A Canadian freshman has netted herself a place on the women’s tennis team.
Dylan Gelber, a Montreal native, walked on to the team as the only newcomer on a squad full of veterans — no classmates, no established cohort — a first-year stepping into a Division I lineup with eight other older “sisters.”
The change has been a different but pleasurable experience.
“It’s been good,” said Gelber. “I’m the only freshman, everyone’s looking after me, [they are] almost like my older sisters.”
Gelber is a biological sciences major in the College of Agriculture and Life Sciences on a pre-med track, balancing labs with travel days, chemistry with conditioning and all of it in a foreign country.
Gelber Growing Up
Gelber didn’t grow up in a traditional school-sports environment. Canada doesn’t have high school tennis, and she spent those years competing on the international junior circuit.The International Tennis Federation (ITF) pathway sent her across North America and beyond.
In addition to her home country, she played tournaments in the U.S., Mexico and the Dominican Republic, developing her game and gaining traveling experience.
She says the sport rewards her in many ways.
“The thing I enjoy the most about tennis is definitely competing and how tactical matches are.” Gelber said. “I love problem solving throughout the match and figuring out my opponents’ strengths and weaknesses.”
She started playing tennis at four years old. When the time came to choose a college, she cast a wide net — from schools with stronger athletics, to schools with heavier academics in wildly different locations.
But she felt there was a place for her far above Cayuga’s waters.
“I ultimately chose Cornell because I felt the most at home during my official visit, especially with the girls on the team,” Gelber said. “Additionally, I felt it was the perfect distance from where I live. I felt like I could grow as an athlete, student and most importantly as a person throughout my time here which helped me make my decision.”
Finding Her Footing
That comfort paid off quickly as she smoothly transitioned to U.S. college tennis.
Gelber noted that the Canadian-to-American tennis change wasn’t major aside from quirky NCAA rules like no-ad scoring. She quickly embraced the biggest change of all: college tennis is a team sport.
“Everyone supports each other,” she said. “In juniors’ [tennis], it is all individual, but in college, it’s a team. It’s nice to have people looking out for you, and they want you to succeed as much as you want them to succeed.”
But perhaps no one has been more impressed with her transition than the person tasked with guiding her through it: head coach Spencer Furman, whose arrival came amid early-season turmoil.
The women’s tennis program opened the fall with uncertainty. Former head coach Katie Zordani left for another opportunity just as the season got underway. Assistant coach Wade Ward held the group together until Furman, originally the assistant coach on the men’s side, stepped in to lead the team.
While the coaching staff shifted around her, Gelber stayed steady. Furman said she’s been a great fit for the team.
“She’s very mature for her age,” Furman said. “She’s so young but already a leader on the team. She’s one of the hardest workers I’ve ever been around. As great [as] a player she is, she’s even a better person.”
He didn’t expect the freshman to adapt this fast, but his expectations were exceeded.
“Normally, you see a learning curve with freshmen coming into college tennis, but with Dylan there’s been no learning curve,” Furman said. “She has adjusted fabulously.”
What stood out most, Furman said, was her professionalism: the way she carries herself in practice, in matches, and in tough moments. And in those moments, one quality shines brightest.
“Her competitiveness. I always know she’ll fight until the last point.”
A Moment of Perseverance and Grit
Furman likes to point to one match that captured everything about Gelber’s arrival.
It unfolded in October at the Ivy League Invitational at Harvard, when Gelber played a singles match. She was already dealing with a sore shoulder and nagging blisters when things got worse: she fell and tore open her knee.
“It was a crazy match,” Gelber said. “I hit a shot, and after the point, I felt something weird. I looked down to gushing [blood] and it wouldn’t stop bleeding. I couldn’t really grip my racket because when I put pressure, it hurt a lot.”
Under NCAA rules, play must stop if an athlete is bleeding. The player gets 15 minutes to clean the wound and stop the bleeding; fail, and the match ends in a retirement.
The referee was ready to default her.
But she patched up quickly enough to finish — and won, 6–3, 6–2, over her opponent from Brown.
In addition to the bleeding and shoulder pain — and even a broken nail — she simply refused to quit.
“I just powered through,” she said.
Furman still can't quite believe it.
“She was fighting until the end. Nothing fazes her.”
Looking Ahead
Gelber’s eyes are already on April, when Ivy play intensifies.
In the Ivy League, each team faces the others in a round-robin; the squad with the best record wins the title. Ties are shared, though tiebreakers determine which program earns the conference’s automatic NCAA Tournament berth.
That, for Gelber, is the holy grail.
She hopes to qualify individually, singles or doubles, and as a team. With several years left in the program, her coach thinks the tools are already there.
“Her serve will only get better as well as her backhand,” Furman said. “But with her, she has such great foundations in the game that I think the sky is the limit for her.”
What it Means to Wear Cornell Red
Representing Cornell, she says, means something deeper than a uniform.
“It means a lot, especially coming from Canada, not many people come to the US, especially not an Ivy League school,” Gelber said. “Everyone at home is very proud, and I just want to make them proud and do well.”
Every day she spends with her teammates, the ones she now calls her older sisters, reinforces that she chose the right home.
Balancing pre-med academics with Division I tennis is demanding. Gelber treats it like another long rally: one point at a time, one challenge at a time, trusting her discipline to carry her through.
She may be the lone freshman now, but nothing about her presence feels temporary. After a fall marked by grit, growth, and even a little blood on the court, one thing is clear: Cornell gained a competitor poised to ace whatever comes next.
Austin Curtis is a freshman in the College of Arts and Sciences. He is a Sun Staff Writer and can be reached at acurtis@cornellsun.com.
