s (Independent) Amber Fletcher taking the lone singles line without dropping a game while Ashley Spink and Irina Madorsky from Alachua (Jonesville Tennis Center – Gainesville) easing through the second doubles court 6-2, 6-1. That turned all the attention to the top doubles spot, which ended up featuring three tiebreaks in total. Eventually, Kelsey Hill and Lori Pennington-Gray delivered for Alachua, rallying back for a 6-7, 7-6, 1-0 triumph.

Captain Mark Martin’s Alachua squad includes Hill, Spink, Madorsky, Diane Beck, Chrissy Fillmon, Jamie Shively, Jill Shea, Rachel Brock and Pennington-Gray.

For the men’s 3.5 semifinal duals, Broward (City of Oakland Park) bested Marion (Fort King Tennis Center – Ocala) by a 3-2 margin while SMD (Doral Park Country Club) defeated Alachua (Jonesville Tennis Center – Gainesville) by the same score line. Three of the five courts between Broward and Marion went to a match tiebreak, and although Marion claimed two of those, Broward’s 7-6, 6-7, 1-0 effort at the third doubles position sent them into the divisional final. The third doubles court was where SMD finally put away Alachua, battling back from an early deficit for a 3-6, 6-4, 1-0 victory.

In the men’s 3.5 championship match, Broward rebounded from two tough losses in singles to sweep all three doubles courts for the 3-2 triumph over SMD. Matt Corey and Fernando Calvo got Broward started off on the right foot, cruising through line one 6-2, 6-1. Andrew Brown and Le Corney followed that up with a solid 7-5, 6-2 effort at the third spot, which set the stage for Michael Stites and Marcus Pfenninger to come through a highly-competitive 7-6, 6-4 contest on court two.

Led by captain Kevin Sims, the full Broward roster includes Calvo, Hosea Bigirwenkya, Javinne McCoy, Marcus Shawn Pfenninger, Stites, Axel Sanchez, Gaurav Hingorani, Rene Elvir, Corey, Luis Soto, Joseph Wolczanski, Brown, Francisco Vargas, Eliu Montero, Dean Lawrence, George Serbanescu, Marcus Pfenninger, Alejandro Pineda, and Corney.

Coming in as the lone undefeated squad in the women’s 3.5 competitions, Broward (Frank Veltri Tennis Center – Plantation) was stunned by Escambia (Independent) 3-2 in a dual where all five lines could have gone either way. The crucial matchups happened at the first and second doubles spots, where the Escambia duos staged dramatic comebacks, taking line one 6-7, 6-3, 1-0 and line two 5-7, 6-3, 1-0. In the other semifinal, Hillsborough (Hunters Green Sports Center – Tampa) also just edged out Duval (Magnolia Point Golf & Country Club – Green Cove Springs) by a single court. A sweep of the singles powered Hillsborough to the win, as they also fought their way to a 7-6, 7-6 victory in the second doubles position.

Riding high off their impressive semifinal performance, Escambia played their way to the title thanks to a 4-1 defeat of Hillsborough. Escambia finished off identical 6-1, 6-3 score lines on doubles courts two and three thanks to the duos of Tonya Del Gallo and Jennifer Passeretti along with Anna Del Gallo and Lisa Robertson, respectively. Hillsborough grabbed the top singles spot, and actually held leads at the second singles position and first doubles line, but it wasn’t enough. Escambia’s Sultana Pohlmann shook off a slow start to prevail 0-6, 6-2, 1-0; teammates Janie Clark and Wanda Chapman put together a similar comeback for the 2-6, 7-6, 1-0 win.

Heather Reese’s complete Escambia squad features Kris Pritchard, Heather Doerr, Anne Elidemir, Cindy Ducote, Clark, Chapman, Tonya Del Gallo, Passeretti, Kathleen Galinis, Anna Del Gallo, Siobhan Jackman, Jennifer Jackson, Robertson, and Pohlmann.

Featuring far less dramatic semifinals was the men’s 4.5 division, where Broward (Midtown Athletic Club – Weston) took care of Hillsborough (Davis Island – Tampa) 4-1 and SMD (Salvadore Park – Coral Gables) swept aside Brevard (Independent) 5-0. The matchup of unbeaten squads was closer than the score might indicate, but Broward came through with the clincher over Hillsborough in a match tiebreak at the third doubles spot. Meanwhile, two of the doubles courts split sets between SMD and Brevard, but the wild card entrant SMD proved far too strong en route to the sweep.

Wild card team SMD came up just short of completing the run to the title, falling 3-2 to Broward. The two teams split the singles contests, with Broward’s Paul Martins taking line two 6-2, 6-4. In the doubles matchups, it was Broward toughing out two close wins to clinch the win. Kenny Torrellas and Dario Spilkin hung on to take the top spot 6-4, 7-6; the pairing of Antonio Maciasvaldes and Tony Faso bested their opponents on court three 6-4, 6-4.

The Broward squad is captained by Leonardo Torrellas and also includes Jay Eisenberg, Faso, Maciasvaldes, Juan Pablo Cofino, Spilkin, Luis Lopes, Brian Ambrugna Aiello, Luis Moreno, Kenny Torrellas, Daniel Caminata, Jeff Bill, Martins, Abhinav Mohan, and Ivan Rojas.

For the women’s 4.5 semifinal round, Broward (Lauderdale Tennis Club – Fort Lauderdale) slipped past Brevard (Independent) three courts to two while wild card Orange/Seminole (Azalea Center – Winter Park) put away Escambia (Independent) by taking four courts overall. All five individual matchups in the Broward versus Brevard dual were closed out in straight sets, with Broward’s 7-6, 7-5 effort at line two singles the difference. Orange/Seminole quickly dismissed Escambia thanks to commanding singles play, giving away only seven games in those two contests.

With three straight-set victories, Broward reeled in the sectional crown over Orange/Seminole. Leyvis Concepcion breezed through the second singles line 6-1, 6-4 while her teammates Erin Pasternack and Rachel Keene cruised 6-2, 6-0 on the second doubles court. Alaina Fotiu-Wojtowicz and Janine Burke pushed the team across the finish line with a 6-3, 6-3 effort at the third doubles position.

Captain Fotiu-Wojtowicz’s full roster includes Jessy Sadovnik, Natalia Moll, Concepcion, Michele Drucker, Miriam Radillo, Burke, Gabriela Castanon, Barbara Cabral, Jodi Appelbaum-Steinbauer, Pasternack, Sherril Colombo, Amy Schmiedeler, Joann Romney, and Keene.

For complete results from the USTA Florida 18 & Over 2.5/3.5/4.5 Sectional Championships, click here.