Kicking off in September, the seventh and eighth Adult Sectionals tournaments of the calendar year commenced in Southern California.

55 & OVER SECTIONALS – 6.0 / 7.0 / 8.0 / 9.0

Beginning the first of the two events, 55 & Over Sectionals took place from Friday, September 6th until Sunday, September 8th. Adult league players spanning from all 13 areas in the section traveled to San Diego’s Barnes Tennis Center to do battle over the three days. The lone 55 & Over Sectionals of the year, the event featured men’s and women’s doubles pairings between the skill levels of 6.0, 7.0, 8.0 and 9.0.

Within the qualifying rounds on the men’s side, the 6.0 teams crowned a victor after three round matches, the 7.0 teams played in three unflighted matches with the top four teams advancing, the 8.0 teams were separated into two flights of four teams a piece, with the top team from each flight advancing, and the 9.0 teams determined a champion through a round robin. For the women, the 6.0 teams played in a single round robin, the 7.0 teams competed in three unflighted matches with the top four teams advancing to the semifinals, the 8.0 teams duked it out over three flighted matches with the top four overall teams advancing, and the 9.0 teams battled it out over three unflighted matches with the top two teams advancing to the finals. Of the flighted and unflighted matches, the advancing teams would later duke it out in playoff matches to award a champion.

All of the 55 & Over National Championships will be held at the Scottsdale Ranch Park & Indian School Park in Scottsdale, Arizona. The 6.0 and 8.0 teams will compete between November 8-10, while the 7.0 and 9.0 teams will play from November 1-3.

6.0 MEN – Compiling an undefeated record over the weekend, San Gabriel Valley picked up their first Sectionals title of the event. Led by captain Justin Lee, the men boasted an impressive individual match record of 8-1, to go along with their 16 sets won to only 4 lost. This victory is the first of the season for Lee, and the fourth overall for teams out of SGV. Earning recognition as finalists, John Lanterman’s Beach Cities squad put up a valiant fight throughout their matches.

6.0 WOMEN – Finishing as the team with the best overall records following the round robin, San Diego claimed the title in the 6.0 division. Under captains Mara Ferraro and Laurie Schmid, the ladies put together a 3-1 team match record over the weekend, defeating teams from Ventura County, San Fernando Valley and Inland Empire. This championship marked the first for both Ferraro and Schmid, as well as the sixth of the season for SD. With a 3-1 record themselves, Inland Empire’s team led by Elizabeth Rydall were recognized as finalists for the event.

7.0 MEN – Picking up the area’s second title of the weekend, San Gabriel Valley captured gold in the men’s 7.0 division. Captains Andy Chang and Victor Ho led their team to an overall record of 4-1 on the weekend, first picking up wins over teams from San Diego and Bakersfield in the qualifiers. Earning a spot in the playoffs, SGV first took down Inland Empire, before facing off against an undefeated Los Angeles squad in the championship. Here, SGV was victorious once more, defeating Mitchell Wong’s bunch by a final of 2-1. The championship proved to be the first of the season for both Chang and Ho.

7.0 WOMEN – Adding to their impressive season tally of now six Sectionals’ titles, Los Angeles took home the hardware in the women’s 7.0 division. Captains Adele Slaughter and Cindy Gaytan each secured their first championships of the season, leading their team to a 4-1 overall record on the weekend. LA bested teams from the areas of Central Coast and San Fernando Valley in the qualifying rounds before taking down a team from San Gabriel Valley in the playoffs. Advancing to the finals, LA matched up against a dominant San Diego squad led by Ann Ortel. Here, Slaughter and Gaytan’s ladies battled, pulling out a hard fought 2-1 victory to cap off their tournament play.

8.0 MEN – At the men’s 8.0 division, Earl Beauvais and Brian Davis captained their team to an undefeated weekend, helping Orange County triumph for an area-leading tenth time this Sectionals season. Within the qualifying flight, OC would be in control, securing key victories against groups out of Santa Barbara, Ventura and San Diego. Clinching a place in the title match along with a team from San Diego, OC held on once more, besting Ming Ye’s crew by a final of 2-1. This victory ensured Beauvais and Davis would walk away with their first Sectionals’ championships of the season.

8.0 WOMEN – Continuing to amass victories, San Gabriel Valley took home their third title of the weekend, this time in the women’s 8.0 division. Captains Jane Wang and Khin Aye led their bunch to an undefeated record throughout the tournament, first securing wins against Orange County, Santa Barbara and San Gabriel Valley in the qualifiers. In the playoffs, SGV’s dominance would continue as the team picked up two more wins, defeating SFV in the first round and Polly Dulin’s Beach Cities team in the championship, both by a score of 2-1. With this win, SGV now becomes only the second area this season to win three Sectional championships in a single event, following Los Angeles, which achieved this feat during the first weekend of the 18 & Over Sectionals. Wang and Aye also become the seventh different captains to lead SGV to a title this season.

9.0 MEN – Making their presence felt, Beach Cities was dominant in the men’s 9.0 division, taking home the gold. Led by captain Jerome Haig, BC would end the weekend atop the leaderboards following their round robin, finishing with an overall record of 2-1. Haigs squad would also lead all teams in both sets and games won, edging them out as the victor over finalist Alex Truong’s team. This championship was Haig’s first of the season and the third overall for teams from Beach Cities.

9.0 WOMEN – Closing out the weekend winning a second Sectionals’ championship for their area, Darlene Gallego and Carolynne Yen’s San Diego squad triumphed in the women’s 9.0 division. En route to maintaining an undefeated record, SD took down teams from Coachella Valley, San Diego and Orange County, before finding themselves in the championship match. Here they were once again victorious, defeating Robin Hubbard’s San Diego team, this time by a final of 2-1.

SPIRIT AWARD WINNER – Displaying an impressive showing of Southern California spirit, the ladies of Suzanne Young’s Coachella Valley team were recognized as the seventh spirit award winners of the season. With this win, Coachella Valley becomes the sixth unique area to take home a spirit award, being selected as the victor through polls on USTA SoCal’s social media channels.

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MIXED 40 & OVER SECTIONALS – 6.0 / 7.0 / 8.0 / 9.0

Taking place from Friday, September 20th until Sunday, September 22nd, the second of the two Adult Sectionals’ weekends got underway, this time with Mixed 40 & Over teams competing at the 6.0, 7.0, 8.0 and 9.0 levels. Matches were held in Ventura County at three venues—North Ranch Country Club, Sunset Hills Country Club, and Calabasas High School.

In the qualifiers, the 6.0 and 9.0 teams competed in three unflighted matches with the top two teams advancing to the final, the 7.0 teams played in three unflighted matches with the top four teams advancing to the semifinals, and the 8.0 teams played in three flighted matches with the winner of each flight and the best second place team advancing to the semifinals. All teams that advanced would later battle it out in playoff matches to determine the overall champion.

Nationals for all four skill levels will occur between November 8-10, with the 6.0 and 8.0 National Championships taking place at the Barnes Tennis Center in San Diego, California, while the 7.0 and 9.0 National Championships will be held at the USTA National Campus in Orlando, Florida.

MIXED 6.0 – Kickstarting the event by going undefeated, Orange County proved to be the team to beat in the mixed 6.0 division. Captains Deping Liu and Michael Gu led their squad past teams from Beach Cities, San Fernando Valley and Ventura County in the qualifiers, setting them up for a championship match with Los Angeles. In the finale, OC bested Joy Cho’s team by a score of 2-1, earning OC their first title of the weekend. This victory is Liu and Gu’s second title together as captains, with their first coming at Mixed 18 & Over Sectionals earlier this year.

MIXED 7.0 – Continuing their winning ways, OC captured their second championship of the weekend, once again under the leadership of Gu and fellow captain Jon Wang. Going undefeated, OC did not drop a set all weekend long, sweeping all five matches they competed in. In their play, OC took down teams from Ventura, Santa Barbara, Central Coast and San Diego, before taking on another SD team in the finale. Here, OC took down Michelle and Ryan Adams’ bunch to earn themselves the gold. With this win, Gu becomes the only captain this Sectionals season to have won five championships. He is also the only captain to have led his team to two championships in a single event, a feat he accomplished during the Mixed 18 & Over Sectionals, making him a standout in this achievement.

MIXED 8.0 – Putting together an undefeated weekend for themselves, San Gabriel Valley took home the crown as mixed 8.0 champions. With Colin Tang and Laurie Manley at the helm, SGV emerged as the top team from their flight following their wins over Orange County, Santa Barbara and Coachella Valley. In the playoffs, SGV swept San Diego before earning the title with a 2-1 victory over Mark and Loretta Warren’s San Diego bunch. The victory proved to be Tang’s second championship of the season, as well as Manley’s first.

MIXED 9.0 – Taking three of the four possible titles home this weekend, Orange County claimed gold once more at the mixed 9.0 division. Gilbert Guevara led his squad to a 4-0 record over the event with clean sweeps coming against San Diego, Coachella Valley and Ventura in the qualifying rounds. In the championship, OC would find success once more, taking down Michelle Dean and Jennifer Uyeda’s Beach Cities team by a final of 3-0. With only two more Sectionals left in the calendar year, Orange County is the area to beat, currently leading all others with thirteen total championships. The next closest are San Gabriel Valley, Los Angeles and San Diego, sitting at seven, six and six a piece. Teams from Orange County also took home five of the nine possible championships in mixed play so far this season.

SPIRIT AWARD WINNER – Capturing the eighth spirit award of the season, Inland Empire’s “Canyon Lake” were honored as the team that showed the most SoCal spirit during the event. In a contest voted on through USTA SoCal’s social media channels, Jully Martilla’s squad was deemed the winner by the various channels’ followers. With this recognition, IE becomes the seventh different area to have won the award this season.

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