Marko Puric, left, signed with North Carolina A&T University, while Christopher Stevens, right, signed with Belhaven University at a tennis signing ceremony Tuesday at Meridian Community College.

Marko Puric’s and Christopher Stevens’ journey to high-level college tennis couldn’t be more different.

Stevens arrived at Meridian Community College from Collinsville two years ago still fairly new to the sport, while Puric came to MCC by way of Serbia with more than a decade’s worth of tennis experience.

Tuesday, both sat just inches from each other as they signed letters of intent to play beyond the junior college ranks in an afternoon ceremony at the college’s Casteel Gallery.

Puric is headed to North Carolina A&T University, while Stevens will play at Belhaven University. 

“It’s great for us to have two of our players go to the next level; that’s always a good sign,” first-year Eagles tennis coach Simon Bardell said. “Marko is going Division I, and Chris is transferring to Belhaven, which is Division III, I believe. That’s good for both of them and for the program. We’re just glad they have the chance to keep going and keep playing.”

Stevens, who was homeschooled in high school, started playing tennis at the request of a friend near the end of his senior year. After enjoying the sport for nearly four months, he auditioned for MCC’s tennis team and secured a spot.

“It’s pretty cool to be able to go to the next level and play on a team,” Stevens said. “I know a couple of the guys coming in next year with me, and I’m good friends with one of the guys already there.”

For Puric, the demands that accompany attending a university in Serbia wouldn’t allow for him to pursue his passion for tennis in college, so he began scouring the map for schools in other countries that would allow him to do so. 

“I wanted to combine tennis and my academics at the same time, and in Serbia, I wouldn’t be able to play because university takes a lot of time,” Puric explained. “I talked to a couple of schools, and I thought this was the best decision to improve my game and improve academically.”

From his arrival on campus, Puric has been consumed with being one of the most physically conditioned players in the MACJC, which has complemented his play on the court. His persistence has paid off in the later stages of matches, where his conditioning was usually superior to that of his opponents. He was 8-3 in singles matches and 6-5 in doubles play last season.

“Marko was our best player for the men,” Bardell said. “He’s a grinder, and he’ll stay out there all day. He’s not a big hitter or anything like that, but he’ll just kind of sit out there, and conditioning is his biggest thing. He’s normally the better player in shape, and he’ll just outlast them. That’s a good thing, especially in tennis when quite often you get to the third set and it comes down to stamina and endurance.”

Despite being a newcomer to the sport, Stevens has quickly picked up the nuances of the game. His aptitude continues to impress Bardell. 

“He was a fresh start for us,” Bardell explained. “He adapted amazingly quickly. He’s just an athlete. He wanted to play, and he wanted to get better. He did a lot on his own, and he did a lot with us, and he got better very quickly. It’s awesome to see that he’s found another school to keep going.”

With the next step of his tennis career secured, Stevens plans to become even more adept on the court and in the classroom, where he aspires to obtain a degree in business administration.

“As a tennis player, I just want to be the best I can be on the court and continue to improve,” Stevens said. “Academically, I want to maintain a higher GPA, excel in the classroom and graduate.”

For Puric, his stay and tour of the United States will be extended another two years. His first two, he said, have been enjoyable due to the hospitably shown by the Meridian community. He embraces the opportunity that awaits him in North Carolina.

“The tennis team is a very competitive team, and I think I’m going to be able to improve there at the next level,” he said. “Academically, for my major, I’m probably going to do finance, so I think they have a pretty good program for that also.”