University of Georgia Athletics
Dilek Comeback Win One She’ll Remember Forever
February 11, 2026 | Women's Tennis, The Frierson Files
By John Frierson
Staff Writer
Fittingly, Deniz Dilek stepped out of the van by the Dan Magill Tennis Complex on Wednesday afternoon holding the Georgia women's team's latest national championship trophy.
Less than 24 hours earlier, inside the Combe Tennis Center in Evanston, Ill., the freshman had provided the clinching win, 6-0, 4-6, 7-6 (9-7), in a thrilling ITA National Team Indoor Championship final. Dilek had not only delivered the deciding point in the No. 1-ranked Bulldogs' 4-3 win over No. 10 Ohio State in the finals, she had fought off four match points in the third-set tiebreaker to do so.
"It was the biggest comeback that I've ever made, and I think I'm going to remember it for the rest of my life," Dilek said Wednesday.
Dilek, from Ankara, Turkey, had played in plenty of big matches during her exceptional tennis career prior to joining the Bulldogs, but none quite rose to the level of what she experienced Tuesday night. She had played for Turkey in the Billie Jean King Cup in 2025, but the team aspect of college tennis is something different.
"Playing for a team is actually incredible. It's special and new for me, and I'm pretty proud of myself that I got the clinch and figured a way out," she said. "I've been playing for the national team in Turkey a lot, and I love representing my country and wearing the flag on me. I love representing something bigger than me, but college tennis is so much different."
A year ago, Georgia won the ITA Indoor and NCAA team titles with a veteran-heavy squad led by three seniors. This year's team has two seniors and a junior in the singles lineup alongside three newcomers — Delik, fellow freshman Emma Dong, and sophomore Anastasiia Gureva — in their first season on college tennis.
Georgia opened the season ranked No. 1, but head coach Drake Bernstein knew that his young players were going to have to adjust to the college dual-match format and atmosphere, as well as the load of talented teams across the country. After opening their season with a win at Georgia Tech on Jan 30, the Bulldogs lost at No. 3 North Carolina two days later.
The Bulldogs then headed to Illinois for the ITA Indoors, where they beat No. 15 Virginia 4-1 in the first round, blanked No. 5 LSU in the quarterfinals, and then rallied past No. 4 Auburn, 4-3, in the semis after losing the doubles point and dropping the first set in five of the six singles matches.
"I was writing a lot of notes," Bernstein said. "I'm learning about the team, and I'm learning how to communicate with our freshmen, like how to speak to them under pressure. Do they need to have one of us (coaches) close by? Do they need space? We're still learning that about this group, which makes it kind of crazy that we're coming home with a trophy. We're still learning."
As Dilek served for the match up 6-5 in the third set Tuesday night, Georgia led Ohio State 3-1. It was a chance for the freshman playing at the No. 3 singles spot to earn a huge win.
Dilek's opponent, Sophia Cisse-Ignatiev, rose to the occasion and broke Dilek's serve, forcing a deciding tiebreaker. By the time Cisse-Ignatiev had jumped out to a 5-0 lead in the tiebreaker, Ohio State had made the overall match 3-2 with a win at No. 1, and the other match still going, at No. 5, between Dong and OSU's Audrey Spencer, was tied at 7-all in a third-set tiebreaker.
Moments later, Spencer closed out her match against Dong by winning the next two points, tying the team match 3-3 and making the battle between Dilek and Cisse-Ignatiev, a sophomore, the decisive one. Players and coaches from both teams were standing and cheering courtside, doing everything they could to spur their player on.
"After I lost a few points back-to-back, I started thinking about the end of the match, which I shouldn't," Dilek said. "And then I was trying to calm myself, taking deep breaths, which I couldn't, as well."
A big cross-court backhand by Dilek forced a Cisse-Ignatiev miss to make it 5-1. The players changed sides at that point, and Dilek and Bernstein spoke briefly.
"The only thing that I said that probably had any relevance was to keep believing, and telling her to look over there and play for your teammates. Always play for them," Bernstein said after getting out of the van from the airport. "She stepped up. She's put a lot of work into her mental game, really for almost that exact situation."
After the changeover, a Dilek backhand passing shot made it 5-2. A Dilek cross-court forehand forced another Cisse-Ignatiev miss, but Cisse-Ignatiev answered on the next point to make it 6-3 and give the Buckeye three match points.
Dilek, who won the first set 6-0 and led 2-0 in the second before Cisse-Ignatiev launched her own rally, saved the first match point with a big forehand that Cisse-Ignatiev couldn't return. A Cisse-Ignatiev forehand error made it 6-5. On the next point, Dilek drew even with a deep forehand that led to a Cisse-Ignatiev miss long, making it 6-6.
Cisse-Ignatiev went ahead 7-6 with a good serve that Dilek returned long, giving the Buckeye her fourth match point. It would be her last. A Cisse-Ignatiev forehand error made it 7-7, and on the next point, Dilek chased down a drop shot and ripped a forehand winner to give her a match point.
On what turned out to be the final point of the match, Cisse-Ignatiev served in the ad court and had Dilek on the defensive throughout the nine-shot rally. But the Buckeye missed a backhand in the net, giving the win to Dilek and the championship to the Bulldogs. As the ball bounced at the net, Dilek dropped her racket and was immediately mobbed by her teammates.
"That was insane; I actually had no words for that," she said of the feeling of winning such a big match and then being surrounded by the rest of the Bulldogs. "That was so good."
Dilek's win was similar to another national championship win by a Bulldog. In May 2023, Georgia freshman Ethan Quinn, down a set and 5-4 to Michigan's Ondrej Styler, fought off four match points on his opponent's serve in the finals of the NCAA men's singles tournament before winning 6-7, 7-6, 6-2.
Like Quinn, Dilek had to stay poised under enormous pressure and find a way to survive. She did, and her smile as she stepped out of the van Wednesday was as big as the championship trophy she cradled in her arms.
Staff Writer
Fittingly, Deniz Dilek stepped out of the van by the Dan Magill Tennis Complex on Wednesday afternoon holding the Georgia women's team's latest national championship trophy.
Less than 24 hours earlier, inside the Combe Tennis Center in Evanston, Ill., the freshman had provided the clinching win, 6-0, 4-6, 7-6 (9-7), in a thrilling ITA National Team Indoor Championship final. Dilek had not only delivered the deciding point in the No. 1-ranked Bulldogs' 4-3 win over No. 10 Ohio State in the finals, she had fought off four match points in the third-set tiebreaker to do so.
"It was the biggest comeback that I've ever made, and I think I'm going to remember it for the rest of my life," Dilek said Wednesday.
Dilek, from Ankara, Turkey, had played in plenty of big matches during her exceptional tennis career prior to joining the Bulldogs, but none quite rose to the level of what she experienced Tuesday night. She had played for Turkey in the Billie Jean King Cup in 2025, but the team aspect of college tennis is something different.
"Playing for a team is actually incredible. It's special and new for me, and I'm pretty proud of myself that I got the clinch and figured a way out," she said. "I've been playing for the national team in Turkey a lot, and I love representing my country and wearing the flag on me. I love representing something bigger than me, but college tennis is so much different."
A year ago, Georgia won the ITA Indoor and NCAA team titles with a veteran-heavy squad led by three seniors. This year's team has two seniors and a junior in the singles lineup alongside three newcomers — Delik, fellow freshman Emma Dong, and sophomore Anastasiia Gureva — in their first season on college tennis.
Georgia opened the season ranked No. 1, but head coach Drake Bernstein knew that his young players were going to have to adjust to the college dual-match format and atmosphere, as well as the load of talented teams across the country. After opening their season with a win at Georgia Tech on Jan 30, the Bulldogs lost at No. 3 North Carolina two days later.
The Bulldogs then headed to Illinois for the ITA Indoors, where they beat No. 15 Virginia 4-1 in the first round, blanked No. 5 LSU in the quarterfinals, and then rallied past No. 4 Auburn, 4-3, in the semis after losing the doubles point and dropping the first set in five of the six singles matches.
"I was writing a lot of notes," Bernstein said. "I'm learning about the team, and I'm learning how to communicate with our freshmen, like how to speak to them under pressure. Do they need to have one of us (coaches) close by? Do they need space? We're still learning that about this group, which makes it kind of crazy that we're coming home with a trophy. We're still learning."
As Dilek served for the match up 6-5 in the third set Tuesday night, Georgia led Ohio State 3-1. It was a chance for the freshman playing at the No. 3 singles spot to earn a huge win.
Dilek's opponent, Sophia Cisse-Ignatiev, rose to the occasion and broke Dilek's serve, forcing a deciding tiebreaker. By the time Cisse-Ignatiev had jumped out to a 5-0 lead in the tiebreaker, Ohio State had made the overall match 3-2 with a win at No. 1, and the other match still going, at No. 5, between Dong and OSU's Audrey Spencer, was tied at 7-all in a third-set tiebreaker.
Moments later, Spencer closed out her match against Dong by winning the next two points, tying the team match 3-3 and making the battle between Dilek and Cisse-Ignatiev, a sophomore, the decisive one. Players and coaches from both teams were standing and cheering courtside, doing everything they could to spur their player on.
"After I lost a few points back-to-back, I started thinking about the end of the match, which I shouldn't," Dilek said. "And then I was trying to calm myself, taking deep breaths, which I couldn't, as well."
A big cross-court backhand by Dilek forced a Cisse-Ignatiev miss to make it 5-1. The players changed sides at that point, and Dilek and Bernstein spoke briefly.
"The only thing that I said that probably had any relevance was to keep believing, and telling her to look over there and play for your teammates. Always play for them," Bernstein said after getting out of the van from the airport. "She stepped up. She's put a lot of work into her mental game, really for almost that exact situation."
After the changeover, a Dilek backhand passing shot made it 5-2. A Dilek cross-court forehand forced another Cisse-Ignatiev miss, but Cisse-Ignatiev answered on the next point to make it 6-3 and give the Buckeye three match points.
Dilek, who won the first set 6-0 and led 2-0 in the second before Cisse-Ignatiev launched her own rally, saved the first match point with a big forehand that Cisse-Ignatiev couldn't return. A Cisse-Ignatiev forehand error made it 6-5. On the next point, Dilek drew even with a deep forehand that led to a Cisse-Ignatiev miss long, making it 6-6.
Cisse-Ignatiev went ahead 7-6 with a good serve that Dilek returned long, giving the Buckeye her fourth match point. It would be her last. A Cisse-Ignatiev forehand error made it 7-7, and on the next point, Dilek chased down a drop shot and ripped a forehand winner to give her a match point.
On what turned out to be the final point of the match, Cisse-Ignatiev served in the ad court and had Dilek on the defensive throughout the nine-shot rally. But the Buckeye missed a backhand in the net, giving the win to Dilek and the championship to the Bulldogs. As the ball bounced at the net, Dilek dropped her racket and was immediately mobbed by her teammates.
"That was insane; I actually had no words for that," she said of the feeling of winning such a big match and then being surrounded by the rest of the Bulldogs. "That was so good."
Dilek's win was similar to another national championship win by a Bulldog. In May 2023, Georgia freshman Ethan Quinn, down a set and 5-4 to Michigan's Ondrej Styler, fought off four match points on his opponent's serve in the finals of the NCAA men's singles tournament before winning 6-7, 7-6, 6-2.
Like Quinn, Dilek had to stay poised under enormous pressure and find a way to survive. She did, and her smile as she stepped out of the van Wednesday was as big as the championship trophy she cradled in her arms.
Assistant Sports Communications Director John Frierson is the staff writer for the UGA Athletic Association and curator of the ITA Men's Tennis Hall of Fame. You can find his work at: Frierson Files.
Players Mentioned
Georgia Women's Tennis ITA National Indoors Championship vs Ohio State Video Recap
Wednesday, February 11
Georgia Women's Tennis ITA National Indoors vs Auburn Video Recap
Tuesday, February 10
Georgia Women's Tennis ITA National Indoors vs LSU Video Recap
Saturday, February 07
Georgia Women's Tennis ITA National Indoors vs Virginia Video Recap
Friday, February 06