Three team titles were earned on Sunday at the USTA Florida Combo 18 & Over 5.5/7.5/9.5 Sectional Championships. Those victorious squads included the Broward (Midtown Athletic Club – Weston) 7.5 men, the Okaloosa/Walton/Bay (Rosemary Beach Racquet Club) 9.5 men, and the Hillsborough (The Club at Cheval – Lutz) 9.5 women.

Teams are competing in dual matches consisting of three courts of doubles contests; at least two of those three courts must be won in order to claim the dual.

Broward (Midtown Athletic Club – Weston) was the most dominant squad on the weekend, winning all 12 courts they contested in the men’s 7.5 competition. They gave away just a single set in Flight 1 action, claiming nearly 80% of the games played by their tandems. The divisional final saw them take the court against Hillsborough (HCC Tennis Complex – Tampa), who advanced out of Flight 2 with a 2-1 record after defeating previous flight leader Alachua (Jonesville Tennis Center – Gainesville).

It looked like it would be smooth sailing for Broward once again, as they took all three opening sets in the championship match. However, only Gustavo Risquez and Jeff Conine managed to prevail in straight sets, closing out Sebastian Graba and Chris Chee-A-Tow 7-5, 6-2 at line two. At the top spot, Ronald Coletto and Jorge Cortes saw their lead slip away, only to hold off Hillsborough’s Enrique Escobar and David Ponraj 6-4, 4-6, 1-0. The well-earned sweep was capped off by Roberto Ribas and Aldri Franco’s 6-3, 3-6, 1-0 result over Gavin Smith and James Schneider on court three.

Ismael Rosales serves as the captain of the Broward crew that consists of Andres Cabrero, Cortes, Daniel Manzano, Sundaresh Ramnath, Ribas, Conine, Diego Risquez, Gustavo Risquez, Diego Grimblat, Franco, and Coletto.

The men’s 9.5 division finished with no unbeaten crews after the completion of three rounds of round-robin duals. The title came down to the clash between Okaloosa/Walton/Bay (Rosemary Beach Racquet Club) and Broward (Parkland Tennis Center). Okaloosa/Walton/Bay would emerge victorious, only to come up short in their third match for the weekend. That loss put them tied atop the standings with Broward at 2-1 overall, allowing the head-to-head result to serve as the decisive tiebreaker.

Okaloosa/Walton/Bay is captained by Jason McLemore and features a roster of Michael Manley, Marvin Colley, Chip Thomas, Michael Matisons, Mark Hurst, and Luke Hawk.

Holding the lead going into the day, the Hillsborough (The Club at Cheval – Lutz) 9.5 women’s squad secured the division with a 3-1 overall record. Having already clinched the title, Hillsborough was tripped up by North Palm Beach (Jupiter Ocean and Racquet Club) in the last dual Sunday to prevent a perfect weekend. They would be the only team in the field to post a winning record, collecting eight court victories along the way.

Captain Denise Agnew’s complete Hillsborough roster includes Lisa Shelton, Mary Paul, Elizabeth Baldwin, Teal Henderson, Kelly Sincich, Gail Gibson, Lisa Balsera, Nirupama Sanjeev, and Elizabeth McCafferty.

The women’s 5.5 final will feature a pair of unscathed teams when South Miami-Dade (Crandon Park Tennis Center – Key Biscayne) faces Alachua (Haile Plantation Country Club – Gainesville). South Miami-Dade got through Flight 1 at 3-0 despite ending up with the same number of court victories as runner-up Hillsborough (FishHawk Ranch – Lithia) while Alachua cruised through Flight 2 for a sterling 4-0 mark.

Advancing to the women’s 7.5 semifinals early Sunday morning was the quartet of Alachua (D B Racquet Club – Gainesville), Hillsborough (Tampa Yacht & Country Club), Orange/Seminole/Lake (Red Bug Lake Park – Casselberry) and wild card Pinellas (McMullen Tennis Complex – Clearwater).

A bit of an unlucky break in the scheduling paired Alachua, the undefeated representative from Flight 1, with Hillsborough, the unbeaten squad from Flight 3. However, it would be Hillsborough flexing their muscles with an impressive 3-0 sweep. All three courts ended in two sets, highlighted by Beth Thompson and Meagan Brandriff not giving away a single game on court one. Amy Shoukry and Paige Murtagh took line three 6-1, 7-5 while teammates Aspen Kahl and Kristy Wilander battled for the 6-4, 7-5 victory at the second spot.

In the other semifinal, Flight 2 winner Orange/Seminole/Lake bested Pinellas by the slimmest of margins. Kelly Hansen and Cassandra Remedios got Pinellas on the board quickly, winning court two 6-1, 6-2; Nikki Anne and Mary Ann Ballelos countered for Orange/Seminole/Lake at line one 6-0, 7-5. That put all the focus on the third position, where Quynh Sunhachawi and Christina Le rallied back from a deficit to come through 3-6, 6-4, 1-0.

The tournament’s final matches are slated for a 7:45 a.m. start on Monday. For more information on the USTA Florida Combo 18 & Over 5.5/7.5/9.5 Sectional Championships, click here.