Sunday marked the second day of action for the 2019 USTA Florida Combo 50 & Over Sectional, hosted by the USTA National Campus. Three of the six divisions wrapped up on Sunday as part of the busy schedule of play.

Marion (Fort King Tennis Center – Ocala) dominated Alachua (Jonesville Tennis Center – Gainesville) en route to claiming the men’s 6.5 crown. After winning both duals on Saturday, they closed out their weekend with a pair of sweeps on Sunday for a sterling 4-0 record on the strength of 11 court victories with 23 sets to their credit compared to just five lost.

Captain Scott Kiefer’s Marion squad also includes Earl Schwartz, Scott Lovell, Joe Logano, Stephen Bernard, William Thomas, Raif Barckhausen, Rick Durham, Grady Grimes, Michael Garlisi, Danny York, Christopher Clements, and Robert Brombach.

Both 8.5 divisions also wrapped up on Sunday. For the men’s side, SMD (Don Shula’s Athletic Club – Hialeah) went undefeated in the lone four-team flight, taking seven of the nine individual matchups their player contested; in total, they gave away only five sets, while every other team in the competition lost at least 10. SMD is captained by Gustavo Risquez and features a full roster of Alessandro De Vito, Daniel Hale, Leonardo Torrellas, Ervin Mendel, Jose Chavez, Rubens Jacob, Juan Rios, Carlos Lopez, Jay Eisenberg, Joaquin Jugo, Alan Benarroch, and Richard Mangas.

Sarasota (Lakewood National – Bradenton) entered the day in the best position to take the women’s 8.5 crown, and they did just that in commanding fashion behind a 4-0 record. In total, they earned 11 of a possible 12 court victories behind racking up 23 sets. The crew is led by Lorraine Varone and includes Beverly Kalil, Christine Adelman, Kim Eck, Elizabeth Warrier, Julie Warren, Karen Brenneman, Lauren Ash, Celia Marchese, Donna Hannigan, Marilyn Weisenberg, and SueAnn Sanders.

The remaining three divisions will crown a champion on Monday. In 6.5 women’s action, only Escambia (Independent) will enter the day unbeaten after cruising through Flight 1. Both Alachua (Jonesville Tennis Center – Gainesville) and Sarasota (The Venetian Golf & River Club – North Venice) got through Flights 2 and 3, respectively, via the tiebreaking procedure after beginning the day outside of the top slot. For Alachua, their head-to-head victory over Duval (Eagle Harbor Tennis – Fleming Island) was the difference, while Sarasota knocking off previously unbeaten IRMSL (Harbor Ridge – Palm City) propelled them into the semifinals. All was not lost for IRMSL though, as they earned the lone wild card spot, where they will take on Alachua while Escambia goes up against Sarasota.

Sunday saw plenty of dramatic action in both men’s 7.5 flights. Flight 1 ended in a three-way tie between Collier (Vineyards Golf & Country Club – Naples), Sarasota (Lakewood Ranch Athletic), and Pinellas (Treasure Island Tennis Club). In the end, Collier came through with the stronger numbers overall thanks to nine individual matchup victories with 20 sets won compared to only nine lost. A similar scenario played out in Flight 2 after Hillsborough (Temple Terrace Recreation Department) could not run through the competition unscathed. Their loss to IRMSL (Vero Beach Tennis and Fitness Club) left both teams at 3-1, along with Alachua (Jonesville Tennis Center – Gainesville). It ultimately came down to the head-to-head triumph by Alachua over IRMSL, as they both owned eight court victories while Hillsborough claimed just seven.

The women’s 7.5 division contested their semifinals on Sunday, leaving just the championship dual to be played Monday morning. All three flights were won thanks to undefeated efforts. Brevard (Rockledge) and Escambia (Independent) came through Flights 1 and 2, respectively, on the strength of seven individual matchups going their way while Pinellas (East Lake Woodlands Country Club – Oldsmar) played their way atop Flight 3 with six court victories. Joining them in the final four was Polk (City of Winter Haven Municipal Courts), the runner-up in Flight 2.

Polk made the most of their second chance, stunning Pinellas in a match tiebreak on court three to advance to the divisional final with a 2-1 triumph. Kelley Cargle and Norma Solters were the heroes for the wild card squad, as they outlasted their Pinellas foes 6-4, 4-6, 1-0. It wasn’t much easier for Polk’s Susan Fearnow and Melissa Voelker at line two, as they prevailed in a pair of tiebreaks.

Escambia also moved on by the slimmest of margins, besting Brevard two courts to one with the decisive matchup coming down to a match tiebreak. Betty Wolff and Jacqueline Wallace managed to close out line three in two tight sets (6-4, 6-4) for Escambia; however, Shellie McCall and Lisa Greskovich saw their lead slip away at the second spot, forcing them to shake off the disappointment quickly to survive 6-2, 2-6, 1-0.

Monday’s schedule of play is set to get underway at 8:30 a.m. For more information on the 2019 USTA Florida Combo 50 & Over Sectional Championships, click here.