Another four USTA League National Champions are crowned - 18 & over 3.0 and 3.5 levels

The second weekend of 2016 USTA League Nationals is complete and championships have been won in the 18 & over division at the 3.0 and 3.5 levels for both men and women.

The 3.0 men and women played in Surprise, AZ.

The 3.0 women found a few flights won fairly easily by Pacific Northwest (3-0, 4 courts lost) and Caribbean (3-0, 3 courts lost), but the other two were closer with New England (3-0, but each a 3-2 win) and Mid-Atlantic (6 courts lost) winning.  Using my flight preview top-8 average, these teams were all seeded #3, so some upsets took place, although Caribbean is notoriously under rated so probably wasn't really a #3 seed..

The semis saw Caribbean and Mid-Atlantic win two 3-2 matches, and Caribbean win the final 4-1 with PNW taking 3rd.

The 3.0 men had Mid-Atlantic, Southern, Texas, and Southern California all win fairly easily, two #1 seeds, and #2, and a #3 by my flight preview top-8 average.  That #3 seeded Texas team was underrated though as they shot up and were the top-seed going into the semis.

In the semis, Texas did beat Southern Cal, and Southern won as expected, setting up the final where Texas won a close won.  Southern Cal picked up 3rd.

At the 3.5 level, the women's flights were won by Pacific Northwest on a tie-breaker with Midwest (both 3-1), and Southern, New England, and NorCal fairly easily (3-0 each).  Using my flight preview top-8 average, two of these were expected (Southern and NorCal) and the others were the second seed in their flights, so pulled an upset on paper to make the semis.

The semis saw PNW and Southern win as expected, and PNW pulled the upset in the final to take the title, and NorCal getting third each match going exactly as expected.

The 3.5 men saw the flights won by Southern easily losing just 2 courts, Texas ore easily winning just 1 court, and Florida and Intermountain doing terribly losing 4 and 3 courts respectively.  Like the women, my flight preview top-8 average said two of these teams were favorites and the other two were second seeds in their in their flights.

The top-2 overall seeds found their way into the final with Texas beating Intermountain and Southern beating Florida.  In the final between two very close teams on paper, the pre-Nationals top seed Southern won with a surprising 5-0 score and Intermountain took third.

I have updated my 2016 Nationals Summary with the results above, and Southern has dominated with four titles and three other semi-final appearances.  With the 4.5 still to be played, Southern has already wrapped up the 18 & over points title.  PNW, Texas, NorCal, and Caribbean are all still vying for he #2 spot.

It was another good weekend for report customers as several won their flights and made the semi-finals.  The teams that get reports still go win it on the court, but everyone's feedback says the reports were spot on and helpful in figuring out line-ups.  Contact me if interested in a report yourself for one of the remaining Nationals.

Congratulations to all!