The 2018 USTA League National Adult 18 & Over 2.5/3.5 Championships, hosted by the USTA National Campus came to a conclusion Sunday afternoon. Three different sections walked away with national titles to close out the weekend – Caribbean (2.5 women), Intermountain (3.5 men), and Florida (3.5 women).

Both 2.5 semifinals ended with 2-1 margins. Top seed Pacific Northwest (Robinswood Tennis Center – Bellevue, Wash.) used a sweep of the two doubles courts to knock out New England (Weston Racquet Club – Weston, Conn.). Elena Harnish and Jun Liu dominated court two 6-0, 6-1 while Jenny Sia and Fan Xiang toughed out the contest on court one 7-5, 6-3. Anna Liu took the lone singles matchup for New England with a tight 7-5, 6-4 score line.

Third-seeded Caribbean (Puerto Rico) managed to best No. 2 seed Midwest (Midtown Athletic Club – Bannockburn, Ill.) behind a comprehensive 6-1, 6-2 effort from Marina Cardona in singles coupled with Jaidys Rossy and Lara Caride pulling through 7-5, 6-2 at the top doubles position. Heather Vishnubhakat and Grace Cardos did prevent the shut out, claiming the second doubles spot 7-6, 6-0.

Cardona paced the Caribbean squad on their way to the title in a 2-1 championship triumph over defending champions Pacific Northwest, easily putting away her singles match 6-3, 6-2. Harnish and Liu evened the score by taking court two 6-2, 7-6. The match got even more tense when Rossy and Caride failed to wrap up the top doubles spot. After winning the first set, the Caribbean duo saw their opponents secure the second by a slim 6-4 margin. However, Rossy and Caride got back on track just in time to pull out the match tiebreak. Captained by Rossy, the full Caribbean roster includes Myra Velez, Gloria Perez, Yolanda Martinez Delgado, Marie Rodriguez, Caride, Linda Irizarry, Yara Vega, and Cardona.

In the third-place match, Midwest got the best of New England, 2-1.

It was an intense battle from start to finish between No. 1 seed Intermountain (Golds Gym – Orem, Utah) and fourth seed Florida (USTA National Campus – Orlando) in the men’s 3.5 competition. Each team recorded an easy victory, with Diego Hermano winning 6-2, 6-0 on court one for Florida while Todd Castagna and Derek Elison earning the top doubles spot 6-0, 6-2 for Intermountain. All three remaining matchups were extended to match tiebreaks, with Intermountain clawing their way to victory in two of them to advance to the championship dual. Adam Peterson closed out the singles portion with his 6-2, 1-6, 1-0 win for Intermountain, but Nicholas Anderson and Carlos Delpupo rallied to give Florida a 3-6, 6-3, 1-0 at the second doubles line. On court three, Intermountain’s Zachery Siddoway and Lee Chip Sao hung on for the 6-2, 4-6, 1-0 triumph.

Second-seeded Southern (Stillwater – Flowery Branch, Ga.) was in control of both singles courts from the first point, but Northern California (Independent) hung in to sweep all three doubles contests to advance. Colby West did not surrender a game at the second singles position; John Humble gave away just two games at the top spot. Tuan Bui and Hen Tran never let their opponents in the matchup on the first doubles court, taking it 6-2, 6-2. Lines two and three hung in the balance for a while despite Northern California winning the opening sets in both. Eventually, Nhat Duy Pham and Duy Nguyen closed out court three 6-3, 7-6, setting the stage for the Hoai Nhu Tran and Thinh Xuan Pham to come through 6-1, 3-6, 1-0 at the second position.

Intermountain made sure they were not locked up in a similarly dramatic dual when facing off against Northern California for the crown. Peterson and Sao were unstoppable in singles play, winning 6-0, 6-0 at lines one and two, respectively. The strong pair of Castagna and Elison delivered the clincher, turning in a 6-1, 6-4 performance at the top doubles position. The other doubles contests went to match tiebreaks, each squad claiming one to set the final score line at 4-1 in favor of the team from Utah.

Douglas Fowkes's Intermountain team is composed of Peterson, Joseph Venoza, Siddoway, Bradley Gessell, Bernard Bendinger, Alex Zampier, Ben Rand, Sao, Cameron Willes, Castagna, Elison, Evan Hughes, Akio Tsujino, Aaron Gleave, Brandon Robins, Paul Lewis, and Scott Sowby.

Hometown team Florida held off Southern by a 3-2 margin to finish third.

Women’s 3.5 top seed Florida (Red Bug Lake Park – Casselberry) had little issue getting past No. 4 seed Midwest (South Bend Racquet Club – Mishawaka, Ind.). Each squad claimed a singles court, with Florida’s Shanel Malapit winning 6-1, 6-2 at line one and Mary Dynes taking court two 6-1, 6-4 for Midwest. An impressive 6-1, 6-1 effort from Madelyn Escudero and Jennifer Carter on the second doubles court put Florida in front for good. Misa Kawata and Kathleen Cotton slammed the door shut by prevailing on court three 6-3, 7-5. Kristina Godiksen and Sarah Davey capped off the doubles sweep thanks to a 2-6, 6-0, 1-0 comeback.

In the other semifinal, No. 2 seed Caribbean (Puerto Rico) survived versus third seed Southern (Fayetteville Athletic – Fayetteville, Ark.) by the slimmest of margins. The two singles matchups ended quickly, as Caribbean’s Paola Garcia Garcia won 6-3, 6-3 at the top spot and Southern’s Kelly Stewart took court two 6-2, 6-1. Caribbean would put their grit on display in the doubles. Aidyl Kareh and Michelle White hung on at line two, turning in a 6-3, 4-6, 1-0 performance. Dora and Giovanna Ramirez shook off a loss in the opening frame to turn the tide en route to a clinching 4-6, 6-4, 1-0 victory.

The most consistent team on the weekend, Florida rounded out their run to the title with a 4-1 defeat of Caribbean. Garcia played well for her squad once again, earning the top singles line 6-0, 6-3. However, Caribbean would not win another set on any of the other four courts. Malapit played line two in this dual, coming through 6-1, 6-3. Escudero and Carter teamed up for another complete effort in doubles, claiming court one 6-4, 6-2. That set the stage for Isabelle Welsh and Wendy Sutch, a new pairing who ended up on the right side of the majority of the crucial points in a tight 7-5, 7-5 triumph on court three. Kawata and Cotton were also awarded the second position via retirement.

Escudero captained the Florida team with a completed roster of Erin Brown, Malapit, Katherine Walker, Godiksen, Shelly Bauer, Mary Lutz, Wanda Costanzo, Carter, Ann Jones, Kawata, Cotton, Julie Fontaine, Sutch, Rachel Haiscott, Welsh, Rianne Taze Sanchez, and Davey.

Southern handled Midwest, 4-1, for a third-place finish.

A full listing of each division’s results can be found at the following links: 2.5 women; 3.5 men; 3.5 women.

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.

For more information on the 2018 USTA League National Championships, click here.