In addition to six women's finals, seven Southwest Florida Ultimate Tennis men's division Championships will be decided at Breckenridge Golf & Tennis Club in Estero, Florida on Saturday, May 10. All of the event finals promise to be highly competitive, with the Men's 6.0 division featuring a showdown between two former champions.
Men's 2.5
Alexander Lis of Cape Coral will play Peter Bennett of Sarasota for bragging rights in the Men’s 2.5 event. Lis began UTL three seasons ago in the 3.5 division, moved to 3.0 last season, and has finally found a home in the 2.5s, where he has won five of seven matches. Peter Bennett has one loss on the season; that being a straight-set loss to Ricardo Rengifo, whom Lis defeated in a semifinal three-setter.
Men's 3.0
Ultimate Tennis rookie, Brandon Straza, who won eight consecutive matches after losing his maiden match, awaits the winner of Jeffrey Free of Cape Coral versus Gareth Wood of University Park. Wood has one loss, which came in the fourth week of the season, winning all others in straight sets, and Free has only one loss as well.
Free’s one loss was a 6-4, 5-7, 5-7 defeat to Straza in week four, so even if he gets past Wood, he won’t have a…uh…free pass to the title. Free did, however, beat Gabe Nostramo of North Fort Myers, who is the only player to have beaten Straza this season. This division is shaping up as a very competitive contest for the championship.
Men's 3.5
In the Men’s 3.5 final, Trenton Conquest of Bonita Springs will face-off against Jim Pecenka of Cape Coral. In only his second UTL season, Conquest went 6-1 during the regular season and posted straight-set wins in the quarters and semis.
This is Pecenka’s first appearance in the finals in seven tries, although he has appeared in three semifinal matches. He, too, posted a 6-1 regular season record, but had to battle through two tough three-setters to reach the final. In the semis, he outlasted Kent Adams of Bradenton, 6-4, 4-6, 7-6. This just might be Pecenka’s season for the “conquest” that has eluded him.
Men's 4.0
John Reily of Cape Coral will play the winner of Orlando Reyes of Fort Myers and James Lynn of Sarasota. Reily had only one loss during the season, and crushed Edward Osika 6-0, 6-3 in the semis after having a little trouble with seven-season UTL veteran William Webb of Fort Myers in the semis, 4-6, 6-4, 6-2.
Reyes has played 11 UTL seasons and has made it to the quarterfinals just once previously. Lynn is undefeated thus far this season, his third, and dominated their only common opponent, Andre Gomes of Fort Myers, who beat Reyes. Look for a Lynn-Reily match-up in the final with Lynn pulling it out.
Men's 4.5
Bob Nelson of Cape Coral will take on Steve Larkin of Englewood for the Men’s 4.5 crown. Larkin is undefeated in his first UTL season, losing just two sets en route to the final. He passed a tough test against Rich Kolanda of Parrish in the quarters, winning 4-6, 7-5, 6-1.
Nelson, reaching his first UTL final in six tries, has only one loss this season, and pulled out a 6-2, 3-6, 7-6 win over Eric Eriksen in the semis. In matches against their one common opponent, Nelson won 6-4, 6-2, and Larkin won 6-2, 6-0. On paper, Larkin looks likely to finish his first UTL season undefeated, but these matches are on clay.
Men’s 5.0
Blair Watkins of Sarasota, a UTL rookie, will take on the winner of Thomas Becnel and Thomas Buzas, both of Sarasota, for the Men’s 5.0 Championship. Watkins lost to both players during the regular season, and Becnel beat Buzas in straight sets in their only regular season match. Becnel is undefeated in his second UTL season, and is likely to finish that way.
Men's 6.0
In the top level, and only cash prize event, the Men’s 6.0, T. A. Niles and Stephen Hunt-Marriott, both of Fort Myers, will battle for Southwest Florida bragging rights. Niles, a former UTL Men’s 5.0 champion (Spring ’07), has a 16-1 record in his two UTL seasons, with his only loss coming to Ken Wasserman of Lehigh Acres this season.
Hunt-Marriott, is also a former UTL champion, winning the 4.0 division in his first UTL season in Spring 2006. Hunt-Marriott has improved tremendously since winning his UTL title two years ago, and brings a 5-2 season record to the final. His only losses were to Niles and to Wasserman, who went undefeated but was unavailable for the playoffs.
Sources suggest that Hunt-Marriott has been in training to upset the slight favorite (but perhaps burnt out) Niles, who is coming off a six-week period in which has played five events. With superb athleticism from his days as a professional squash player, and more than a decade less wear and tear, Hunt-Marriott may have the advantage here.
The public is welcome to attend the Championships, and to sign up for the UTL summer season by May 14.
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