The 2018 USTA Florida League season came to a close on Monday with the completion of the Combo 18 & Over 5.5/7.5/9.5 Sectional Championships, held at the USTA National Campus. Amongst the winners were Alachua (5.5 women), Orange/Seminole (7.5 men and women), and Hillsborough (9.5 women). These squads joined the Marion (Fort King Tennis Center) men’s 5.5 team, which secured the divisional crown Sunday afternoon.

The lone women’s 5.5 match on Monday saw Alachua (Jonesville Tennis Center) earn the divisional title with a 2-1 triumph over Leon (Forestmeadows Park and Athletic Center). Leon team captain Leslee Horner teamed up with Elaina Morgan to take line one 6-3, 6-4, which was the only court that ended in straight sets. At spots two and three, the Alachua pairs surged ahead by winning the first sets only to see the duos from Leon not go away easily. In the second position, Jigisha Shah and Amy Yazdanpour held on for the 6-3, 2-6, 1-0 win; on court three, Alachua captain Sian Morgan and partner Daurine Wehbe produced a 6-2, 4-6, 1-0 result to clinch the title for their team.

In a dual between undefeated squads in the men’s 7.5 competition, Orange/Seminole (National Campus) got past Brevard (Fee Ave Courts) by a 2-1 margin. None of the three courts were highly competitive, with Brevard’s Joshua Bergren and Gregory Whitaker 6-3, 6-2 victory at the second position the closest score line. Orange/Seminole captain Nicholas Anderson and Carlos Delpupo captured court three 6-2, 6-0, while Diego Hermano and Gilberto Brandolezi raced through the top spot 6-1, 6-1.

The other semifinal ended in a 3-0 sweep for Broward (Midtown Athletic Club) over SMD (Doral Park Country Club). However, SMD held the upper hand early on, as their duos on courts one and three held a set advantage. Broward’s Abhinav Mohan and Adrian Oropeza took care of the contest at the second spot 6-4, 6-3, setting the stage for comebacks in the other two matchups. Diego Grimblat and Pietro Lopriore shook off the disappointment of dropping the opening frame on court three 7-6 to storm back to take the second 6-0 and earn the decisive match tiebreak. On court one, Gustavo Rizquez and Juan Rios prevailed 5-7, 6-3, 1-0.

In a comprehensive effort in the championship dual, Orange/Seminole grabbed all three matchups to turn the tables on Broward. Hermano was paired up with Andre Geraldo Pires de Mello at line one this time, winning 6-3, 6-2. Anderson and Delpupo stayed at the third spot and once again came through for their team, not losing a game in the first set then edging out their foes in the second, 7-5. The pairing of Herman Souza de Azevedo and Brandolezi completed the sweep after rallying on court two 4-6, 6-2, 1-0.

The potential for an all-Orange/Seminole championship dual in the women’s 7.5 division did not materialize, as Red Bug Lake Park swept aside Hillsborough (Harbour Islane Athletic Club) but the squad representing the National Campus came up short against SMD (Coral Gables/Kerdyk Biltmore Tennis Center). Red Bug Lake Park dropped a mere nine games in the three contests of their semifinal dual versus Hillsborough. Captain Madelyn Escudero and Annette Summers breezed through line one 6-1, 6-1 while Kyrsten Crociata and Shawna Webb had little trouble closing out court two 6-1, 6-2. The sweep was impressively finished off by Lynn Piper and Jennifer Carter 6-3, 6-1 at line three.

SMD looked untouchable through flight play, but quickly found themselves in a battle with the National Campus team. Each contest could have gone either way, even line one, where SMD’s Leslie Stein and Alejandra Siller breezed through the opening frame 6-0 before hanging on to take the second in a tiebreak. Raquel Rodriguez and Romina Pereira came through on court three 6-4, 6-4, setting the stage for the showdown at the second spot. SMD tandem Estefania Lacoa and Kristin Knous fell behind after losing the first set 6-3, and were just a few points from defeat in the second. They eventually fought their way through the frame in a tiebreak to extend the contest to a match tiebreak, where they ultimately produced the victory for SMD.

In a heated championship bout, Orange/Seminole outlasted SMD, 2-1. It was a strong start from Orange/Seminole in the form of all three sets going their way. The pairing of Piper and Carter turned in another straight sets effort, winning 6-2, 6-1 at the second spot. Lines one and three went to a decisive match tiebreak, with Crociata and Webb delivering the clutch performance for Orange/Seminole by getting through the contest on court three 6-4, 3-6, 1-0. SMD’s Gricel Boto Bernales and Kristin Knous grabbed court one 2-6, 6-3, 1-0, but it was not enough to push their team across the finish line.

Hillsborough (Waterchase) polished off a perfect 5-0 record in the lone women’s 9.5 flight to take home the crown. Going into Monday tied atop the standings with SMD (Coral Gables/Salvadore Park), Hillsborough won the clash between the division leaders two courts to one before besting Broward (City of Oakland Park) by the same margin. The victors were the only team to not lose at least 10 sets and 100 games, letting just eight sets and 95 games slip away.

For complete results from the 2018 USTA Combo 18 & Over 6.5/8.5 Sectional Championships, click here.