Athlete Of The Week: Courtney Bergman '05

Harvard women’s tennis coach Gordon Graham has recruited some top players before, but this season’s freshmen corps is in a class by itself.

Leading the youth movement is Courtney Bergman, the Harvard Crimson’s Athlete of the Week.

Bergman displayed nerves of steel in leading Harvard to the ECAC championship this past weekend in Princeton. Playing at the No. 1 singles spot, Bergman won all four of her matches, including a 6-4, 5-6 (9), 1-0 (6) victory over Penn’s Alice Pirsu in the final. She also rolled over experienced Yale senior Andrea Goldberg in the semifinals.

“This was a new experience for me,” Bergman said. “The level of competition was much higher than at previous tournaments.”

The freshman also made waves earlier this season when she won the Harvard Invitational. Bergman defeated fellow teammate and fomer No. 1 Sanja Bajin to win her first collegiate tournament.

She’s been doing all this with tendinitis in her wrist. Bergman got the inflammation in September, forcing her off her backhand and normal serve motion. Still, she hasn’t dropped a match.

The Boca Raton, Fla., native could help the Crimson pick up the Ivy League title in the spring as well. When her wrist heals up, there’s no telling what she could do against top national competition.