Thursday, February 10, 2022
Amon Kehr
Former tennis star Adamovic returns to Stillwater with Missouri Daniel Allen Staff Reporter It was a bittersweet return. On Tuesday, Katarina Adamovic, former OSU tennis star and current assistant at Missouri, returned to the Greenwood Tennis Center with the Tigers for a nonconference match against her alma mater. Memories from her time at OSU flowed through her head as she entered the Greenwood Center for the first time in over three years. “Seeing Chris (Young) and everyone again makes me so reminiscent of the past, my past,” Adamovic said. “Everyone in this program from that (2016) championship team, we still have phenomenal relationships to this day.” The Cowgirls defeated Missouri in a 7-0 rout. The night was highlighted by Adamovic, a four-time Big 12 All-Conference selection, being honored in front of a packed Greenwood Tennis Center, where she was greeted by echoes of cheers and applause for her efforts. The ceremony was capped off with highlights of her time at OSU flashing on the video screens followed by Adamovic waving toward the crowd, thanking them for their support. When Adamovic arrived in Stillwater her freshman year she didn’t have a clue what to expect. Adamovic is from Cacak, a town located in the central region of Serbia. The transition from her hometown to Stillwater was more different than originally anticipated. More people, more to do, and the abundance of buildings with a city-like feel in comparison to her place of birth was nothing like she had ever seen in her life. “Honestly at the time, Stillwater felt like a city, and a big one too compared to where I’m from,” Adamovic said. “OSU felt like the biggest city in the world. I wasn’t used to the large number of people I saw every day at first, and it was honestly pretty overwhelming.”
That unfamiliarity and homesickness quickly faded as Adamovic found her place on the Cowgirl tennis roster in a short amount of time. She saw herself earn a starting spot as a freshman and recorded a 10-11 record in singles play, competing primarily in the No. 4 or No. 5 spot, as well as a 14-6 record in doubles play. Adamovic continued to grow and improve her game, seeing significant growth in her next two seasons with the Cowgirls, posting a 44-22 record in singles play and a 56-13 record in doubles play during that span of time. “I had a good junior year, yes,” Adamovic said. “I made a name for myself and it felt good. But none of that amounted to what we did in the postseason.” Oklahoma State finished the 2016 regular season with an astounding 21-4 overall record, exceeding preseason expectations in every aspect. They followed with a Big 12 championship run, capped off with a conference title over Texas Tech. The Cowgirls would cruise into the national championship round against Stanford. Prior to the finals, Adamovic recalls skimming Twitter to catch a glimpse of the national perspective on the tournament. “I remember seeing on Twitter that there were like five or six buses waiting to transport people to Tulsa for the finals that day,” Adamovic said. “We basically shut Stillwater for that day. It was awesome. It was encouraging for me and the girls to see the level of support from fans for us.” Adamovic recalls walking onto the courts at the Michael D. Case Tennis Center, and being severely overwhelmed by what she describes as a sea of orange awaiting the Cowgirls. Despite Adamovic’s doubles sweep and singles upset over Stanford’s Carol Zhao, OSU lost to Stanford 4-3 falling just short of their first national title in program history. She would earn the award of tournament MVP despite the loss. The Cowgirls would finish the season with a 29-5 record. The 29 wins would rank as the second most in program history. Adamovic would go 21-9 in singles play her
senior season, and 14-4 in doubles play, compiling career 75-42 singles 91-23 doubles records. Her .798 career winning first all-time in program history since the birth of the Big 12 conference. “Her run in the NCAA tournament will always be remembered,” Young said. “She beat a lot of great players, a lot of players that are playing big time tennis now.. she has done a great job, growing and developing as a person and coach.”
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