Dusan Medan has a closer bond with Marquette’s tennis program than most people.
From 2007-’10, Medan played on the men’s team under head coach Steve Rodecap. He is still the most decorated singles player in Marquette history with 88 wins in three years.
“It was definitely an unbelievable experience,” Medan said. “(Marquette is) the place where I matured and learned a lot about college tennis, where I ended up playing my best tennis and got an excellent degree.”
Rodecap said Medan’s best quality on the court was his relentless competitive drive.
“I always joked with him that he really had no forehand, no serve,” Rodecap said. “He had a great backhand, but when it came to competing, there wasn’t anyone who he wasn’t going to beat.”
Following his graduation in 2010 with a degree in economics, Medan spent some time in Serbia trying to get his career started, but the country is economically troubled, which hampered his ability to make money. After a year and a half of trying, he decided to come home.
In 2016, Medan became an assistant for the women’s team under head coach Jody Bronson, who originally wanted him to coach four years earlier, but Medan had to refuse because of Visa issues.
When Bronson heard Medan returned to the United States, they met in New York about returning to Marquette as a coach. Obtaining a work visa was challenging for Medan. The process was time-consuming and expensive enough to take three-and-a-half years.
“Being a foreigner, it was not so easy being on a work visa,” Medan said. “I had to battle through this first, and get my permanent residence status in the U.S. Once I did that, it was much easier for me to look for those jobs.”
Four days after finalizing his green card, he received a call from Bronson offering him the assistant coaching job. He immediately accepted. Today the women’s team keeps thriving and improving with Medan’s help.
“We are definitely working with a little bit of the culture of the team,” Medan said. “We feel that we have a really young team right now. What I try to bring is a little bit different approach than maybe Jody (Bronson) and her previous assistant had.”
As a former player, Medan always knew he could go to Rodecap for advice.
“He’s my mentor right now,” Medan said. “I learned as a player a lot from him and I’m learning now as a coach a lot from him.”
Rodecap said he believes Medan brings both a disciplined work ethic and a love for Marquette to the women’s tennis program.
“When you’re representing your own alma mater as a coach, I think that’s really special,” Rodecap said. “I’ve known him for years now, and he’s just another piece of the family that fit in right away.”
The most impactful quality Medan has, besides expertise of the sport, is his passion for tennis and Marquette.
“He appreciated the opportunity that he had at Marquette as a player,” Bronson said. “He loves Marquette. He loves the city. This is where he wants to be.”
