When the last ball was hit in the USA Adult League West Regional Championships in Longboat Key last weekend, four titles were brought home by local teams.
Winners were Seminole Lake Tennis Center 4.0 and the Phil Green Tennis Academy 4.5 men's squads and the PGTA 4.0 and McMullen 4.5 women. Regional champs advance to the state tournament, Aug. 7-9 in Daytona Beach, with hopes of qualifying for national competition.
Seminole won 18 of a possible 20 individual positions in its regional. With 5-0 victories over Tampa and Fort Myers and a 4-1 win over Sarasota, Seminole clinched the crown before playing its final match Sunday against Naples. "It was a full team effort," Seminole captain Red McGarry said. "We used 12 players in the four matches." Jon Bean, Eric Alvarado and Brian Cooper jumped in for the morning match and "got us some huge wins," McGarry said. That allowed Seminole to rest three players for an afternoon showdown with Tampa. Steve Phillips was 3-1 in the No. 1 singles position, and he helped Cooper and Chris Rivera produce a 2-0 record at No. 2. Doubles combinations included Krishnan Anandan and Alex Shubianok, Robert Schultz and Isaac Vicente, Scott Chambers and Dave Heeder, Mike Parker and Heeder, and Bean and Alvarado.
"This is a great team, and we had to fight every inch of the way," Parker said. "The difference is that at Seminole we are so strong in 4.0 players that we get a lot of great practice." Winning was a dream come true for McGarry, who was unable to play due to health issues. "We reviewed the results on the computer of the other teams, and we scouted all of them the first day," McGarry said.
Jim McCook, Les Gustin, Krishnan and McGarry did the scouting. Rounding out the state-bound Seminole squad are Dean Bryan, John Beda and Ron Klieve.
The PGTA 4.5 men won 19 of their 20 individual positions with 5-0 victories over Bradenton, Tampa and Fort Myers and a 4-1 win over Naples. Jim Cohen, Michael Erbe and Bill Funk shared the two singles, and the remaining 13 members filled the doubles.
"I knew we would be competitive, even though we had some tough matches," Steve Talner said. Other PGTA players are Robin Kippenberger, Randy Meisner, Jim Dundee, Ron Wiser, Chuck Cashman, Mark Taylor, Darrel Stewart, Ken Cherven, Scott Spoerl, Bob Ironsmith and Steven and Paul Reilly.
PGTA's 4.0 women played the same lineup in all four matches to beat Sarasota 3-2, Tampa and Naples 4-1 and Punta Gorda 5-0. McMullen's 4.5 women went unbeaten in a double round robin with Naples and Bradenton.
McMullen's singles were shared by Anh Thu Burks, Jamie Otts, Rachel Sanchez and Gail McMurtrey. Completing the team are Joan Simmons, Sue Guiterrez, Cari Reagin, Kim Cashman, Dana McKee, Julie McGuire, Lisa Taylor and Stephanie Wager.
Feather Sound Country Club's 3.5 women finished second overall with wins over Tampa, 3-2; and Naples and Fort Myers, 4-1. Only a 3-2 loss to Sarasota kept Feather Sound from placing first.
The Renaissance Vinoy's 3.0 women had a 2-1 mark with a 4-1 victory over Naples and a 5-0 win over Punta Gorda. A 4-1 loss to Tampa, though, gave the Hillsborough club the championship.
Treasure Bay's 3.5 men were 2-2 with victories over Tampa and Naples. A 3-2 loss to Tampa eliminated the McMullen 3.0 men from title contention. McMullen rebounded with a 4-1 win over Punta Gorda.
NET SHOTS: Amy Lowther defended her top seed to win the girls 10-and-under division in last weekend's East Lake Woodlands Junior Rookie Tournament. Boys 12 No. 1 Bryan Szeto won his final in straight sets, as did Tiffany Easton (girls 12) and Sam Evans-Thomas (boys 14). Simone Berger (girls 16) was a consolation winner.
