Dickson's Florida Team Finishes Strong

Mark Dickson’s Florida Region USTA Championship team found a way to win as it defeated the Texas region 4-3 on Monday. The win set up a showdown with the Eastern Region on Tuesday.

After trailing 3-2 heading into their final singles match, Dickson’s Florida team rebounded to win three of the next four singles and doubles matches, going home with the win. The victory propelled the team to a fifth place matchup with the Eastern Region. According to Dickson, rain limited the amount of courts available, creating unforeseeable time limits that cut short the fifth place match.

The event, however, was not a lost cause. The proverbial word Dickson used to describe his time in Urbana was “fun,” not only for himself but also for the athletes that participated.

 “Coaching the team with seven different personalities was a great experience,” Dickson said, “Because you have to relay messages differently to each player.”

Those seven different personalities also happened to be seven of the top tennis players in the state of Florida.

The college format tournament happens every year and attracts some of the top talent in the country to compete against each other.

For Dickson, the experience was something he has already looked into doing again. He has had preliminary discussion about returning next year to coach the Florida Region Team. Until then, Dickson will turn his attention to the upcoming Men’s Tennis season.