The 2019 USTA Florida Combo 50 & Over Sectional Championships concluded Monday after, crowning three more teams on the day. The victors included the 6.5 women and 7.5 women of Escambia along with the 7.5 men from Collier. They join the Marion (Fort King Tennis Center – Ocala) 6.5 men, SMD (Don Shula’s Athletic Club – Hialeah) 8.5 men, and Sarasota (Lakewood National – Bradenton) 8.5 women as sectional champions.

In the 6.5 women’s semifinals, Escambia (Independent) kept their unbeaten streak going with a 2-1 victory over Sarasota (The Venetian Golf & River Club – North Venice) while Alachua (Jonesville Tennis Center – Gainesville) swept wild card entrant IRMSL (Harbor Ridge – Palm City).

For Escambia, two easy wins on courts one and three advanced them to the divisional final. Selma Dudley Horne and Thuy Nguyen teamed up to breeze through line one 6-2, 6-2; Terry Armstrong and Jeannette Fabbro overwhelmed their opponents at the third spot 6-3, 6-0. Christine Santucci and Patricia Newi did help Sarasota avoid the sweep, taking line two 6-1, 4-6, 1-0. Meanwhile, Alachua took the lead for good over IRMSL when Gina Dell and Colleen Anderson came through on court two 6-2, 6-3. The other two matchups were tightly-contested, but the Alachua pairing of Terri Lowery and Genne DeHenau McDonald hung on at line one 6-4, 6-4 to go along with Jane Catalanotto and Vicki Johnson battling to prevail 5-7, 7-5, 1-0 on court three.

The championship dual was a one-sided affair, with Escambia capping off their outstanding three days of play by winning all three courts versus Alachua. Horne and Nguyen set the tone at line one, not giving away a single game in their win. The new pairing of Kelly Dempsey and Tanya Hughes in the second spot paid off when they put together a solid 6-2, 6-2 effort. Finally, Armstrong and Fabbro were again too strong in the third position, coming up with a 6-3, 6-1 result.

Captained by Jacqueline Wallace, the Escambia roster includes Fabbro, Hughes, Horne, Armstrong, Dempsey, Sue Nast, Karen Penn, Barbara French, Nguyen, and Deb Tabor.

The 7.5 men’s competition was down to the final dual between Collier (Vineyards Golf & Country Club – Naples) and Alachua (Jonesville Tennis Center – Gainesville) heading into Monday. In a clash of teams that emerged from flight play 3-1, Collier owned the day, coming out on top at all three lines. The potential crucial moments came on courts one and two, as the Collier tandems clinched close opening frames. At line one, teammates Paul Michaels and Daniel Toppin won 6-4, 6-1 while James Shepherd and Ben Yocom turned in a similar 6-4, 6-2 score line on court two. The sets scores were a bit reversed at line three, as Andrzej Marcisz and Andy Mintz had to tough out the second frame in their 6-3, 7-6 victory.

Collier is captained by Randie Fischel and includes Toppin, Michaels, Steven Kremer, Mintz, Ronald Bartlett, Richard Begando, Jeffrey Macie, Shepherd, Marcisz, Pete Zink, and Yocom.

Just one dual was also on-court in the 7.5 women’s division as well, and it would turn out to be the match of the day, as Escambia (Independent) took on wild card squad Polk (City of Winter Haven Municipal Courts).

Escambia managed to grab all three first sets, but none of those contests would end in just two sets. The pairing of Betty Wolff and Jacqueline Wallace survived a back-and-forth contest for a 6-1, 3-6, 1-0 triumph at line one for Escambia. However, Kelley Cargle and Norma Solters countered for Polk, coming back from the brink of elimination to claim court three 1-6, 7-6, 1-0. The title came down to the second spot, where Tami Manning and Darlene Warner shook off letting the second frame slip from their grasp to deliver for Escambia in the form of a 6-2, 5-7, 1-0 victory.

Led by captain Shellie McCall, the complete Escambia squad includes Tonya DelGallo, Warner, Kelly Dempsey, Wallace, Debbie Cook, Wolff, Karen Richardson, Renee Baggett, Jeanie Ephron, Tracey Mcclurd, Lisa Greskovich, Manning, Wendy Hart, and Gina Bevino.  

For more information on the 2019 USTA Florida Combo 50 & Over Sectional Championships, click here.