Contact: Clark Teuscher, Sports Information Director, 630-637-5302
(written by Hannah Bevis, Student Sports Information Assistant)

Apr. 18, 2016 - Ever heard of a guy named Novak Djokovic? He's currently the No. 1 ranked men's tennis player in the world. He's also the reason why North Central College junior Aleksandar Vasic is playing tennis right now.

"He's from Serbia, and I was born in Serbia," said Vasic. "No one before had ever played tennis in Serbia- there's no big players- and he just came up… 20-years-old and he just started beating everyone, he was third in the world." Vasic's eyes get wider as he describes it.

"It became a motivation to me and a whole bunch of other people. So in seventh grade, I started playing tennis."

Vasic moved with his family to the United States when he was four years old in 1999, after his parents decided they wanted to move their family away from the war that was happening in Serbia at the time. They came to Illinois, where Vasic picked up tennis after watching one of his countrymen dominate on the international stage. After he started playing in the seventh grade, he continued playing at Lemont Township High School, where his team won conference championships every year he was there.

"It was a different game…then you come into college and you're playing players who are top of the line," said Vasic on adjusting to playing in college. "There's just different expectations."
 
There were a number of reasons why Vasic decided to come to North Central. One was his determination to continue playing tennis after high school. His older sister also attended North Central, and she was at the college for Vasic's first two years in Naperville. He also liked the idea of going to a small school with an atmosphere that felt more close-knit and familiar. North Central seemed like a perfect fit.
 
"I like the team… it's just a bunch of really nice guys, we're really close," said Vasic. "I like the intensity, I like being able to say I'm a student-athlete for a college team, it's just really fun."
 
The "student" part of being a Division III athlete is important to Vasic, and now he's working on getting a degree in exercise science. Once he graduates, he wants to become a perfusionist. It's a unique profession not many know about.
 
"No one really knows what it is," laughed Vasic. "I always have to explain it."
 
Perfusionists are specialized healthcare professionals who run the heart-lung machine during cardiac surgeries. Vasic originally heard about the career from his mother, and after doing some research, decided it was a challenge he wanted to pursue.
 
"Even before I started playing sports and stuff, growing up I had little doctor's kits and I'd take my parents' blood pressure and stuff," said Vasic. "I always wanted to do something with medicine."
 
After he earns his degree, Vasic will attend a program like the ones offered at the University of Iowa or Rush University to continue toward his goal of becoming a perfusionist. For now, he's working on finishing his undergraduate degree and staying focused on continuing his tennis career at North Central.
 
This year's team has a lot of new players after many of the seniors graduated following Vasic's first season on the team. They're a young group, he says, but they're improving and getting better. He's personally seen improvement in a lot of his game after three seasons of playing for the Cardinals, especially on his serve and backhand.
 
Off the court, Vasic still stays involved with the game and coaches players at a variety of levels to help them grow better. Tennis is his favorite sport, and whether it's watching Djokovic on TV, competing against conference foes or coaching others, he likes being involved.
 
"I feel like it's what ties me to tennis, because it's my junior league, after senior year I won't really be able to play anymore, unless it's in an adult league… it's something that will still have me connected to tennis my whole life," says Vasic.
 
He still has just over a year to keep playing and improving himself, and he and his team have their eyes on the elusive College Conference of Illinois & Wisconsin (CCIW) Championship. It's not quite as easy to win as it was when Vasic was in high school, but he's going to keep on chasing it, playing for the love of the sport.
 
The men's tennis team will finish its regular season on April 26 against Illinois Wesleyan University. The CCIW Tournament begins on Thursday, May 5 at Wheaton College.