Two teams from the Pelham Racquet Club, one a defending state champion and another a first-year finals contender, captured championships Sunday afternoon on their home courts in the United States Tennis Association (USTA) Alabama Senior District Championships.

As Lynne Bullock&8217;s 4.0 team battled on courts 7-9, the Pelham Ad-Visors were on their way to their first-ever 3.5 championship on courts 4-6.

Terry Tipton and Debbie Blair nearly dominated their opponents from Mobile, winning 6-4, 6-2 to capture the first 3.5 win of the day for the Ad-Visors.

&8220;When her serve is on, you can&8217;t hit her,&8221; Blair said of Tipton, who helped the duo to a 5-0 lead in the second set before the Mobile ladies could attempt a win. &8220;It&8217;s a joy to be our age and still be able to play.&8221;

Moments later on the adjacent court, Debbie Collins and Chris Lobdull clinched the Ad-Visors&8217; 3.5 championship with a 6-1, 6-1 victory.

Earlier in the afternoon, Pelham Racquet Club 4.0 team members Marian Phillips and Patti Hobson captured a 6-2, 6-3 win over Dothan Ace Bandages members Trina Holloway and Joyce Stapelton to help set the table for a 4.0 repeat.

They then turned to watch the action on courts seven and eight.

After losing the first set 6-2, Donna Lombard and Glenda Boudraux battled their way back to force a tie break in set two and then captured a super tie break, 12-10, to clinch the 4.0 title.

&8220;Miracles do happen,&8221; Lombard said. &8220;They were so much better than us.

Bullock, as captain, was relieved after the win.

&8220;After they were down in the second set, we figured we&8217;d just take two matches for the win,&8221; Bullock said of her team&8217;s chances for a finals sweep.

Hobson was relieved it was Lombard and Boudraux on court seven and not herself.

&8220;It was nice to be off the court first and have all the pressure off of us,&8221; Hobson said. &8220;(Donna and Glenda) are first-year players for us, but we&8217;ve known them for years and knew we could count on them.&8221;

The drama was not restricted to the seventh court. It came on court eight also, as Hoover resident Wanza Anderson and Mountain Brook resident Maureen Gleysteen battled to win a first-set tiebreaker before sailing to a 6-2 second-set victory to complete the 4.0 sweep for Pelham.

&8220;We just had good points,&8221; Anderson said of the second set. &8220;You never thought it was running away at all, because it was such a good match.

In the third women&8217;s final of the day, the Huntsville BLD-Lammers-Daniel team defeated Gulf Shores-Mayers 2-1 in women&8217;s 3.0.

In senior men&8217;s action, Austin Snow led his 4.0 team from Lake Cyrus to its fifth win in six years with the help of Vestavia residents Tim Hunter and Steve Erickson, who have played together almost their entire life. Ted Seay led his Dothan team to the 3.0 title, while Gene Burnette&8217;s Dothan team captured the 3.5 championship.

All winners advance to the USTA Sectional Tournament in Mobile this summer, with wild cards earned by the 3.5 and 4.0 runners-up.

Matches were also played at the Brook Highlands Racquet Club and Greystone Country Club.

Almost every player from the championship teams that are members of the club praised the Pelham club for its organization and success of the tournament. PRC will host the Southern Senior Clay Court Closed Tournament in October.