Bergman, Martire See Runs End

Wait ’til next year.

That is what sophomore women’s tennis stars Courtney Bergman and Alexis Martire are thinking after both fell short this weekend at the Omni Nationals in Dallas, Texas.

Bergman was ousted in the second round to the nation’s third-ranked player, Georgia’s Agata Cioroch 6-2, 7-6 (9-7), while Martire was eliminated by second-seeded Vilmarie Castellvi 6-2, 6-2 in the first round of the tournament’s back draw.

The tournament is a double-elimination format for those who lose their first round matches. Martire lost her opening round match to the Florida’s Alexis Gordon 6-2, 6-2, but would have remained in the tournament if she could have defeated Castellvi, the Tennessee superstar.

Unfortunately, Castellvi was on her game this weekend.

Bergman defeated her first-round opponent, Missouri’s Urska Juric, 6-2, 6-3 to advance into the round of 16. Playing in a rematch of the pair’s three-set marathon victory at the Riviera/ITA All-Americans in October, Bergman knew that she would need to be on top of her game to defeat Juric again.

Though the match lasted just over two hours, Bergman only relinquished five games to her opponent in the impressive victory. Forcing Juric to consistently track down deep groundstrokes, Bergman was the attacker throughout the match. Juric could not keep up with Bergman’s pace as the Boca Raton, Fl., native advanced to play Cioroch on Saturday.

“Courtney has shown in some of her performances—such as her win against Juric—that she has the chance to become an All-American if she keeps working on her game and keeps improving,” Harvard coach Gordon Graham said. “She is close to being in the upper echelon of college players, those who are legitimately in the running to win the national championship.”

Bergman, who advanced to nationals with an at-large bid based on prior tournament success, started slowly against Cioroch, dropping the first set 6-2. With a set under her belt, the sophomore turned the tables on the No. 3 seed, taking a 5-2 lead in the second with punishing volley winners and a consistent serve.

Cioroch battled back, showing why she’s one of the nation’s best by breaking Bergman at 3-5 and knotting the set at 5-5. Bergman forced a tiebreaker but Cioroch stormed out to a 6-3 lead.

Bergman did not die gently, winning three straight points to force another change of sides at 6-6. But it was Cioroch who advanced into the quarterfinals, winning her fifth match point at 8-7 and knocking Bergman out of the tournament.

“I was fairly happy with how this weekend went,” Bergman said. “I wanted to do better, but I have finished top-16 in both major tournaments this year [All-Americans and nationals] and that’s not a bad placing. But I definitely want to break into the top-10 and I definitely want and expect to do better next year.”

Martire agreed that she expected more next year. Though Martire gained valuable experience squaring off against Castellvi, the nation’s No.1 player for much of the fall season, she sais she feels this year’s nationals is only a small step in her progress.

“Hopefully, each year I will get better and better,” Martire said. “I think I have already improved from last year, so if things go well, I can make it again next year and do even better.”

Martire advanced into nationals by making the finals of the Omni Eastern Regionals. Martire nearly won the tournament—the same one Bergman won last year—but fell in the finals 1-6, 7-6, 6-3. Still, she received the automatic bid to Dallas.

“I have been playing my best tennis over the last few weeks,” Martire said. “I played well over the weekend but drew some very tough competition.”

Bergman and Martire also entered the doubles competition as a wild-card entry but lost to teams from Kentucky and Illinois in eight-game pro sets, both times by an 8-3 final.

—Staff writer Alex M. Sherman can be reached at sherman@fas.harvard.edu.