2008 Sunshine State Slam: One For the Record Books
The second annual Beach Tennis USA® Sunshine State Slam was one for the record books as competitors took to the beach from all over the world. In the women’s division, Lisa and Laura Maloney, sisters from San Diego, CA, defeated Miami’s own, Ildiko Csordas and Anna Maria Zuleta, 8-5. This is the Maloney’s first win since the SoCal Point Series victory last season.
From the onset, the men’s division was a tight race. By the semi-finals, Clearwater’s own Team Rhino (Mike Edison and Brett Johnson) and Rick Simeon and Nick Paalzow (of Ft. Lauderdale) looked to continue their momentum after having won the previous two events on the tour, the Tampa Bay Open and the Ft Lauderdale Open, respectively. They faced tough competition, though, against two Italian teams, including the 2007 National Champions Matteo Marighella and Alex Mingozzi. In the first semifinals match, Marighella and Mingozzi (Ravenna, IT) steamrolled Team Rhino, winning decisively 8-1. Meanwhile, the second semifinals match went on to a tiebreaker, with Simeon and Paalzow facing off against the Italian team of Massimo Mattei and Gianluca Chirico (Ravenna, IT). A late game rally was enough to ensure Simeon and Paalzow a win, putting them over the top 9-7. In the finals, the seemingly unstoppable team of Marighella and Mingozzi made quick work of Simeon and Paalzow, defeating them 8-0.
Pro players in the 2008 National Tour are setting their sights on the west coast for the 2008 SoCal Series Slam in Hermosa Beach, CA in late June.
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