Four 65 & Over teams left the USTA National Campus as sectional champions on Tuesday as the USTA Florida 40 & Over Women’s 3.0/4.0 Sectional Championships and 65 & Over Sectional Invitational concluded. Teams representing Pinellas and the McMullen Tennis Complex in Clearwater swept the 8.0 titles while the 7.0 men from Hillsborough (Temple Terrace Recreation Department) and the 7.0 women’s club from Duval (Boone Park Tennis Courts – Jacksonville) also prevailed.

They join the 4.0 women from Pinellas, who also call the McMullen Tennis Complex home, along with the 3.0 women’s crew representing Broward (Midtown Athletic Club – Weston) as divisional winners from the event.

It came down to the last dual of the tournament to decide the men's 7.0 victor. Hillsborough (Temple Terrace Recreation Department) entered the day in second behind unbeaten Marion (Glenview Champions Tennis Club - The Villages), but came up with a stunning sweep when the two faced off in the afternoon. With that result, Hillsborough defeated winless Duval (Marsh Creek Country Club - St. Augustine) to lock up the crown.

Richard Warrener serves as the captain for the Hillsborough crew that also includes Chris Wiley, George Hawkins, Byron Gibbs Wilson, Patrick Rairigh, Rick Burkhart, Michael Costanza, Lawrence Palombo, Robert Chen, Thomas Watkins, and Samuel Rosenbleeth.

In the 8.0 men’s competition, Duval (Boone Park Tennis Courts – Jacksonville) and Pinellas (McMullen Tennis Complex – Clearwater) both reached the championship dual after navigating through flight play unscathed. Duval took Flight 1 with a 3-0 record; Pinellas emerged from the double round-robin Flight 2 after a 4-0 effort. The stage was seemingly set for a heated battle, but Pinellas won the opening frames on all three courts to take control. The pairing of Albert Alhadeff and Thor Moody finished off line two without dropping a game while teammates John Leep and Terry Reeb cruised 6-2, 6-2 at the third spot. With the match already decided, Stephen Mullis and Randy Sterns saw their opponents retire with the score standing at 7-5, 2-1 to close out the sweep.

Captained by Mullis, the Pinellas squad consists of Alhadeff, Leep, Scott Chambers, Sterns, Moody, Ronald Thomas, Michael Maxemow, Jim Kennedy, Reeb, and Raymond Strazdas.

The 8.0 women from Pinellas, also representing the McMullen Tennis Complex in Clearwater, completely dominated the field to earn the sectional crown. In their three dual matches, they were a perfect 9-for-9 in the individual matchups their players contested, dropping a mere two sets and 54 games.

Captain Kathy Moll’s Pinellas roster includes Ann Worthington, Susan Hobbs, Debbie Dawson, Holly Charles, Frances Strazzulla, Sandy Martin, Susan Tarantino, Clara Reynolds, Linda Miller, and Christine Jones.

Duval (Boone Park Tennis Courts – Jacksonville) kept the Pinellas title count at two for the day thanks to a 3-0 sweep over the team from the Tarpon Tennis Club in the championship tilt of the women’s 7.0 competition. The two squads breezed through flight play to advance to the final, where Pam Cohen and Susan Sceifers got Duval on the board with a 6-2, 6-3 victory on court two. That was followed up by a dramatic 3-6, 7-6, 1-0 comeback from Donna Erenberg and Patricia Hogan at the top spot. Playing the remaining matchup out, Shelley Thompson and Martha Poitevent took court three 7-5, 6-4.

Pam Cohen serves as the captain of the Duval crew that also consists of Rosemary Arnold, Sceifers, Diane Hendry, Hogan, Catherine Davis, Thompson, Poitevent, Erenberg, and Stephanie Runac.

For complete results from the 2020 USTA Florida 40 & Over Women’s 3.0/4.0 Sectional Championships, click here. To view scores from the 2020 USTA Florida 65 & Over Sectional Invitational, click here.