Sameer Chopra

Barry Faulkner

When Sameer Chopra turned away from tennis, upon leaving Corona del

Mar High for UC San Diego in 1999, he thought he was shaking his

biggest critic: himself.

But what he could not shake was his passion for the game. So,

after not playing as a freshman, he joined the Tritons’ program,

intent on giving it his all, while also giving himself a break.

“My senior year in high school, I started getting a little sick of

the sport,” said Chopra, a fifth-year senior ranked No. 3 in NCAA

Division II in doubles early in his swan-song season. “I started to

experience a lot of stress, because, on the court, I’m a different

person. I want to win pretty badly and, if I lose, I take it hard.

I’ve had to learn to control that and I’ve gotten better.”

His ability to look past inevitable errors is not the only part of

his game that has improved at UCSD.

“I think I’ve gotten better every year,” he said. “The baseline is

the strength of my game and probably my forehand. As I’ve matured,

I’ve gotten stronger and I’m hitting the ball a lot harder.”

Triton Coach Eric Steidlmayer also noted Chopra’s strong forehand,

which enabled him to earn team MVP honors as a sophomore and a

junior. Steidlmayer also cited Chopra’s serve, his consistency and

his athleticism as additional factors in making him one of the top

players in Division II.

Chopra’s play has also helped UCSD become a force in the Division.

The Tritons are ranked No. 10.

In addition to Chopra’s doubles ranking, which he shares with

teammate Jeff Nelson, the former Sea King is No. 25 in Division II

singles.

Chopra, a psychology major scheduled to graduate this spring,

after which he is considering medical school, said it was not long

into his freshman holdout that he realized he wanted to return to

tennis.

“When I first stopped playing, I didn’t want to be on the court,”

he recalled. “But then I started getting antsy. I knew I had to come

back and play, because I have too much fun playing tennis. I missed

it.”

His initial return, was far from seamless, as he and Steidlmayer

clashed on his level of commitment. But Chopra eventually embraced

his place on the team and has savored the friendships he has made

with his teammates.

“One of the best things about college tennis is the time you spend

with the guys,” he said. “It’s more of a team environment [than high

school]. There’s a lot more camaraderie.”

Chopra, who along with Wilson lost in the NCAA Division II doubles

final Oct. 17 in Corpus Christi, Texas, said he is proud of the

program’s improvement, which included a trip to the second round of

the Division II regional playoffs last season. He said this year’s

goal is to reach the Division II nationals, comprised of the top 16

teams.

“It’s our best team in awhile and we’ve never made it to

nationals,” Chopra said. “We’ll have to get past our West Region to

do it, which is pretty tough.”

The West Region also includes No. 1-ranked Hawaii Pacific and No.

3 BYU of Hawaii.