April 23, 2002
Chicago, Ill. - Nick Bodmer is a smart guy.
Sometimes you wouldn't think so, because the junior tennis player from Downers Grove, Illinois is as laid back as an afternoon at the beach. There are those who would mistake this personality trait as laziness, but those who know Bodmer are certain that is a fallacy.
Bodmer, who finished off Chad Camper of Wright State, 6-3, 6-3 in the No.1 singles match for the Flames late Friday night (April 19), had something a little more important to take care of a few hours later.
The next morning, Bodmer made his way out of bed to take the MCAT, the difficult entrance exam for medical school, a smart guy.
Bodmer, a junior, will be just two hours shy of the graduation minimum of 120 hours in just two weeks. When he comes back next year for his senior campaign he may just snag a minor in English as well.
"I'm thinking about trying to get my English minor next year," said Bodmer. "I have to stay in some kind of studying shape if I'm going to do this med school thing."
On Monday night, Bodmer was a plaque hog at the annual UIC Academic Awards Banquet, winning the men's tennis award for highest grade point average, along with teammates Amol Desai and Neil Ahluwalia. He followed that up by winning the overall Male Athlete of the Year, equaling Desai and Ahluwalia., as each of the players tallied a GPA of 5.0.
Bodmer started out the night by winning the Avery Brundage Scholarship for excellence and leadership.
Similar to his situation in the classroom, Bodmer is just one victory shy of the UIC all-time mark for career singles victories set at 49 by Scott Davies from 1996-99. Once again, he still has a whole season remaining.
It appears that "Nick at net" likes to rush through things, but that's not his style on the court.
"I guess I'm a grinder," Bodmer said. "I like to grind matches out and fight for every point and don't give away anything."
"I guess if someone is going to beat me, they are going to have to work to do it."
As he grinds his opponents into the ground, Bodmer has swiftly etched his name into the annals of UIC tennis. The 50-win plateau is right around the corner and the modest Bodmer likes the sound of it, but isn't certain it will last long.
Rookie head coach Hans Neufeld has quickly put his stamp on the program and has already signed a pair of top-notch recruits that has Bodmer salivating over the prospects of next season.
"It feels good to be up there and it's a great accomplishment if it happens, but at the same time I don't know how long I might hold on to the top spot," Bodmer quipped. "With these guys coming in, we are going to be pretty good."
Not that he is looking past this weekend's Horizon League Championships, because as Bodmer said, you never know.
The Flames are the fourth-seed headed into the tournament and will play No.5 Youngstown State, who they defeated back on April 9, 4-3.
The next step, should the knock off the Penguins, would be Butler, the top seed.
"Butler is pretty high above everybody, but we'll be outside and that will neutralize their serve because they are a serve and volley team, so you never know," Bodmer said.
Always thinking, Bodmer is confident headed into the weekend and has deep anticipation for next season knowing that the Flames have an even better chance at the league crown.
One thing you can count on with Bodmer anchoring the squad next season, along with the additions to the squad, will be talk of the NCAA Tournament, something that hasn't happened around the West Side courts for the men's program in a long time.
