The 2018 USTA Florida Mixed 40 & Over 7.0/9.0 Sectional Championships concluded on Monday, culminating in a pair of squads taking home section titles. In the 7.0 division, Hillsborough (Hunters Green) defeated Duval (Boone Park) 2-1, while SMD (Coral Pine) bested Pinellas (Tarpon) 2-1 for the 9.0 crown.

Duval and Hillsborough kicked off the morning by surviving semifinal tilts. Locked in an evenly-contested battle with Bay (PCRC), Duval took the top two spots in decisive match tiebreaks to secure their place in the championship match. Joe Deering and Kendall Taylor turned in a 4-6, 6-1, 1-0 triumph at line one while Eric Constable and Caroline Morris came through 2-6, 6-1, 1-0 on court two. Duval retired in the remaining match, making the final margin 2-1 in their favor. Hillsborough also advanced thanks to a 2-1 victory over Broward (Midtown), though in far less dramatic fashion. Eddie Collins and Cinthia Cespedes cruised 6-0, 6-3 on court one, which was coupled with Tu Phan and Nikki Spriakis taking the third spot 6-4, 6-1.

Fittingly, the 7.0 championship dual came down to a final match tiebreak after each team won a matchup in straight sets. Hillsborough’s Marvin Ho and Nelci Rodrigues toughed out line one 6-1, 7-6; Constable and Morris dominated 6-2, 6-2 on court three. That left the second position in the spotlight, where Duval’s Deering and Taylor went up a set on Hillsborough’s Collins and Cespedes. Duval found themselves on the brink of a title, but saw the second frame slip away in a tiebreak. Determined to keep a firm hold on the momentum, Collins and Cespedes emerged victorious in the match tiebreak for the clinching 4-6, 7-6, 1-0 result.

The lone 9.0 match of the day, featuring Pinellas and SMD, was for the title. SMD was the sharper of the two throughout the round robin portion of the tournament, going undefeated, while Pinellas escaped their flight thanks to the tiebreaking procedure. SMD wasted little time flexing their muscle on Monday, earning all three opening sets. While Pinellas was busy rallying back on court two, SMD allowed no such opportunities in the other two contests. Antonio Necuze and Laura Herskowitz finished off the top spot 6-3, 6-3; Andres Lozano and Janine Burke produced a victory by the exact same margin on court three. Stephanie Means and Kurt Williams did complete the comeback at the second spot for Pinellas to avoid the sweep, 6-7, 6-2, 1-0.

All results from the 7.0 division can be found here, while complete results from the 9.0 competition can be found here.

Established in 1980, USTA League has grown from 13,000 players in a few parts of the country in its first year to more than 900,000 players across the nation today, making it the world’s largest recreational tennis league.

USTA League was established to provide adult recreational players throughout the country with the opportunity to compete against players of similar ability levels. Players participate on teams in a league format, which is administered by the USTA through its 17 sections. The league groups players by using six National Tennis Rating Program (NTRP) levels, ranging from 2.5 (entry) to 5.0 (advanced). USTA League is open to any USTA member 18 years of age or older.