In the midst of the ITA All-American Championships wrapping up Sunday, the annual Bedford Cup was up for grabs in Tallahassee, Florida, over the weekend. The Gators sent two players to compete: junior Kevin Edengren and sophomore Francesco Cordova, who both competed in singles and doubles.
It was a busy week for Edengren, who was one of five Gators to compete at the ITA All-American Championships last week. Edengren won his first two matches in the pre-qualifying rounds before being knocked out by North Carolina State’s William Manning in the round of 40.
Cordova’s fall debut began Friday against Miami sophomore Jules Garot in the Round of 32. It was a fourth match that ultimately went Garot’s way in three sets and sent Cordova to the consolation bracket. However, Cordova was forced to retire in the first set of his consolation match against Kartik Mandla, marking the end of his Bedford Cup.
Meanwhile, Edengren earned a first-round bye before having to face UCF’s Kai-Luca Ampaw. Edengren was also knocked out in his opening matchup, falling in two sets, which sent him to the consolation bracket.
However, he rebounded with three straight wins over Mihnea Maftei from Stetson (7-6(4), 6-3) and Tanner Povey from FGCU (6-3, 6-4). Those back-to-back wins put Edengren at the top of the consolation bracket to round out the tournament.
On the doubles side, Edengren and Cordova’s run was cut short due to Cordova's retirement from the tournament. Before the pair's exit, the duo had defeated Christopher Smith and Stefan Correa from FGCU 8-7(5).
Next, the Gators will travel for a weekend trip to Happy Valley to face the Penn State Nittany Lions in a three-game series on Oct. 3-5.
Contact Hunter DeLauder at hdelauder@alligator.org. Follow him on X @DelauderHunter.
