Multiple women’s tennis players took home wins at the annual Bedford Cup, hosted by the University of Maryland, in College Park, Md., this past weekend.
The Bedford Cup, a tournament hosted by the Junior Tennis Champions Center, initially consisted of the 11 Division I teams from Florida but expanded to include additional schools from across the mid-Atlantic in 2016. This year, the Revolutionaries captured three wins in what was their first full tournament of the season.
After an All-Atlantic 10 first team season last year, senior Gabriela Giraldo placed second in the Tiafoe draw, the top singles draw of this past weekend’s tournament named for American tennis superstar Francis Tiafoe Jr. Giraldo and senior captain Stella Wiesemann also took home a doubles title, defeating their freshmen teammates Madison Lee and Victoria Sasinka in the final of their draw. Last year, Giraldo and Wiesemann took home the doubles crown in the top draw of the Bedford Cup.
The two duos, Giraldo and Wiesemann and Lee and Sasinka, are emblematic of this year’s team so far — breakout young players and returning All-Atlantic 10 Conference first-teamers. Giraldo and Weisemann, doubles partners and the first-teamers in question, started the season off strong by building on their doubles success last year, when they went 12-6 and 5-2 in the A-10.
In her debut for the Revolutionaries, freshman Solange Skeene won her draw during singles play. Skeene defeated George Mason senior Emily Wirt 6-3, 6-4 and junior Lauren Splett 6-2, 6-4 on her way to victory.
“Her ceiling is high, and she is just getting started,” Head Coach George Rodriguez said in a July press release about Skeene. “Solange brings a dynamic game to the court, and her will to win will be one of the best attributes she lends to the team.”
All five freshmen, Giraldo, Rena Ishiguchi, Lee, Sasinka and Skeene, won their first collegiate matches this weekend, including Giraldo’s younger sister, Isabella Giraldo. Rodriguez recognized the special nature of the sisters spending the upcoming year playing together when he announced the younger Giraldo sister’s addition to the team in July.
“I’m extremely excited to have Isabella on the team,” Rodriguez said in a University release. “What a truly special experience to be able to play one year with her sister Gabriela.”
The team got their first look at A-10 competition with George Mason and VCU playing at the same tournament over the weekend. Georgetown, Loyola University Maryland, Towson and several other teams from the DMV were also in attendance.
Next, the Revolutionaries will travel to Navy in Annapolis, Md., for the Blue and Gold Invite from Sept. 29 to Oct. 1.
