FAU Alumnus Velickovic Wins Silver at his First APP Event
BOCA RATON, Fla. – Vuk Velickovic, a Florida Atlantic University alumnus and former FAU men's tennis volunteer assistant coach, earned a silver medal in the 2023 Boca Raton/New York City Open. The event was played at the Billie Jean King National Tennis Center in Queens, New York, and hosted by the Association of Pickleball Players (APP).
The second annual event drew more than 1,102 amateurs and professionals and served as a "golden ticket qualifier" to the USAP Nationals and featured the largest APP pros purse of the season.
Velickovic began his collegiate tennis career at VCU and completed his degree and three collegiate seasons at Coastal Carolina, where he held the team's highest winning percentage (12-5) as a senior and was named second team All-Sun Belt in singles play (2017) and was a first team All-Big South honoree in (2016). In three seasons at Coastal, Velickovic was 45-13 in singles play.
Following earning his undergraduate management degree, in December of 2017, Velickovic wanted to continue both his education and his tennis career, something he had done at the highest levels from an early age. While teaching tennis at the Boca Resort and Club, Velickovic met resort guest Harry Kent. Kent had just opened Pickleball Plus, a state-of-the-art indoor pickleball facility in in West Hempstead, New York, and more importantly was a long-time friend of Dr. Charlie Hennekens, the First Sir Richard Doll Professor and senior academic advisor of Medicine in the Schmidt College of Medicine at FAU.
Through Hennekens' mentorship, Velickovic entered the Florida Atlantic MBA program with a focus on sports management, served as a volunteer men's tennis coach in 2019-20, and was a dormitory leader. But more importantly, he was introduced to pickleball, a sport where his tennis knowledge and skills could translate. Velickovic made that transition and most recently displayed his pro skills with the APP tournament in New York.
The pro singles draw to the quarterfinals looked like a regular APP draw, with seven of the top-eight seeds advancing as expected. However, Velickovic, who won five quarterfinal matches, defeated #8 seed Eduardo Irizarry 12-10 in the third in the first-round match and then upset the top-seed Hunter Johnson, the No. 8 player in the world, who had medaled in every previous match he played during this year. Velickovic continued by defeating singles stalwart John Cincola to advance to the finals. Velickovi, who was playing in his first APP event and second pro pickleball tournament, fell to No. 15 ranked William Sobek 16-14, in a 15-point tiebreaker, to earn the silver medal.
Latest FAU Athletics
- Field of 68 Tip-off in Boca RatonBOCA RATON, Fla. - The No. 13 Florida Atlantic men's basketball team is back at Eleanor R. Baldwin Arena for a pair of key non-conference games this week, hosting Liberty at 6 p.m. Thursday and Charleston at 6 p.m. Saturday.
- Florida Atlantic Coaches Show Closes out 2023BOCA RATON, Fla. – The final "Coaches Show" of 2023 is slated to be taped live this Thursday, Nov. 30 at Duffy's Sports Grill, located at 401 N. Federal Hwy, Deerfield Beach, Florida 33441. The show will begin taping at noon and will air Friday, Dec. 1 at 6 p.m. on Fox Sports South Florida 640 AM.
- Gameday Information Announced for Men's HoopsBOCA RATON, Fla. -- The Florida Atlantic men's basketball team is set for its much-anticipated home opener at Eleanor R. Baldwin Arena on Tuesday night. The 10th-ranked Owls, coming off last year's historic run to the Final Four, enter the night on an 18-game home winning streak and are 1-0 to start the 2023-24 campaign.
- Men’s Basketball Student Ticket Information AnnouncedBOCA RATON, Fla. – The Florida Atlantic Department of Athletics has announced student ticket information for the 2023-24 FAU men's basketball season, with the home opener set for Tuesday night at Eleanor R. Baldwin Arena.
- SHINER INJURY LAWYERS JOINS FAU ATHLETICS AS OFFICIAL LAW PARTNERBOCA RATON, Fla. – Announced today, Shiner Injury Lawyers is partnering with Florida Atlantic University (FAU) Athletics as its Official Law Partner beginning with the 2023-24 academic year. Hometown group, Shiner Injury Lawyers, were the presenting sponsor of the FAU Homecoming Football game. Shiner Injury Lawyers took fans on a journey throughout Homecoming week and giving an exclusive "Behind the Scenes" peek at what it takes to prepare for this game and document it on social media along with an enter to win game ball contest.
- DeGeorge Named Deputy AD at Florida AtlanticBOCA RATON, Fla. – Florida Atlantic University Vice President and Director of Athletics Brian White announced Friday the hiring of Mike DeGeorge as deputy athletics director/brand & communications.