Southern was challenged by the squad representing the Florida Section at the 2018 USTA Donoff Cup, but in the end the defending champions secured enough singles victories on Sunday to retain the crown. Also on Sunday, Middle States bested Midwest to take third.

The final standings put Southern on top with 49 court wins, Florida in second overall at 43, Middle States third with 18, and Midwest fourth thanks to nine victories.

Day three featured singles play only, as the Southern versus Florida and Middles States versus Midwest duals had completed the doubles portion of their duals Saturday evening.

Florida needed to win at least three more singles courts than Southern in order to have a chance to dethrone the reigning champions. The feat looked within reach thanks to a Sunshine State sweep of the three 55s singles contests. Stuart Saiki (6-2, 6-3) and Steven Price (6-1, 6-3) cruised at lines one and three, respectively; meanwhile, Erik Luxembourg fought his way to a 7-6(1), 6-3 result in the second position. The 60s resulted slanted in Southern’s favor, as they earned the top two spots while Florida came through at line three. Ken Koelling was impressive on court one, racing to a 6-1, 6-2 victory; Steven Garman battled for a 6-3, 7-5 score line at line two. Florida’s Jeffrey Winkler also won in straight sets, 6-4, 6-3.

Dropping a combined nine games across the three matchups in the 65s division, Southern emphatically clinched the title. Each of their three players let just three games get away from them in easy victories. Fred Robinson took line one 6-1, 6-2 while Tom Smith on court two and Gert Van den Heever at the third spot came through with identical 6-2, 6-1 efforts. Southern also took the two courts that were contested in the 70s, as John Walton won 6-0, 6-3 at line two and Art Abbott handled line three 6-0, 6-2.

In the battle for third, Middle States began the day in a solid position against Midwest and did not relinquish that. Powered by sweeps of the 55s and 70s courts, Middle States collected eight victories on the day compared to four for the Midwest group.

Below are the complete results for the weekend.

Friday, Nov. 9

Florida def. Middle States 17-3

Southern def. Midwest 20-0

Saturday, Nov. 10

Florida def. Midwest 18-2

Southern def. Middle States 18-2

Sunday, Nov. 11

Middle States def. Midwest 13-7

Southern def. Florida 11-8

For more information on the 2018 Donoff Cup, click here.