It was an athletic accomplishment that was worthy of a big celebration, and the Midtown Athletic Club in Weston made sure to acknowledge its men’s and women’s tennis teams.
The women’s 3.5/4.0/4.5 team captured the USTA Florida Tri-Level Sectional title with a 3-0 victory over the wild-card entrant Orange club of Seminole County, while the men’s 3.0/3.5/4.0 team claimed the Tri-Level Sectional championship with its own 3-0 sweep after it conquered the Country Club of Ocala representing Marion County.
The Midtown Athletic Club men’s team started off quickly with the 4.0 team of Nick Boros and Alejandro Arriiz setting the tone with a convincing 6-0, 6-1 victory over Ocala’s Wayne Steed and Kevin Hewitson.
The 3.0 squad of Carlos Alesson and Reinaldo Marquez claimed a victory over Jeff Zysek and Fernando Mercado-Cruz 6-3, 6-2. The 3.5 doubles team of Juan Pablo Rincon and Pietro Lopriore rallied after being down a set to Scott Anthony and Joe Lagano 2-6, 6-0, 1-0 to complete the sweep.
Other members on the men’s roster were Carlos Haupt, Saeid Sadoughi and Jeffrey Sturman.
In the women’s 3.5/4.0/4.5 division, Midtown swept the competition with the 3.5 team of Sarah Nickoson and Maria Suarez, winning their match, followed by Lorena Villar Seminario de Guzman-Barron and Cindy Conine taking the 4.0 division.
The 4.5 team of Rosamaria Rodriguez and Laura Di Lauro completed the sweep. All three matches were closely contested affairs. Other members were Liliana Albrecht, Barbara Barrios, Monica Candamo, Clarena Furtado, Taciana Kalili, Natalia Moll, Rosana Pereira, Liz Soble, Ivy Touchstone and Patricia Williams.
Midtown team captains Jorge Pardo and Maria Vegas de Pardo and their teammates came back home from the USTA National Campus in Orlando like conquering heroes. The Midtown club treated its sectional winners to a champions dinner and put on display the names and photos of its dual champions.
“The most impressive thing was that both teams were out there supporting each other during the tournament and that was a key aspect to everyone winning,” Jorge Prado said. “That social pressure of winning brought us to the next level. We got to enjoy it a lot.”
While the Midtown men’s season came to a successful conclusion, the women’s team still has a challenge on the horizon with the upcoming national Tri-Level Championships March 19-22, as part of the BNP Paribas Open in Indian Wells, California.
“We will be playing on the same courts as some of the pros, which is very exciting for us,” Vegas de Pardo said. “It’s awesome that we are going out there and we are all looking forward to the experience.”
