Two Gators women’s tennis players made their fall debuts this weekend in Fort Myers, Florida, representing the Gators at the Bedford Cup.
Sophomore Sydney Berlin and senior Tsveta Dimitrova combined for a 5-3 record in singles and a 2-1 mark in doubles against seven other Florida schools in the three-day event.
The lefty Berlin excelled in her 2019 debut, failing to drop a set in her first three matches. This streak earned her a spot in the Flight B championship match against FAU’s Louie McClelland on Sunday morning at the FGCU Tennis Complex.
Despite Berlin’s roaring comeback attempt, she fell just a few points short of claiming the Cup, losing 6-4, 4-6, 11-9.
After dropping the first set, the Buffalo, New York, native stormed back by taking the second set but couldn’t complete it in the decisive third-set tiebreaker.
She didn’t leave empty-handed, though. Berlin was given a sportsmanship award from the Bedford Cup tournament directors for her exemplary competition on the court.
Dimitrova didn’t have quite the same success as Berlin in her fall debut, but still held her own with a 2-2 singles record this weekend.
“(Sydney Berlin) and Tsveta (Dimitrova) came up a bit short in their matches today, but I was really proud of their fight to give themselves a chance to battle back in the second,” assistant coach Lauren Embree said in a release. “We will continue to put in the work and improve for the rest of the fall.”
Follow Victor Prieto on Twitter @victorprieto_11. Contact him at vprieto@alligator.org.
Sophomore Sydney Berlin was defeated in a tiebreaker set at the Bedford Cup singles final in Fort Myers, Florida, on Sunday. Senior Tsveta Dimitrova also competed in the event, and she fell in the Flight A consolation final in two sets.
