The USTA Florida Mixed 40 & Over 6.0/7.0/8.0/9.0 Sectional Championships wrapped up on Monday, June 28, at the USTA National Campus, crowning its final team champions at the four-day event. Emerging victorious from the tournament were the 6.0 Duval (Deerwood Country Club – Jacksonville) squad, the Pinellas (Seminole Lake Family Tennis) 7.0 crew, the Pinellas (Safety Harbor Resort and Spa) 8.0 squad, and the 9.0 Hillsborough (HCC Tennis Complex – Tampa) team.

Teams were competing in dual matches consisting of three doubles matchups; in order to claim the overall dual victory, a team must win at least two of those three courts.

Duval went 3-0 in Flight 1 of the 6.0 competition to ease into the championship dual, taking seven courts on the strength of 14 sets won. Meanwhile, Hillsborough (Grand Hampton – Tampa) came through Flight 2 with a 3-1 record. All three courts of the final would end in straight sets, with Duval winning lines one and three to secure the title. Elizabeth and Brendon Vavrica cruised at the top spot 6-2, 6-2 to go along with teammates Georgi and Irena Eneva-Kirov earning line three by the same score line. Hillsborough’s Adam and Sandra Bell got their team on the board with a 6-1, 6-3 effort on court two.

Jill Evans serves as the captain of the Duval squad that features a full roster of Elizabeth Vavrica, Brendon Vavrica, Julie DeNapoli, Lisa Aboudan, John Mahoney, Christopher Landon, Georgi Kirov, Irena Eneva Kirov, and Richard Buttimer.

Four teams made it through to the 7.0 semifinals unscathed – Escambia (Roger Scott Tennis Center – Pensacola), Pinellas (Seminole Lake Family Tennis), Orange/Seminole/Lake (Sanlando Park – Altamonte Springs), and Marion (Country Club of Ocala). Both semifinals would end in sweeps, with Orange/Seminole/Lake downing Escambia and Pinellas defeating Marion.

With the sectional crown on the line, Pinellas proved too tough for Orange/Seminole/Lake, battling their way to a 3-0 triumph. Jose and Joy DSa got Pinellas off to an early lead with a 6-3, 6-0 victory at the third spot; Mark Nashworthy and JoAnn Lind clinched the title thanks to their 7-5, 6-1 win on court one. The sweep was finished off by David Crandall and Dori Hazama, who outlasted their opponents 6-7, 6-4, 1-0 at line two.

Captained by John Ramdeen, the Pinellas squad includes January Moennig, Carlos Rodriguez, Elizabeth Jordan, Hazama, Diana Zarreke, Shellie Dalton, Joy DSa, Arthur Annas, Yesh Naidu, Kevin Burnett, Crandall, Irene Nasworthy, Mark Nasworthy, David Palmer, Jose DSa, and Lind.

In 8.0 action, Pinellas (Safety Harbor Resort and Spa) and Hillsborough (HCC Tennis Complex – Tampa) won their respective flight with a sterling 3-0 record while Okaloosa/Walton/Bay (Shalimar Pointe Country Club) took Flight 2 thanks to the tiebreaking procedure. Also advancing to the divisional semifinals was Duval (Southside Tennis Complex – Jacksonville), which earned the wild card thanks to being the runner up to Hillsborough in Flight 3.

It was seemingly a tough draw with the two undefeated squads facing off in the semifinals, but Pinellas won the top two spots easily and received a retirement at line three for the 3-0 sweep. In the other semifinal, Okaloosa/Walton/Bay downed Duval by a 2-1 margin thanks to straight-set victories on courts one and three.

In the championship matchup, Pinellas claims the first and third spots in straight sets to take home the title. John Hockin and Kim Cashman-King eased through 6-2, 6-4 at line one while the pairing of Josh Melton and Joy DSa turned in a 6-3, 6-4 effort on court three. Lubomir Kaderjak and Elisabeth Sherwin did manage a 7-5, 6-2 score line in favor of Okaloosa/Walton/Bay at the second spot.

Lisa Hueholt serves as the captain of the Pinellas crew that features a roster of Mikael Derderian, David King, Randy Chapman, Eric Landrum, Natalia Illich, Ray Pasinski, Emiliya Clark, Mary Miller, Barry Niemann, Cynthia Martinez, Mike Moenter, Melton, Cashman-King, Hockin, DSa, and Lara Statniske.

The most dominant team by far in the round-robin portion of the event was the 9.0 group from Hillsborough (HCC Tennis Complex – Tampa), as they not only won all nine courts they contested in Flight 1, but also all 18 sets; over the course of three dual matches, Hillsborough gave away a mere 47 games. It was a much different story for Miami-Dade (Ron Ehmann Tennis Center – Miami), as they finished 3-1 overall in Flight 2, earning a place in the final thanks to their head-to-head win over 3-1 Pinellas (McMullen Tennis Complex – Clearwater).

Hillsborough was challenged by Miami-Dade, but ultimately they would close out their impressive effort with a 2-1 win in the final. Manuel Alvarez and Stephanie Means teamed up for a 6-4, 6-4 score line at the top spot to go along with Dagmar Rocker and Jamie Mckibban turning in a comprehensive 6-3, 6-2 victory on court three. Miami-Dade’s Antonio Necuze and Janine Burke prevented the sweep, winning line two 1-6, 6-3, 1-0.

Captained by Means, the full Hillsborough roster includes Gail Gibson, Mckibban, Kurt Williams, Chris Canfield, Ignacio Molina, Richard Sobieray, Karen Blount, Rocker, John Hollis, Lisa Nicoll, Judi Alford, and Alvarez.

For complete results from the 2021 USTA Florida Mixed 40 & Over 6.0/7.0/8.0/9.0 Sectional Championships, click here.