Czech tennis player making mark as Hoosier

Senior Milan Rakvica will represent IU at the ITA All-American Men's Championships Tuesday through Sunday in Stone Mountain, Ga.\n"I'm looking forward to see how I play against the other players," Rakvica said. "I just want to play as many matches as I can."\nThe 22-year-old senior has had a strong career at IU. With 77 singles victories, he has moved into a three-way tie for ninth in wins all time at IU. His 58 career doubles wins ties him for 11th in school history. The two time All-Big Ten selection has been the Hoosiers No. 1 player the past two seasons and is ranked 32nd in the nation.\nRakvica is also a top performer off the court, as the international business and marketing major has been named to the Academic All-Big Ten team in each of the last three seasons.\n"I think Milan can play with anybody in the country," head coach Ken Hydinger said. "I think he's going to have a good tournament."\nRakvica almost didn't have a chance to play his senior year. A last-minute decision by the NCAA made him eligible for one more year.\n"With Milan coming back, that was huge," doubles partner and junior Zach Held said. "I think it made it a realistic goal for us to win the Big Ten." \nRakvica has come a long way to be a college tennis star. He is a native of Zlin, Czech Republic, where he was ranked ninth in the nation in the junior division. He is happy with his decision to come to Bloomington, but he misses home.\n"(Zlin) is a nice city, as Bloomington is," Rakvica said, citing weather as a similarity between the two distant cities. "It's a beautiful fall. The weather is nice right now."\nHe says he goes home every Christmas and summer to visit his mother, who works in a hospital, and his father, who is a retired aerobatic airplane designer.\nRakvica learned about IU from assistant coach Ondrej Holik, also a native of Zlin.\n"He knew Ondrej pretty well," Hydinger said. "I think he took Ondrej's word that IU was the right place for him."\nAfter college, Rakvica wants to find a job in America.\n"Milan is a very nice player to have returning at No. 1 this year," Hydinger said. "He could have a special season"