The 2019 USTA Florida 40 & Over 3.0/4.0 Sectional Championships wrapped up Monday afternoon at the USTA National Campus. Earning team titles on the final day of play were the Hillsborough (Tampa Yacht & Country Club) 3.0 women, the Orange/Seminole (Villagewalk at Lake Nona) 4.0 men and the IRMSL (Buttonwood Tennis Club – Stuart) 4.0 women. They joined the Broward (Midtown Athletic Club – Weston) 3.0 men as sectional champions at the event.

Starting off the morning was the women’s 3.0 semifinal round, where Hillsborough (Tampa Yacht & Country Club) went up against SMD (Don Shulas Athletic Club – Hialeah) and Duval (Southside Tennis Complex – Jacksonville) clashed with Pinellas (Belleair Country Club). Hillsborough defeated SMD by a slim 3-2 margin on the strength of a pair of one-sided victories along with a closely-contested 7-6, 7-6 effort by Christine Dietrich and Sarah Weaver on the third doubles court to clinch the team win. The other semifinal resulted in a 5-0 margin for Pinellas, which included taking both matchups that were extended to a match tiebreak.

An impressive sweep of the doubles powered Hillsborough to a 4-1 championship clinching victory over Pinellas. Dietrich was paired with Shannon Derbes this time, as the tandem dominated 6-0, 6-2 at line three. The top spot was also controlled easily by Ali Garrity and Kelly Ruggles, ending in a 6-3, 6-3 score line. Court two was the most competitive, but eventually went the way of Lesley Metzler and Jacqueline Carricato by a 6-3, 7-5 margin. As both singles lines were still in action when the dual was clinched, the players trailing in those contests retired, giving wins to Jana Bridge of Hillsborough at line one and Louise Del Basso from Pinellas on court two.

Captained by Garrity, the full Hillsborough squad includes Bridge, Carricato, Erica Brandon, Lauren Schellman, Carol Bennett, Ana Lautersztain, Michele Milazzo, Weaver, Ruggles, Derbes, Kim Lancer, Nichole Vogt, and Metzler.

Competing in the same men’s 4.0 flight to start the tournament, Orange/Seminole suffered a 4-1 defeat at the hands of Hillsborough (HCC Tennis Complex – Tampa), forcing them to need the wild card spot just to advance to the semifinals. Monday’s championship dual got off to a much different start, with Orange/Seminole taking four first sets. Ruben Sepulveda and Pedro Estrada sprinted to the finish line on court two, winning 6-0, 6-1. That was followed up by Gaurang Gandhi and Nicholas Anderson playing their way to a 6-3, 6-3 victory at line three.

The Orange/Seminole duo of Julio Infante and Ignacio Guida capped off the doubles sweep with a 7-5, 6-2 effort at the top spot. The two squads split the singles matchups, with Orange/Seminole’s Hervin Alvarez hung on for a 6-3, 3-6, 1-0 triumph at line one while Ray Eckstein was awarded the victory at the second position when his opponent retired, setting the final score at 4-1 in favor of Orange/Seminole.

Captain Fernando Colon’s complete Orange/Seminole roster consists of Manuel Perez, Tony Stingley, Constantino Trimarchi, Estrada, Luis Mir, Patrick Dennis, Ralph Lennen, Sepulveda, Carlos Soto-Busigo, Infante, Marvin Diaz, Alvarez, Gandhi, Emir Valladares, Bob Dasilva, Nestor Alvarez, Harry Fauquier, Anderson, and Guida.

For the women’s 4.0 final, IRMSL (Buttonwood Tennis Club – Stuart) was taking on Hillsborough (Westchase Community Association – Tampa). Each team grabbed one singles court, with Guadalupe Avinzano battling her way to a 6-1, 7-6 win at the top spot for IRMSL while Hillsborough’s Wendy Baier cruised at line two 6-4, 6-2. All three opening frames of the doubles contests went the way of IRMSL, giving the squad full control of the dual.

Cynthia DiNenna and Lori Glaspey collected line one by a 6-3, 6-4 margin to go along with their teammates Somhathai Immerman and Theresa Dubiel coming through an extended first set to prevail 7-6, 6-2 on court two. The team win was finished off by Sandy Palma and Angela Cramer, who shook off a disappointing second set to win 6-4, 1-6, 1-0, giving IRMSL the 4-1 triumph.

Sandy Palma’s full roster is made up of Dubiel, Marie-Paule Cafmeyer, Beth Daly, DiNenna, Karen Higgins, Glaspey, Elisabeth Smith, Immerman, Avinzano, Cramer, and Beth Grossnickle.

For complete results from the 2019 USTA Florida 40 & Over 3.0/4.0 Sectional Championships, click here.