Women's Tennis 2/10/2021 11:30:00 AM Sam Brief

Cougar Spotlight: Katarina Dražic

After tearing ACL in high school, Dražic came to Chicago State — and dominated

When a 14-year-old Katarina Dražic first strolled into her new high school in Sarasota, Florida, she thought she was lost.

Dražic gazed around and studied the other students, confused. She soon realized she was the only girl in the entire school.

"I was like, 'Where are the girls?'" Dražic said. "They saw me and said, 'There's a girl here?'

"I was scared, honestly. [The boys] were all taller than me and older than me. But they accepted me. They were like, 'This is our little sister.' I was very grateful for that."

Dražic had jetted across the Atlantic from her hometown of Belgrade, Serbia. She was enrolled at Elevation Preparatory Academy and was entrenched in a student body of one girl and 40 boys.

One of the 40 was her twin brother, Marko, who moved with Katarina and their mother as the twins pursued their athletic dreams: Tennis for Katarina, basketball for Marko, who now plays at Carthage College in Wisconsin.

For Katarina Dražic, who soon sets sail on her senior season on the Chicago State tennis squad, the life-altering move was her first time in America.

"Moving was challenging," Dražic said. "When you're 14, you still have your friends and that's your priority. My English was actually very good, but I didn't like change."

For one, Dražic was accustomed to Belgrade's climate, which she compares to Chicago (minus the "crazy" cold). So upon touchdown in Florida, the Serbian recoiled.

"We landed, and the heat just got me," Dražic said. "I was very, very scared. It was humid and very hot. The first thing that came into my mind was, 'How am I going to practice in this place?'"

Dražic eventually settled in, attending classes at Elevation and sharpening her tennis at the Celsius Tennis Academy in Sarasota. She battled losing some friends from home — and being a hemisphere away from her father, who remained in Russia — to turn herself into a confident player primed for college.

Then, Dražic suffered a setback at the most abysmal time during her senior season.

"I was playing at a tournament, and it was one of the important ones for me," Dražic said. "The coach recruiting me came but at the worst moment."

Dražic's right knee popped, tearing her ACL.

"It was a very bad injury," Dražic said. "I don't know how it happened. I don't have any memory. It was just a shock."

Dražic had never sustained a major injury, and her promising collegiate future was tossed into doubt.

Enter Jack Barton, Chicago State head tennis coach. Barton remained willing to brush off the injury as a mere delay, believing that Dražic could blossom into a college star.

"It was the perfect storm," Barton said. "I felt good about bringing her on, regardless of the injury, especially with her pedigree. She was highly-ranked and going to be one of the best recruits we've had come through the program. I wanted to make sure we didn't miss the opportunity."

That conviction in Dražic sealed her northward trek to Chicago.

"I openly told him, 'Coach, I'm injured. I can't offer that much in my first semester,'" Dražic said. "And he was down. He was like, 'I know you're going to get back.' He was encouraging me. Since that conversation, I was going there for sure."

Barton's belief paid off — she won her first collegiate match in January 2018 against Bowling Green State. Three months after her debut, she powered Chicago State to a comeback win that, for her coach, defines Dražic.

"Against Seattle, she was the deciding match that could clinch it for us," Barton said. "Regardless of the pain, she knew she had to be there for the team. I told her that if the pain was too much, I didn't want to sacrifice her for a win. She decided to compete and fight for her teammates. We ended up winning."

Dražic cruised to earn the team MVP award later that spring and has since consistently served as one of the Cougars' most reliable performers. She now enters her senior year riding a tidal wave of self-trust.

"It's about if you believe in yourself," Dražic said. "That's what changed my whole perspective when I came here. I was free."

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