Teams representing Duval and Orange/Seminole took home multiple titles on Monday to close out the 2018 USTA Florida 18 & Over 2.5/3.5/4.5 Sectional Championships. For Duval, the 2.5 women from Deerwood along with the 4.5 women of Glen Kernan and the Independent 4.5 men reigned supreme. Orange/Seminole collected both 3.5 trophies thanks to the Red Bug Lake Park women’s squad and the men of the USTA National Campus.

The women’s 2.5 final was decided by a match tiebreak at line two doubles, as Duval (Deerwood) downed Orange/Seminole (Isleworth) 2-1. Orange/Seminole grabbed the lone singles court thanks to Kristen Ackley winning 6-0, 6-4. The top spot of doubles went the way of Elizabeth Vavrica and Jennifer Conde representing Duval 7-6, 6-1. In the other doubles matchup, Duval’s Julie Korsog and Suzan Birdsong fell behind after dropping the first frame but mounted a rally to prevail 3-6, 6-2, 1-0.

Orange/Seminole (Red Bug Lake Park) continued their dominant ways in the women's 3.5 division to start the morning, taking down Volusia (Florida Tennis Center) 3-2. Shanel Malapit set the tone with her 6-0, 6-0 effort at the top singles spot. That was quickly followed up by Madelyn Escudero and Julie Fontaine’s 6-2, 6-2 victory at line one doubles along with Jennifer Carter and Wendy Sutch coming through 6-1, 6-1 at line three to clinch the dual. Kristina Godiksen and Rianne Taze Sanchez rounded out the doubles sweep for Orange/Seminole. Volusia got on the board when Erika Mobley was awarded the second singles position via retirement. Volusia was also later named the winner of the line one doubles matchup after Fontaine was disqualified.

Strong doubles play pushed Broward (Midtown Athletic Club) past Hillsborough (Tampa Yacht & Country Club) by a final score of 3-2 in the other women’s 3.5 semifinal. The squads split the two lines of singles in polar opposite fashions, with Broward’s Taciana Kalili taking an extended battle on court one 3-6, 7-6, 1-0 and Hillsborough’s Amy Shoukry sweeping court two 6-0, 6-0. Sally Hernandez and Elizabeth Smalley cruised to a 6-2, 6-3 result in the second doubles spot. Hillsborough held the advantage in the other two doubles matches thanks to earning the opening frames. While Courtney Rankin and Anna Garcia were able to come out on top in a back-and-forth 7-6, 0-6, 1-0 contest at line three for HIllsborough, Janika Perez and Angelica Baez stormed back on court one for the decisive 5-7, 6-1, 1-0 victory.

Fittingly, Orange/Seminole closed out their tournament with a comprehensive 5-0 sweep over Broward for the team crown. Malapit and Escudero gave away a mere five games on the singles courts for Orange/Seminole, with Malapit taking the top spot 6-2, 6-2 and Escudero on cruise control at line two 6-1, 6-0. Godiksen and Taze Sanchez were on court one for the final, taking it 6-4, 6-4; Carter and Sutch played line three, earning a 6-2, 6-3 win. Misa Kawata and Isabelle Welsh were named the winners at the second spot when Broward retired in the second set.

Playing on their home courts, the Orange/Seminole (National Campus) squad recorded a 5-0 sweep over Marion (Fort King Tennis Center) in the men’s 3.5 semifinals. Four of the courts were decided in straight sets but three were tightly-contested. Jason Shiver and Lenny Santiago easily won 6-4, 6-1 in the second position. The other two Orange/Seminole duos dropped eight games each on their way to victory, with Diego Hermano and Nicholas Anderson coming through 7-5, 6-3 at the top spot plus Carlos Delpupo and Gilberto Brandolezi winning 6-4, 6-4 on court three. Gustavo Woiciechowski toughed out a 6-3, 7-5 effort at line two singles; Herman Souza de Azevedo finished off the sweep 6-3, 3-6, 1-0 at line one.

It was a vastly different dual in the other semifinal, where a 6-7, 6-2, 1-0 comeback by Brett Moyers on court one highlighted Duval’s (Eagle Harbor) 3-2 win over Collier (Longshore Lake). Neal McDaniel took line two 6-2, 6-4 for a sweep of the singles, while a 6-1, 6-2 result turned in by Trey Hamel and Larry Townsend in the second position gave Duval their third team point. Collier brought the final margin to 3-2 by winning in straight sets at line one and in a match tiebreak in the third position.

Not to be outdone at their own facility by the 3.5 women from the same district, Orange/Seminole also swept their way to the men’s 3.5 title. A fresh Tiago Begliomini won 6-3, 6-3 at line one, while Hermano produced an identical result on court two for the home team. A third 6-3, 6-3 final score, this one turned in by Delpupo and Souza de Azevedo at line three, clinched the trophy for Orange/Seminole. Brandolezi and Woiciechowski won 6-4, 6-4 in the first position. An exclamation point was added to the sweep thanks to Anderson and Shiver fighting their way back to prevail 3-6, 6-4, 1-0 at line two.

In a women’s 4.5 semifinal that came down to the wire, Duval (Glen Kernan) slipped past Broward (Weston Hills) 3-2 to move on to the championship. Catherine Russell won 6-3, 6-0 at line one while Mary Bush and Paula Miller claimed the second doubles spot 6-3, 6-1; however, the crucial third point would be hard to come by for Duval. Andrea Samson trimmed Broward’s deficit after winning 6-3, 6-3; Gabriela Castanon and Miriam Radillo evened the count by hanging on to the top spot 6-4, 2-6, 1-0. It would be Marie Waller and Lisa Miller toughing out a 6-4, 4-6, 1-0 triumph on court three to deliver the clincher for Duval.

Wild card entrant Hillsborough (Cheval Athletic Club) made the most of their opportunity, also turning in a 3-2 result over Orange/Seminole (Sanlando) to reach the final. Commanding doubles play paved the way to an early lead for Hillsborough after Maria Stand and Dianne Albina took line one 6-4, 6-1 to go along with Donna Parimore and Mary Paul’s 6-3, 6-2 victory on court three. The remaining contests were pushed to match tiebreaks, including the clinching result from Jenelle Morgan, who survived at the top spot 3-6, 6-1, 1-0. Julie Davis held on to line two for Orange/Seminole in a 6-4, 2-6, 1-0 battle. Samantha Seto and Rikki Myers were victorious on court two 6-1, 3-6, 1-0.

In the women’s 4.5 final, Duval swept the singles and claimed all four contests that were played to completion for a 4-1 defeat of Hillsborough. Russell was again impressive, breezing past her opponent on court two 6-0, 6-2. Deborah Grissett had a much tougher road at line one, but still ended on the positive side of a 6-1, 7-6 score line. Bush and Miller came through in the clutch once again for Duval, shaking off a sluggish start to prevail 0-6, 6-2, 1-0 in the top spot. Jennifer Dipaula and Denise Sheffield added another victory for Duval with a 7-5, 6-4 performance on court two. Hillsborough’s Parimore and Paul were awarded the third position when the Duval pair retired at 7-5, 2-4.

Both men’s 4.5 semifinals ended up being 3-2 results, with Duval (Independent) and Broward (City of Fort Lauderdale) moving on. Duval grabbed line one singles along with doubles courts two and three in straight sets to defeat Hillsborough (HCC Tennis Complex). Rougel Jon Aninon produced a 7-5, 6-2 win at the top singles spot. Patrick Douglas and Adam Hausman were solid in claiming line two 6-4, 6-3; Brandon Waked and Nick Goodwin raced through the matchup on court three 6-2, 6-3. Hillsborough’s two team points were delivered by Glen Marshall in the second singles position plus Onke Murdono and Andy Tynan at the top doubles spot, with both coming in match tiebreaks.

In Broward’s triumph over Escambia, it was a match tiebreak at the first doubles spot that propelled them into the final. Matthew Kramer made quick work of the second singles court while Tyler Shelly and Michael Stockamore also won in straight sets for Broward. Patrick Bateman rallied for a 1-6, 6-3, 1-0 win at line one singles to keep Escambia in the mix, but Randy Lloyd and Adam Liddell dashed any hope by clawing their way to a 6-2, 4-6, 1-0 victory on court two. Escambia held a 7-6, 2-3 lead at the third position when the Broward pair retired.

Duval stayed consistent, taking the same three matchups in the final to earn the title. Aninon dropped just two games (6-0, 6-2) at the top singles spot. In doubles action, Douglas and Hausman won 6-3, 6-2; Waked and Goodwin bested the Broward tandem 6-0, 6-4 on court three. Rob Norton recorded a victory in straight sets at the second spot for Broward, which also got a lengthy 7-6, 4-6, 1-0 result in their favor thanks to Shelly and Stockamore at line one.

For complete results from the 2018 USTA Florida 18 & Over 2.5/3.5/4.5 Sectional Championships, click here.