Brains and Backhands

Friday, May 3

Gainesville, FL

12 PM

Florida Gators

FGCU

Lukas Greif has gone 18-5 during his rookie collegiate season, including 8-1 in Southeastern Conference play. (Photo: Zach Marshall/UAA Communications)

Thursday, May 2, 2019 | Men's Tennis

By: By Corinne Simpson, UAA Communications

GAINESVILLE, Fla. — The brain and how it works is complex. It weighs only 1.5 kilograms, but contains 100 billion neurons, which generate and define everything that we, as humans, do and feel.

But there are so many things about the brain that people can't fathom and that challenge has not only captivated Lukas Greif's attention, but also developed him into an intellectual tennis player.

The tennis-medicine combo brought him from Newburgh, Ind., to the University of Florida, where as a freshman he is not only a consistent figure in the Gators' singles lineup, but also in using the conference room at the tennis facility as his personal pre-med study area. Greif talked about his desire to be a neurologist from the beginning of his recruiting process and UF coach Bryan Shelton knew that Greif would not only fit into his working man's program, but also be a great asset into the thinking man's aspect of the program.

"After attending and coaching at Georgia Tech, we found that kids who were really serious about their academics ended up being great problem solvers on the court," Shelton said. "They could digest and formulate a new game plan, make technical changes and do the things to grow, expand and get better because the mind was there."

Now as the No. 3-seeded Gators (21-3) begin their journey into the 2019 NCAA Tournament and open Friday against Florida Gulf Coast (14-8), Greif's mental strength will be an integral part in achieving the team's goal of winning a national championship.

Greif has rotated between the Nos. 5 and 6 singles positions for most of the season and racked up an impressive 11-1 dual record. But looking at his family history and his track record, this shouldn't come as a surprise to anyone.

"I was introduced to tennis when I was three," Greif said. "My dad played collegiate tennis at Southern Illinois and my sister played at Florida Tech, so I was around tournaments and the court when I was really little."

In his first season with the Gators, **Lukas Greif** has played mostly at Nos. 5 and 6 singles. (Photo: Zach Marshal/UAA Communications)

Not only did his family introduce him to the tennis world, but it also emphasized academics and maybe indirectly influenced his decision to pursue medicine.

Greif has always wanted to do really well in school and while that was a challenge due to the rigorous tennis schedule he was following, he knew that he needed to put in the time to focus on school also.

"I have always liked science and I've always been good at science," Greif said. "But my dad and my brother are both in the dental field, so I knew that I wanted to go into something medical related."

As time passed, Greif continued to prioritize his tennis game as well as his academics. He climbed the International Tennis Federation Junior Circuit rankings and then he caught coaches' attention with what Shelton called his "16U magical summer."

"He won the biggest national clay court event down in Del Ray Beach [Fla.] and followed it up with just this run all summer long where he didn't lose a match and got to Kalamazoo [Mich.], which is arguably the biggest national event and the most prestigious," Shelton said. "Watching him there against a really strong field, he went through that draw and just [won] match after match after match."

He went on to win eight or nine matches in a row and did that for the entire summer. Shelton was impressed that when the pressure started to mount as the expectations got bigger, Greif had an ability to focus on the right things and play the right way.

Clockwise from left: Greif raises tournament trophy at Kalamazoo in 2016; a family photo with his mother and siblings at Indianapolis; a young version of Lukas. (Photos: Courtesy of Greif family)

At 16 or 17 years old, focus and concentration can be a challenge, but Greif's mind was rare.

"To see a young man at 16 be able to lock in like that told us he's got something special inside and an ability to go deeper than a lot of other kids could," Shelton said. "We knew then that if we had a chance to get this guy, who is so composed on the court, that we would really be hitting a home run."

It was after that summer when the five-star Blue Chip recruit started to hear from different programs, but he always had Florida in the back of his mind.

Greif's coach growing up, Stephanie Hazlett, played at Florida from 1998-2001 and was a member of the 1998 women's national championship squad. Hazlett routinely took her athletes to Boca Raton, Fla., for spring break tournaments, but made it a tradition to stop at UF on the drive from Indiana. She would show them around the campus and the tennis facility, which helped Greif put the Gators at the top of his list.

Greif took his official visit to UF and loved the program and the coaches, but credits the players for making his decision a little bit easier.

He knew sophomores Oliver Crawford, Duarte Vale and Andy Andrade from the junior circuit, and also knew Sam Riffice from various tournaments.

"Sam always beat me," Greif said. "But I committed to Florida before him."

While Greif credited the current players for swaying his decision, Riffice named his fellow freshman.

Greif committed to Florida on April 17, 2017, exactly two days before Riffice. Seven months later, UF signed the No. 6 and No. 2 overall recruits in the country. That gave the Gators the No. 1 recruiting class for 2018-19 cycle and they became one of only three schools to sign at least two Blue Chip recruits.

Knowing the depth that Florida had on the roster, Greif didn't know how much of an opportunity he would have. At the beginning, he was maybe looking in from the outside, but was soaking it all in and was analyzing every situation so that he would know how to handle them if he had the opportunity.

Additionally, Greif still isn't the biggest player on the court, never has been. Standing 5-foot-9 and "146 pounds wet," Shelton said, he doesn't exactly create the most intimidating image.

But what he lacks in size, he makes up for in mental sharpness and his ability to hit from anywhere on the court.

"He is so solid," Riffice said. "He doesn't give away anything mentally. He's not the biggest guy, but he bullies you around on the court because he takes the ball so early and is just so physical."

He worked his way into the singles rotation early in the spring, but really solidified his spot during the Southeastern Conference season. The freshman went 8-1 against league opponents and clinched four matches for the Gators, including top-20 wins over TCU, Tennessee and Texas A&M. His efforts were good enough to earn him a spot on 2019 SEC All-Freshman team.

While he excelled on the tennis court, Greif experienced some definite academic growing pains his first semester. He has not officially declared as a biology major, but is taking all of the prerequisites for a pre-med path, and struggled with the demanding science course load.

**Lukas Greif** is mobbed by teammates after clinching match point in UF's defeat of No. 7 Texas A&M in March, part of the Gators' 15-match winning streak during the 2019 season. (Photo: Zach Marshall/UAA Communications)

The fact the tennis schedule is so rigorous and doesn't provide an off-season presents additional challenges for student-athletes to pursue something that difficult. Which explains why Kelly Bradley, academic advisor, can recall only one other tennis player since 2003 choosing the pre-medicine road.

Greif had to learn how to manage his time and utilize the academic support staff to get back on track. He now spends several hours each night studying and his roommates aren't surprised if he is staying up late or getting up at 5 a.m. to get an assignment done. In fact, they would be shocked if they saw him off-court without a book or some sort of lecture materials in front of him.

"It's really challenging because my classes were harder than they had ever been and I was training and playing more tennis than I was used to," Greif said. "But I think my confidence has grown since I have gotten to Florida and I have matured both on and off the court."

Shelton, too, has seen the increase in confidence and said that he has started to develop more of swagger.

Is there a direct correlation between his academic and his tennis success?

Maybe. But his parents keep tabs on both.

"I know my parents are super proud of me," Greif said. "They keep up with my tennis performances, but also keep on me about my grades."

As they should. For an intrinsically motivated student-athlete like him, anything is possible.