By MATT DANIELS

mdaniels@news-gazette.com

CHAMPAIGN — Vuk Budic planned to end his college tennis career at Illinois in 2020.

The coronavirus pandemic had other plans, with the NCAA canceling spring sports on March 12 in response to the global health threat.

But with the NCAA voting March 30 to award extra eligibility to spring sports athletes, Budic plans to take advantage of that ruling and suit up for the Illini during the 2020-21 season.

"I'm committed on coming back because I signed up for my master's program here anyway for graduate school," Budic said. "I had to take some time away this past season because of injuries, so it was a little back and forth in my mind about returning, but the more days that go by where we can't practice, the more I want to play. I'm just itching to play some more tennis. My internal desire to compete is stronger than any of the negatives of coming back."

Those competitive attributes the 21-year-old Budic possesses is what drew Illinois coach Brad Dancer to him in the first place. Of course, winning a high school state singles title during his senior season at Deerfield in 2016 helped matters, too.

"This had never happened before where, unsolicited, I had two different coaches call me from Chicago and they said, 'I don't know if he can help you at all, but everybody gravitates to this kid. He is such a leader and connects so well with people,'" Dancer said. "We took him, and that's exactly what he's been for us as a person on our team. He brings everyone together. Everybody trusts him. He's a rock."

After posting a 20-9 record during his junior season with the Illini, a right hip injury proved cumbersome for Budic during his senior season, where he compiled a 9-9 record in singles play. Still, his effect on the program didn't diminish.

"It doesn't matter if it's practice or if it's a dual match. He's a ridiculously insane, tough competitor," Dancer said. "He's literally throwing his body on the line, so to have that around every day and the consistency of that and the toughness of that, he's like our Andres Feliz a little bit. He's out there all the time and is tough as nails. It's going to be incredible to have him around for another year."

But tennis isn't all consuming for Budic, who has stayed in Champaign the last few weeks. Academics take up a large chunk of his time and passion, with the future accountant earning academic All-Big Ten honors each of the last three years.

"Academics are a very big priority in my life," Budic said. "I've always thought that it's important to be well-rounded in everything. I guess my internal motivation is to make sure I do my best in everything I do. I can't not study for a test and let myself get a bad grade. My mom's a professor, so I got some influence from that side as well."

Budic is set to work as a tax intern at KPMG in Chicago this summer. Next school year, he plans to continue work on his master's in accounting with a concentration in data analytics.

"After that, I'm hoping to get a job in a public accounting firm," Budic said. "I started taking classes both in finance and accounting when I got to Illinois, and I really liked the information and knowledge you can get from accounting. You get good background on businesses as a whole and how they operate."

Budic hasn't played tennis in a few weeks. He said he hit against a wall close to his apartment about two weeks ago, but has kept exercising with workouts the Illini strength and conditioning staff has sent him, along with biking in and around Champaign-Urbana.

It's not the first time he's had an extended break from the sport he started when he was 6 years old. He injured his knee during his senior year of high school and was out four months. Another internship he landed during the summer after his sophomore year only saw him play sporadically, mainly once every two weeks or so.

But to have the sport taken away from him because of factors outside of his control is a new experience for Budic. And one he'd rather not be going through right now.

"When we got the news the season was canceled, it was tough because nobody is in a good mood and neither was I," Budic said. "I kind of prepared myself for it, so I wasn't too sad in the moment. It was more just waking up the next day and realizing I don't have to go to practice and my schoolwork is online that it hit me."

Whenever Budic is able to set foot again inside Atkins Tennis Center and play again at the Khan Outdoor Complex on the UI campus, he's going to cherish the moment.

"The next time we're all together, no one is going to take it for granted again," Budic said. "It was really unexpected for it to happen and for the way our season ended, but whatever time we have in the future playing tennis, we're going to enjoy it even more."