Saturday, November 14, 2026
Bernadette DiPino, Brita Swanson and Andrea Washak with the beautiful sign commemorating their victory in Orlando. DiPino and Washak are team captains.
The Marco Y USTA team that competed in Orlando: Cheryl Fuccillo, Andrea Washak, Stephanie Opel, Bernadette DiPino, Karen Huffman, Kelly Heintzelman, Michelle Kaytaz, Lynn Huggins and Brita Swanson.
The temperatures were chilly, but the Marco YMCA’s Combo 50 and Over 7.5 Women were hot. For the first time, a Marco YMCA 7.5 team won the USTA sectional championship over the weekend of February 4 through 6 in Orlando.
“We played Pinellas in the finals and swept all three courts,” Captain Bernadette DiPino said proudly.
The ladies had to beat teams from all over the state of Florida to win the championship.
“We had two matches every single day for three days,” DiPino said. “It was a lot of good competition. The weather was cold and it was a little rainy at times. But the courts and the facilities were amazing. Two of our 7.5 teams went up, our spring and our summer teams. Our summer team ended up getting into the semi-finals, and then the finals, where we won. We are so proud to win and bring the championship back to Marco. We have a nice sign to hang and display with pride at the Y.”
The two captains had uniquely different paths to their first sectional win.
“Andrea was saying how many times she has gone to sectionals compared to how many times I have gone to sectionals,” DiPino said. "Andrea and I are partners. It was my first time. It was her fiftieth time. She said this is the first time she ever won. We really enjoyed playing together. Everyone who played are good competitors and good friends. I think that really makes a difference. Sometimes you hear nightmares about USTA. Bad calls, are they going to be mean and rude? We didn’t run into any of that. It was so nice. Every team we played were really good sports, before, during, and after the match."
“It was a team effort,” Andrea Washak said, “because it started in the local leagues. It took me 50 times to finally win it!”
While the spring team didn’t bring home a championship, they supported the winning team.
“They stayed and cheered for us in the finale,” DiPino said. “And it really made a difference.”
“It made a big difference,” Washak agreed. “The friendship, the camaraderie, was amazing. It really helped us."
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