Saturday saw the opening rounds of action take to the courts of the USTA National Campus at the 2019 USTA Florida 18 & Over 3.0/4.0/5.0+ Sectional Championships. All teams competed in two dual matches over the course of the day.

Broward (Weston Tennis Center) and Leon (Tom Brown Park – Tallahassee) look to be the two squads in contention for the men’s 3.0 title after one day of action. Broward claimed nine of the 10 individual matchups they contested, finishing Saturday with an emphatic sweep; they dropped just four sets overall. Leon was nearly as impressive, taking eight court victories with a pair of 4-1 dual triumphs.

In the women’s 3.0 competition, Broward (Midtown Athletic Club – Weston) and Duval (Southside Tennis Complex – Jacksonville) dominated to setup a showdown on Sunday with Flight 1 at stake. Similar scenarios have also played out in Flights 3 and 4. Duval (San Jose Country Club – Jacksonville) and Alachua (Jonesville Tennis Center – Gainesville) had nearly identical results on Saturday, ending up with eight court victories and four sets lost; Duval dropped 48 games while Alachua lost 49. Either Pinellas (Safety Harbor Resort and Spa) or Hillsborough (Northdale Golf & Tennis Club – Tampa) will be the representative from Flight 4 after the two went 7-for-10 in their individual contests, with Pinellas letting one fewer set (seven) and one more game (72) slip away. Collier (Naples Grande Beach Resort) was able to put some distance between themselves and the rest of the field in Flight 2 as the only unbeaten squad remaining.

Four teams in the men’s 4.0 division closed out Saturday with unblemished records. Hillsborough (HCC Tennis Complex – Tampa) was the most comprehensive, coming through on nine of the 10 courts they contested. Orange/Seminole (USTA National Campus – Orlando) and Broward (Weston Tennis Center) turned in similar efforts in Flights 1 and 3, respectively; both finished 8-2 for their individual matchups with six sets lost. SMD (Coral Pine Park – Pinecrest) fought their way to the top of Flight 4, collecting seven court wins despite giving away nine sets and 93 games in total.

Alachua (Jonesville Tennis Center – Gainesville) is one team win away from earning a spot in the women’s 4.0 semifinals from Flight 1; they went 2-0 on day one despite collecting fewer individual matchups and losing more sets than second-place IRMSL (Lawnwood Tennis Complex – Fort Pierce). Flight 2 is firmly in the grasp of Orange/Seminole (Fort Gatlin Recreation Center – Orlando), who posted a pair of sweeps on the strength of surrendering only two sets and 42 games. Little has been decided in Flight 3, where Broward (City of Oakland Park) and SMD (Kerdyk Biltmore Tennis Center – Coral Gables) went 2-0 with seven court victories.

Just one team remains unbeaten in the men’s 5.0+ division. Hillsborough (East Lake Woodlands Country Club – Oldsmar) battled their way into first place, winning their two duals behind five individual wins and four sets given away. Four other squads ended the day at 1-1 with the hopes of bringing Hillsborough back to the pack.

The lone flight in the women’s 5.0+ competition saw Orange/Seminole (National Campus – Orlando) and Hillsborough (HCC Tennis Complex – Tampa) post 2-0 records. With five individual matchup wins and just three sets lost, those two seem to be on a collision course Sunday evening with the divisional title on the line.

Sunday’s matches get underway at 7:30 a.m. For more information on the 2019 USTA Florida 18 & Over 3.0/4.0/5.0+ Sectional Championships, click here.