A nearly perfect day of weather graced the Orlando area on Sunday for the final day of play at the 2019 USTA League National Adult 40 & Over 4.5+ Championships, held at the USTA National Campus.

Championship day featured two teams earning the honor of national champions, as the men’s squad representing the Southern Section (The Club at Westport – Denver, N.C.) finished off a commanding weekend of play by besting Pacific Northwest (Portland Tennis Center – Portland, Ore.) 3-2 in the final and the women’s team from the Midwest Section (Challenge Fitness – Lockport, Ill.) outlasted Eastern (Rye Racquet Club – Harrison, N.Y.) by the same margin with the national crown on the line.

Both undefeated men’s squads got through the semifinals in the morning duals, with Southern besting Texas (Gleneagles Country Club – Plano) by a 4-1 final score line and Pacific Northwest outlasting Mid-Atlantic (Independent – Montgomery County, Md.) by the slimmest of margins. For Southern, they recorded a trio of straight-set victories before the remaining two courts ended in retirements. Tim Kullick claimed line one 6-2, 6-3 to go along with teammates Willie Dann and Phil Payne taking the top doubles spot 6-3, 6-2. A tough 6-4, 6-4 result in favor of Southern’s Lee Larson and Ravi Mujumdar clinched a berth in the championship.

Four of the courts between Pacific Northwest and Mid-Atlantic were decided in straight sets, including the squad from the Beaver State getting victories from Dyllan Fitzgerald at the first singles position and the pairing of Brian Board and Arthur Kowitch at line three doubles. Mid-Atlantic countered by winning the other two doubles contests, putting all the focus on line two singles. Ultimately, Ian Fudalla played an emphatic match tiebreak to deliver a 6-3, 1-6, 1-0 triumph and keep his team’s national title hopes alive.

However, the championship dual featured more dominating play by the players of Southern. They took a 2-0 lead in a flash after Kullick sprinted through the top singles spot 6-0, 6-1 and the pair of Michael Davis and Jason Abhau earned line three 6-0, 6-2. While Pacific Northwest would dig in and force Southern to come up with their best, Larson and Mujumdar were up to the challenge just as they were in the semifinal round, this time rallying for a 1-6, 6-2, 1-0 triumph that put the match out of reach. Southern retired at the other two spots to set the final margin at 3-2 in their favor.

Captain Kane Haynes full Southern roster includes Jeffrey Googins, Chris Chapman, David Stroman, Abhau, Kullick, Jim Bolger, Dann, Scott Fowler, Kelly Hunter, Payne, Scott Corey, Davis, Larson, Mujumdar, and Christopher Ehmcke.

For the men’s third-place playoff, Mid-Atlantic shook off the disappointment from the semifinals for a 4-1 defeat of Texas.

In the women’s division, lone unbeaten Eastern was challenged by Pacific Northwest (Edgebrook Club – Bellevue, Wash.) before earning a 3-2 win while Midwest handled Southern (New Orleans City Park Tennis Center) thanks to coming out on top on four courts overall.

Eastern’s Corinna Bode got off the court quickly, dominating line one 6-1, 6-1; at the same time, the tandem of Julia Lehmitz and Carolina Bernal were cruising to a 6-2, 6-2 win on the second doubles court. The clincher would take a while to materialize for Eastern, but eventually Vania Yui-DeLosReyes and Ingrid Lopp hung on at line one doubles 6-2, 0-6, 1-0. For Midwest, a sweep of the doubles powered them to victory, as their three pairs dropped a combined 12 games in six sets. Kathleen Pudlo and Lynne Buell sprinted through line one 6-1, 6-3 to go along with Gillian Climo and Courtney Shuster breezing past their opponents on court two 6-3, 6-0. Finishing things off was Susan Arends and Gena Fite with a solid 6-1, 6-4 effort at the third position.

Just as in the previous round, Corinna Bode delivered a victory in straight sets from the top spot, this time by the final score line of 6-2, 6-4. From there, Eastern nearly had a sweep of the singles in their grasp, only to see Midwest’s Glimo battle for a tough 6-2, 1-6, 1-0 win in her lone singles contest on the day. Glimo’s teammates Pudlo and Arends, a new pairing for the final, turned in a 6-2, 7-5 effort at line one doubles, setting the stage for Shuster and Cece Hopkins to survive one of the most dramatic matchups of the entire weekend. After dropping the first set 4-6, the Midwest duo stormed back to take the second frame 6-1 before coming out on top in the match tiebreak by the slimmest of margins, 14 points to 12.

Captained by Lynne Buell, the Midwest roster also includes Tammy Mitchell, Natalija Todorovic-Shaw, Kim Richards, Diana Davis, Wendy Strauss, Carrie Gonzalez, Hopkins, Karen Blaauw, Sue Demari, Shuster, Arends, Climo, Fite, and Pudlo.

With third-place up for grabs, Southern managed to rebound for a 3-2 victory over Pacific Northwest.

Complete results from the men’s competition can be found here, while all women’s scores can be viewed here.