Grand Canyon University Adds USPTA-Accredited Professional Tennis Management Program

FORT MYERS, Fla. – Several veteran USPTA Surface Championship players added to their trophy cases by claiming championships at the $10,000 United States Professional Tennis Association (USPTA) Clay Court Championships in May at the Landings Yacht, Golf & Tennis Club in Fort Myers, Fla. 

Adrians Zguns (Orlando) added a seventh overall singles title to his name after winning the men’s open singles division. Zguns defeated Paulo Barros (Winter Garden, Fla.) 6-1, 6-1. The win was his second singles title of this year’s USPTA Surface Championship season; Zguns also won the same division at the USPTA Hard Court Championships in Tyler, Texas, in October.

Barros didn’t go home empty-handed. He defeated Franco Mata (Naples, Fla.) 6-4, 6-4 for his second consecutive men’s 35 singles title of the year and increased his overall singles championships to eight. The four-time USPTA Men’s Open Singles Player of the Year also won the 35 singles division at the USPTA Indoor Championships in Memphis in March.

Frank Vermeer (Jacksonville, Fla.) and partner Jeff Cohen (Boca Raton, Fla.) won their first doubles championship together since 2011. The pair defeated Patricio Madariaga (Miami Beach, Fla.) and Darryl Fornatora (West Palm Beach, Fla.) 6-2, 6-2 in the men’s 45 doubles division.  Vermeer also scored two other titles over the weekend. He partnered with Dominque Levin (Jacksonville, Fla.) to take a straight sets victory over Rudy Obregon (San Antonio, Texas) and Renee Deane (Cape Coral, Fla.) 6-1, 6-3 for the mixed open doubles title and later nabbed his first singles title by defeating Cohen 6-2, 6-2 in the men’s 45 division.

On the women’s side, Julia Farina (West Palm Beach, Fla.) scored a singles and doubles championship. She defeated Karen Rembert (Boca Raton, Fla.) 6-3, 6-3 for the 45 singles title. Farina then earned her first doubles championship since 2012 to add to her three previous singles titles, all on clay. Farina and partner Carolyn Franca (Tampa) battled back after dropping the first set to nab a three-set victory over Susie Brown (Delray Beach, Fla.) and Kimberly Jones (Fort Myers, Fla.) 5-7, 6-2, 7-6.

The final opportunity to earn a spot in the USPTA Masters Invitational is the USPTA Grass Court Championships presented by PaycheckCity.com, May 29-31, at Desert Highlands Racquet Club in Scottsdale, Ariz.  Entry deadline for the Grass Court Championships is May 19.  Registration is online at www.usptaplayer.com/club/uspta-championships.

Members who play in the surface championships have the opportunity to play their way into the USPTA Masters Invitational at the 2015 USPTA World Conference in New Orleans. This tournament gives USPTA-certified Professionals an added opportunity to showcase their skills and earn a portion of the $15,000 prize money, which is the largest amount awarded of all the USPTA tournaments. 

The USPTA Surface Championships are open to all USPTA-certified Professionals in good standing. To see the current rankings or learn more about ranking rules, sanctioned tournaments, and tournament regulations and requirements, go to uspta.com/tournaments.  All tournaments are run through usptaplayer.com.

2015 Clay Court Championships Results
Men’s Open Singles
Adrians Zguns (Orlando) def. Paulo Barros (Orlando) 6-1, 6-1

Men’s 35 Singles
P. Barros def. Franco Mata (Naples, Fla.) 6-4, 6-4

Men’s 45 Singles
Frank Vermeer (Jacksonville, Fla.)  def. Jeff Cohen (Boca Raton, Fla.) 6-2, 6-2

Men’s 55 Singles
Hans Gallauer (St. Petersburg, Fla.) def. Patricio Madariaga (Miami Beach, Fla.) 6-2, 6-1

Men’s Open Doubles
Mathieu Soto (Boca Raton, Fla.)/Stefano Ianni (Miami) def. F. Mata/P. Barros 6-1, 6-3

Men’s 45 Doubles
F. Vermeer/J. Cohen def. P. Madariaga/Darryl Fornatora (West Palm Beach, Fla.) 6-2, 6-2

Men’s 55 Doubles
H. Gallauer/Gewan Maharaj (Tampa) def. Armor Persons (Fort Myers, Fla.)/Arup Dutta (Parkland, Fla.) 6-2, 6-2

Mixed Open Doubles
F. Vermeer/Dominque Levin (Jacksonville, Fla.) def. Rudy Obregon (San Antonio, Texas)/Renee Deane (Cape Coral, Fla.) 6-1, 6-3

Mixed 45 Doubles
P. Madariaga/Susie Brown (Delray Beach, Fla.) def. Jeff Diggs (Cape Coral, Fla.)/Kerry Kendrick (Sanibel, Fla.) by default

Women’s 45 Singles
Julia Farina (West Palm Beach, Fla.) def. Karen Rembert (Boca Raton, Fla.) 6-3, 6-3

Women’s 45 Doubles
J. Farina/Carolyn Franca (Tampa) def. S. Brown/Kimberly Jones (Fort Myers, Fla.) 5-7, 6-2, 7-6

Full results for the 2015 USPTA Clay Court Championships on USPTAPlayer.com.