The 2018 USTA Florida 40 & Over 3.0/4.0 Sectional Championships, hosted by the USTA National Campus, came to a conclusion on Monday with three teams earning sectional crowns.

Orange/Seminole (Star Island) battled past Duval (Charles J. Williams YMCA), 3-2, in the women’s 3.0 final. The women’s 4.0 championship went to Collier (Heritage Bay) after they bested Hillsborough (Westchase) by a slim 3-2 margin. In the lone men’s match Monday, SMD (Tamiami Park) took down Orange/Seminole (Villagewalk Lake Nona), 4-1, for the men’s 4.0 title.

These three team victories come on the heels of Leon (Forestmeadows Park and Athletic Center) locking up the men's 3.0 sectional trophy on Sunday.

Duval posted a trio of straight-set victories in their women’s 3.0 dual against Leon (Forestmeadows Park and Athletic Center) to advance to the championship. Jenni Westbrook and Svetlana Mityul raced through their line one doubles matchup 6-1, 6-0 to get things started for Duval. Pam Cowden and Joni Smith took the third doubles spot 6-4, 6-4; Mary Townsend held off Catherine McRae 7-5, 6-2 at the top singles position for the clinching victory. Leon’s Tara Saine and Leslee Horner claimed the second doubles court 6-4, 6-1 while their teammate Emily Corbett rallied for a 1-6, 6-2, 1-0 win at line two singles.

Orange/Seminole put away Hillsborough (Northdale) by a 4-1 margin in the other semifinal. The teams split the two singles courts, with Orange/Seminole’s Natasha Holland taking the top spot 6-4, 6-2 and Hillsborough’s Angie Focke sweeping the second position 6-0, 6-0. Orange/Seminole won all their opening frames in doubles play, but only managed to finish off line one in straight sets, where Dina Meng and Natalia Bonavia prevailed 6-1, 6-1. In the end, the duos of Lisa Pierzynski and Leslie Hartog along with Jennifer Johnson and Traci Kendall came through in match tiebreaks at lines two and three, respectively.

The championship match was highlighted by Orange/Seminole cruising at the top singles and doubles positions, as Patricia Wubker won 6-4, 6-4 while Meng and Bonavia did not drop a game. Mityul kept Duval in it with her 6-2, 6-2 victory at line two. The remaining two doubles contests both went to decisive match tiebreaks. Duval’s Westbrook and Jansen claimed the second spot going away (5-7, 6-0, 1-0), but it was not enough to overcome Orange/Seminole. Pierzynksi and Hartog capped off the team triumph at line three, 3-6, 6-3, 1-0.

In women’s 4.0 semifinal action, a three-set contest at the top doubles spot powered Collier past Broward (Frank Veltri Tennis Center), 3-2. Collier had already locked up line one singles thanks to Gwendolyn Messonnier’s 6-4, 6-0 result to go along with a 6-0, 6-3 triumph by Lynne Hancock and Donna Charbonneau on the second doubles court. That set the stage for Mira Rochford and Terry Dirr, who pulled out a first-set tiebreak and held on in the decisive match tiebreak to earn the top position 7-6, 1-6, 1-0. Lorena Villar Seminario de Guzman-Barron and Cristina Tomadin won line three doubles 6-1, 6-3 and Elsa Roldan-Laurente took the second singles spot when her opponent retired at 7-5, 4-4.

Hillsborough had little trouble against SMD (Coral Oaks) in the other semifinal, winning by a 4-1 margin; all five of the courts ended in straight sets. Sonya Sherrell dropped a mere four games en route to dominating court one, 6-1, 6-3, for Hillsborough. Wendy Baier was pushed on court two but managed to win 6-3, 7-6. Jill Reiter and Allison Cohen provided the lone point for SMD, prevailing 6-2, 6-3 at line one doubles. Hillsborough’s Carolyn Fitzgerald and Anne Chasteen took the second position 6-3, 7-6; Emily Signoracci and Debbie Dawson handled line three with ease, 6-2, 6-2.

Two gritty performances in doubles delivered the team title to Collier. Charbonneau and Hancock were in firm control of court two, winning the opening frame 6-1, only to see their opponents rally. After losing the second set, 6-3, Charbonneau and Hancock toughed out the match tiebreak. Their teammates Sindi Sanzica and Diane Cahill suffered a sluggish start at line three to drop the first set 6-2. However, they turned the tide in a hurry, racing through the second 6-1 and maintaining momentum in the match tiebreak. Meanwhile, in singles action, Collier’s Messonnier surrendered only three games (6-1, 6-2) at the first singles spot. Baier took the second singles court by a final of 6-3, 6-1 for Hillsborough, who was also awarded the win at line one doubles when Collier retired.

SMD had little trouble getting the positive result against Orange/Seminole they were seeking in the men’s 4.0 final. Three relatively easy victories led the way – John Narus 6-1, 6-1 at line one singles; Jose Zambrano and Ricardo Deliz 6-3, 6-4 on the second doubles court; Nelson Rodriguez and Jesus Minjares 6-3, 6-2 at the third doubles spot. SMD was also on the right side of a retirement at line two singles, giving Federico Valencia the win despite trailing 3-6, 5-4. Gustavo Gomez and Ruben Sepulveda prevented the sweep by virtue of their 6-2, 6-2 win at the first doubles position for Orange/Seminole.

For more information on the 2018 USTA Florida 40 & Over 3.0/4.0 Sectional Championships, click here.

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