Rajeev Ram was only at Illinois for a semester – in the spring of 2003 – but his life will never be the same.

Ram joined the men’s tennis team in January, became a national champion in May and was a professional athlete the following fall.

Still, he said the memories he has from Illinois are irreplaceable, the people on the team are unforgettable and the excitement that still surrounds the program is ingrained in his heart.

“We’re always going to have that year – if nothing else – and the time we spent here,” he said.

There are also various plaques, banners and trophies commemorating the accomplishments of the Illinois men’s tennis team.

It is almost impossible to walk into the Atkins Tennis Center, where the team trains and competes, and not realize it is the home of champions. There are blue Big Ten Championship banners that hang from the ceiling alongside white banners heralding the men’s performance at the national championships.

There is also the banner depicting the team that defeated Vanderbilt 4-3 to win the 2003 NCAA team title. Ram’s picture is there. His likeness hovers over the tennis courts too – like all of the Illinois All-Americans.

“It’s just so overwhelming when you actually see it, and you remember everything and all the work that went into it,” Ram said. “It’s something that I don’t ever forget, all of the things that we did.”

But the 6-foot-4, soft-spoken Ram was only at Illinois for one semester.

With two national team titles – one indoor and one outdoor – under his belt and a NCAA doubles title to his name, he left collegiate tennis for the professional circuit which, this week, has brought him back to Champaign.

He and many other former Illinois athletes have taken to their home courts to compete in the ninth annual Northwestern Mutual/ Wright Financial Group USTA Challenger at Atkins. Illinois junior Ryler DeHeart said Ram should feel comfortable there; he spent most of his time while in college at the tennis center – whether practicing or bombarding Illinois head coach Craig Tiley with questions.

“He definitely left his mark on college tennis in the time he was here,” DeHeart said. “He left his mark on our program too, even if it was just a short one.”

Ram’s mark might have been short, but it endures.

When freshman Ruben Gonzales was contemplating which school to attend he talked to Ram, with whom he trained in Indiana. Ram told him that there was no other school to choose but Illinois.

On Monday, Gonzales won the Big Ten Singles Championships consolation title for the Illini.

Now, instead of competing for Illinois, Ram is an ambassador for the program, using the skills he learned under Tiley’s tutelage to carry himself as a true professional, on and off the tennis courts.

“Raj has the nickname Big Smooth because he is pretty easy going,” said Brian Baker, Ram’s doubles partner.

The transition to the professional circuit has not been easy.

There are weeks when Ram does not play well or when traveling gets tiring and lonesome, despite his tight-knit training group including Amer Delic, Illinois’ 2003 NCAA singles champion, and former Vanderbilt star Bobby Reynolds, who finished No. 1 in the final 2003 Intercollegiate Tennis Association singles rankings.

“I’ve been a little discouraged and had some doubts,” Ram said. “But for me it has got to be a matter of just seeing how good I can get myself as far as my game and not really worrying about results.”

One factor to staying motivated has been Ram’s training group.

“You see other people move up and you don’t want to be left behind,” he said.

But, more importantly, Ram is not afraid of failing.

“I’m not going to be one of these guys who is going to be living the dream when the dream is not really there anymore,” he said. “I’m going to be realistic and if it’s not working, I’m going to get out of it and find something else to do.”

If playing professional tennis does not work, he said, he will probably return to the University and get his degree. He might begin coaching too, like Illinois student assistant Michael Calkins, who is coaching while he finishes earning his bachelor’s degree.

While Ram was part of the Illinois tennis team, he made a huge impact.

“His love for the game definitely made an impression on me,” DeHeart said. “Everyone is glad that he came, even if it was only for a little while.”

For now though, Ram is concentrating on staying in the present, which he attributes to Tiley.

Ram is not letting his mind wander into wild fantasies about success. He’s not dwelling on the past either – there are other professional athletes who have had just as much and more success than he has, like four-time NCAA champion Paul Goldstein who Ram defeated Wednesday night.

Instead Ram is adjusting to life on the tour one day at a time.

“I just know that I have an opportunity here to be one of the few people that gets to do for a living what they love to do,” he said. “But there is a fine line, because if I don’t do certain things right now, that won’t be the case.”

To give himself the best chance at succeeding later on, Ram is doing the little things in a big way. He is figuring out the style of game he needs to play and how to best mix up his different options. He is concentrating on hitting a big serve and good volley. He is also trying to determine how best to pressure his opposition.

But he has made improvements in the last year too. Illinois associate head coach Brad Dancer, who coached Ram when he competed for the Delaware Smash, a World Team Tennis team, said he is excited about Ram’s potential.

“Raj came in (to World Team Tennis), he had a great attitude and spirit about it and competed as hard as he could,” Dancer said. “Raj is just a really lovable character.”

But Ram, who usually sports a backwards Illinois baseball cap while waiting for his matches to start and an Illinois loyalty bracelet, said there are aspects of his game he can improve. His serve could be bigger; he could be more explosive on the court and become more physically mature.

“In college I could get away with being a little sloppy,” he said. “I needed the higher level of competition to realize what I needed to do (to improve).”

Since leaving Illinois there have also been little adjustments; former rivals – like Reynolds – have become friends, training partners and traveling companions.

“Raj gives me the hardest time about the (2003 NCAA championship) match. He rubs it in quite a bit,” Reynolds said. “I’m always like, ‘Hey you didn’t even go to school there long enough to call yourself an Illini.'”

But the men have formed a mutual respect for each other. The ribbing is always good-natured and they push each other to succeed.

“Hopefully, if I ever have to play him, it’s not on one of his good days, because it could get ugly for me,” Reynolds said.

The men’s friendship is unique, a faint reminder of the 2003 team that Ram considers the most tight-knit group in the United States that year, a trait he said was crucial to their success.

“I never had teammates before (I came to Illinois),” Ram said. “When it comes down to it, they really care about what happens to you. When you come back the memories are rekindled.”