Freshman Lance Vodicka finished out the season number one on the tennis squad this year with a record of 15-12. He ended his first season as Billiken by beating the runner up for Freshman of the Year last year in a dual match at Conference against Marquette.
Vodicka was recruited by numerous other Division I schools including Auburn, Florida State, Ohio State and Wichita State.
He said that he chose Saint Louis University because the opportunity was there to play at a one or two spot his freshman year.
Vodicka also feels that the absence of a football team allows for more attention to be given to tennis.
His favorite part about playing for the Bills this season is that five of the eight players on the team are freshman.
“A lot of us are young and are experiencing the same things at the same time. We can look to each other as we embark on new things together,” said Vodicka.
Vodicka has won over 100 tournament titles since the age of seven. He finished his senior year at SLU High with a record of 27-3. Vodicka played in a tournament last summer that he describes as the highlight of his career. The St. Louis National Play Court Junior Championship was played at the club that he has been a member of since he was seven. Here he beat one of his top rivals in front of the hometown crowd.
“It was great to be in my own backyard and win such a huge tournament,” said Vodicka.
Vodicka was also ranked in the top 50 nationally in boys 18 and under. Vodicka described this as something that he worked very hard for. After being ranked among the top 150 in 16 and under, he promised himself that he would be in the top 50 after one year at the next level. And he did just that.
“With tennis you can really control your destiny. You put the work in and you get results.”
This is Lance’s favorite thing about the game.
“No matter what you achieve there is always something more. I played a good freshman year, but now in two weeks I have Futures. There are always different levels to take my game to.”
As far as taking his game to the next level, Vodicka has improved his game this season in a variety of ways. He said that his work ethic has improved this year as well as his conditioning and strength.
“The mental part of the game is huge and I feel that I have gotten lots of mental experience playing against big time players,” said Vodicka.
Vodicka’s game is not perfect and he says that he needs to work on his serve and his overall consistency.
“I am going to work on getting better on every shot. And I would like my volleys to be more consistent,” he said.
Fellow freshman and player on the team, Taylor Curran, had a few good things to say about Vodicka. He said that he works really hard on his technique and practices it constantly.
“He plays at a very high level all the time, making him a solid number one player,” said Curran.
While Vodicka had a successful season individually he also greatly enjoys playing doubles with his teammates Michael Hoosien and Thomas Kwong. The best part about doubles for Vodicka is that you have to come together after each point with a teammate who is counting on you.
“Sometimes in singles you aimlessly place a point, but in doubles you have to develop a strategy,” said Vodicka. “In singles you have to constantly be in that mindset, but in doubles it comes naturally because you are counting on each other.
Doubles he said also helps to bring the team together. He explains that the season is broken up into two parts. The fall season consists of all individual matches and is a time for the players to concentrate on their game individually. Come February the actual season starts with dual matches.
It is great to win individual matches, but you really want the whole team to win,” said Vodicka. “Everything goes up and down as the team does. We all yearned to get better as a team this year.
Vodicka looks forward to his tournaments this summer and for next season in the fall.
“There is always a drive fueling me because tennis is an individually controlled game. I would like to take my game to the next level.”
