Marc Spicijaric has one goal: help his team win an NCAA Championship in the next four years. Until that is accomplished, the freshman’s dreams of success as a professional tennis player will have to wait.

He has already had a taste of what life on the professional tour could be like. Last year he competed as an amateur at various professional tournaments before coming to college. And, while some of the other athletes he traveled with have decided to make a permanent leap to the professional level – like Scott Oudsema, Phillip Simmonds and Alex Kuznetsov – Spicijaric is determined to use college as a stepping stone to the pro tour a la Amer Delic, Illinois’ first NCAA singles champion, and former Harvard standout James Blake, who is currently the No. 9 player in the world.

“He wants a national championship as much as anyone else on the team – and he’s definitely willing to put in the work for it,” said Illinois senior Pramod Dabir, one of only two Illini that were on the NCAA title-winning team in 2003. “Those are the kind of people that we want on the team.”

Instead of jumping to the professional level too soon, he will wait to turn pro until he has built a strong base to his game and is capable of excelling. He is excited about competing this summer in futures tournaments – the same events he was competing in last year at this time – and seeing how his results have changed now that he has had time to learn new skills in college.

“I feel I have a lot of untapped potential,” Spicijaric said. “If I start using all of my ability, I don’t even know how far I can go. I’m just going to take it as far as I can.”

The 5-foot-10 freshman’s progress is impressive, and not just because of the strides he has made this year. Spicijaric originally wanted to be a hockey player, but when his family moved from New Jersey to Florida to better his sister Jackie’s chances of improving as a tennis player, he got the tennis bug and was hooked. At age 10, he began playing seriously after following his sister to tournaments. And, although Jackie decided to stay close to home for the majority of her college career, transferring from Kentucky to South Florida after her freshman season, Marc Spicijaric has flourished far from home.

His college experiences have been instrumental in Spicijaric’s development on and off the court, and the Illini are ecstatic that the light-hearted freshman, who goes out of his way to help his teammates, opted to go to college, Dabir said.

Finding a niche within the team was relatively easy for Spicijaric too. Competitive and hardworking, he quickly took to the team structure and created new competitions, including one based on the hit television show “24,” starring a crime-fighting hero named Jack Baeur. After every practice, Spicijaric and Dabir play a point. The winner of that point becomes Jack Baeur for the next 24-hour period. The loser becomes “Nina,” a character that was killed in an earlier season, and must be called “Nina” for the next 24-hour period. If either the winner or the loser call the other by the wrong name or their real name they have to do pushups, regardless of where they are, and scream “Jack Baeur” after each pushup. Spicijaric has done pushups at the Intercollegiate Tennis Association National Men’s Team Indoor Championship welcome banquet. Dabir has done pushups in stores.

Their relationship – and Spicijaric’s position on the team – may never have materialized.

Spicijaric signed his letter of intent to play and compete at Illinois last April, under then-head coach Craig Tiley. He reasoned that although he had matured quite a bit since he left high school and was comfortable traveling and living on his own, there was still something missing in his tennis game. In June, however, reality delivered a harsh blow to the Illini when Tiley announced he was leaving the program he built to take over player development for Tennis Australia.

Many told Spicijaric he could change his mind and head to school at UCLA, Florida or Georgia – the other schools he had been considering – or he could have followed friend and fellow Illini signee Ric Mortera to the University of California-Berkley. But the United States Tennis Association’s former top-ranked junior in both singles and doubles stood firm in his decision to become an Illini.

“The team was still the same,” Spicijaric said. “I knew that I would still have the best chance to improve my game here and win an NCAA Championship.”

Although there were some big adjustments to make when he first got to Illinois, Spicijaric has adapted well. He has gotten used to the weather, which was a change from the Florida sunshine he grew up in. He also discovered the best way to manage his time – balancing classes, homework and hours of practice. Illinois has also housed some unexpected surprises.

“College has been more fun than I expected,” Spicijaric said. “My teammates are better than I expected – we’re all so close.”

As Spicijaric adapts to college, his tennis game is also improving. After a slow start this fall, he is 14-1 in singles since the start of the dual-match season. His first loss was Sunday against Ohio State.

“Marc has been definitely a valuable asset to the team,” said Illinois sophomore Brandon Davis. “He pushes us in everything that we do.”

Playing for a team has also enhanced his competitive spirit. Before he used to play a few strong games, followed by several loose ones and then more strong ones. He has since learned to compete at the highest level at all times. Spicijaric is more disciplined and can control the flow of the matches and the tempo of each set much better than when he first became an Illini, said Illinois head coach Brad Dancer.

In his match last week against Stanford, Spicijaric ran out to an early lead to take the first set 6-1. Although Cardinal Phil Kao came back to take the second set and position himself for a win, Spicijaric fought back. Down 4-1 in the third set, the aggressive baseliner with a powerful forehand utilized his speed and ability to come back. He won the match 6-1, 1-6, 6-4, demonstrating a heightened level of composure on the court and the ability to thrive under pressure-filled situations that he was lacking months ago.

More important than his physical and mental development, however, is Spicijaric’s approach to training. The friendly, outgoing underclassman with the ability to always make his teammates laugh, has harnessed his boundless energy to strengthen his tennis skills. Talkative and inquisitive by nature, he constantly peppers his coaches and teammates with questions about how to improve. He pauses to listen to comments from his older teammates like Dabir and senior All-American Ryler DeHeart.

“He’s become much more accountable,” Dancer said. “He realizes that he is the person who is going to be responsible for his own improvement.”

Even as he is knocking off opponents at the No. 5 or No. 6 singles spot, Dancer knows that the Illini will rely on Spicijaric more in the future. Soon, he will cease being an apprentice to Dabir and DeHeart to become a team leader.

“On the court, Marc can challenge our guys physically, and that is where he is going to not only help Illinois but raise the bar,” Dancer said. “Marc Spicijaric is someone out of the (former Illinois All-American) Michael Calkins mold that athletically can raise the standard of everyone else.”

For now though, Spicijaric is content with his role on the team. He does not plan to leave college until after he wins a national title, and he knows that he has developed relationships with his teammates that will impact his life well after he finishes playing tennis, he said.

“I’m glad that I’m able to step in as a freshman and make an impact, especially in the singles,” Spicijaric said. “If they need a match or something, they know they can count on me.”