The Wolverine: Covering University of Michigan Football and Sports
Issue link: https://comanpub.uberflip.com/i/95952
OLYMPIC SPORTS PROFILES Maryland Transfer Vlad Stefan Makes The Most Of His New Start ferent paths to Ann Arbor for prospective student-athletes that ultimately decide to don the Maize and Blue, but few are like that of sophomore tennis star Vlad Stefan. An All-ACC selection as a There are a multitude of dif- freshman a year ago, Ste- fan led a talented Maryland squad with 20 wins, includ- ing six over nationally ranked opponents. Then it ended. The Terrapin tennis program, that is — at least for now. Due to budget constraints and a debt-ridden athletic department, the men's ten- nis program was terminated, and the talented soon-to-be sophomore found himself once again immersed in the ups and downs of the college recruiting process. "It was devastating, said. "They seemed to be cut- ting a new team every week, and we were constantly ner- vous, hoping it wasn't going to be our turn. "Truthfully, nobody really " Stefan bid for an Elite Eight spot was thwarted by No. 2-ranked Jar- mere Jenkins of Virginia 6-3, 6-3. "I didn't really play a lot this summer because of a shoulder injury I suffered last year, but once I got on cam- pus, and got to the National Indoor Championships, I felt as healthy as I had in a long time. I started to gain confi- dence and play better in ev- ery match. "Being here feels like a formance," said Stefan, whose new start, and having that one year of high-level com- petitive college tennis in my past has helped. I have ex- perience, I know how things work at this level, and have been able to adjust to my new team and teammates easily. expected that we would be one of those teams, and when we finally learned that our team wouldn't be competing together that next year, it was really, really rough." But the tough persevere, and the 6-4 Romanian prod- uct began to weigh his future options with the same aggression that he utilizes to thrive on the court. Many schools were considered, but one stuck out — mainly due to previous experi- ence from the other side of the net. "We played Michigan in January, and they were one of the better teams we saw all year, main reasons I really explored them." The Wolverines swept the Terrapins " he said. "It was one of the 4-0 that day, and sophomore Alex Petrone downed Stefan 6-4, 6-4. De- spite the disappointing result, the match left a lasting impression on him, one that would lead to a further ex- ploration of a potential future in Ann Arbor. "The first thing I noticed were the ten- nis facilities," he said. "Everything was amazing, everything so much more Stefan, the No. 53 player in the nation, flashed his potential by advanc- ing to the round of 16 in the prestigious USA/ITA National Indoor Championships Nov. 8-9. PHOTO COURTESY MICHIGAN ATHLETIC MEDIA RELATIONS professional, from the conditioning to the training. "Academics played a big part, too, and although the city was a little bit smaller than what I was used to, it has been great and I have really enjoyed every- thing so far. being a student-athlete at Michigan means stepping into the brightest spot- light in all of collegiate sports. Stefan has answered the call from the get-go. Utilizing his length, strong forehand Although the city may be smaller, " and big serve, the No. 53 player in the country reached the round of 16 in the prestigious USA/ITA National Indoor Championships Nov. 8-9, offering both U-M faithful and himself a brief glimpse of his potential. "Honestly, I was surprised by my per- individual accomplishments. "I am focused on winning matches for this team," he said. "My goal is to win every match. "I don't focus on being the top player sion of Maryland into the Big Ten, and the distinct possibil- ity that the Terrapins' tennis program may be reinstated at some point during his time in Ann Arbor, it would be hard to blame Stefan for con- templating what could have been had he remained in Col- lege Park despite the massive uncertainty surrounding the program. Instead, he looks toward the future and what his current teammates can accomplish together, rather than dwelling on the past or Still, with the recent inclu- " in college tennis because college ten- nis is much more of a team sport. It's all about the team. The only thing that matters to me as an individual is to win every match to help this team. "We have a lot of talent this year, we have a good player at every position. If we are competitive and work hard, I think we can win the Big Ten cham- pionship and go deep into the NCAA Tournament. I think it is something we can do, it just depends on how hard we practice every day to work towards those moments. " — Kevin Minor DECEMBER 2012 THE WOLVERINE 79