Nejc Sitar Follows Sibling’s Footsteps in Path to Montana State
9/30/2020 4:20:00 PM | Men's Tennis
For many college student-athletes, the decision to transfer and where to go can be one that’s difficult to make. Nejc Sitar’s familiarity with Montana State made his choice to come to Bozeman easier than peers in a similar situation.
BOZEMAN, Mont. – For many college student-athletes, the decision to transfer and where to go can be one that's difficult to make. Nejc Sitar's familiarity with Montana State made his choice to come to Bozeman easier than peers in a similar situation.
Sitar spent his first year of eligibility at North Dakota where he earned the Summit League's Newcomer of the Year award by helping the Fighting Hawks' men's tennis team pick up its most victories in its Division I era. Despite his success in Grand Forks, a change in his major resulted in a decision to transfer during the spring of 2019.
"Personally I switched my major," Sitar said. "Before, I was an airport management major which sounds fun, but since my country has just one airport, it's kind of useless as well. There's a reason why I switched to industrial and management systems engineering."
The native of Maribor, Slovenia, had his older brother's experience to lean on when choosing where to go next.
Nejc's brother, Rok, was a standout for the Montana State squad from 2015-18. Nejc had decided to to come to the United States to further his education after watching his brother go through the same process. He was now going to get to experience college at the same institution.
"My brother was here so he was helping me with the process," Nejc Sitar said about the transfer process. "He told me that he really liked the coach, liked the program, the culture and the engineering program is really good at MSU. It was an obvious choice to come here for me."
The adjustment has been a fairly easy one for Sitar.
Though it was a transition initially at a new school, Sitar said his teammates made him feel comfortable with Bozeman and MSU over time. He noted the support the program has from the athletic department and that the weather in Bozeman had a closer feel to home with the ability to ski prevalent in Slovenia.
His transition to Montana State academically has also been nearly seamless. Sitar was a member of MSU's President's List a semester ago and holds a grade-point average that nears 3.9. His updated major allows him to have a business approach to engineering which stands out to him where he hopes he could some day still be involved in the aviation field.
"Honestly I love it," Sitar said of the industrial and systems management major. "It's really fun. There are for sure some challenging classes, but you know it's those challenges when you're enjoying them, even when they're hard you just learn so many new things that makes it fun."
Sitar's academic beliefs align with his passion on the court. In the classroom, he said his goal it to outwork everyone and get the most out of his abilities. That motivation translates into his athletic career.
The Bobcat newcomer served as MSU's No. 1 singles player in the nine MSU duals during the spring before the cancellation of the remainder of the 2020 season. Among a group of four Bobcats that had tallied a team-high five singles victories, Sitar sees the program developing into one that can compete at a top level in the Big Sky.
"I think it's super exciting," Sitar said of MSU's team outlook. "I think we are building something special here. Our goals are high, like every program here, we're competing for Big Sky Championships. I think if we are practicing like we are now, we're on a good path to achieve our goals which are high."
Sitar spent his first year of eligibility at North Dakota where he earned the Summit League's Newcomer of the Year award by helping the Fighting Hawks' men's tennis team pick up its most victories in its Division I era. Despite his success in Grand Forks, a change in his major resulted in a decision to transfer during the spring of 2019.
"Personally I switched my major," Sitar said. "Before, I was an airport management major which sounds fun, but since my country has just one airport, it's kind of useless as well. There's a reason why I switched to industrial and management systems engineering."
The native of Maribor, Slovenia, had his older brother's experience to lean on when choosing where to go next.
Nejc's brother, Rok, was a standout for the Montana State squad from 2015-18. Nejc had decided to to come to the United States to further his education after watching his brother go through the same process. He was now going to get to experience college at the same institution.
"My brother was here so he was helping me with the process," Nejc Sitar said about the transfer process. "He told me that he really liked the coach, liked the program, the culture and the engineering program is really good at MSU. It was an obvious choice to come here for me."
The adjustment has been a fairly easy one for Sitar.
Though it was a transition initially at a new school, Sitar said his teammates made him feel comfortable with Bozeman and MSU over time. He noted the support the program has from the athletic department and that the weather in Bozeman had a closer feel to home with the ability to ski prevalent in Slovenia.
His transition to Montana State academically has also been nearly seamless. Sitar was a member of MSU's President's List a semester ago and holds a grade-point average that nears 3.9. His updated major allows him to have a business approach to engineering which stands out to him where he hopes he could some day still be involved in the aviation field.
"Honestly I love it," Sitar said of the industrial and systems management major. "It's really fun. There are for sure some challenging classes, but you know it's those challenges when you're enjoying them, even when they're hard you just learn so many new things that makes it fun."
Sitar's academic beliefs align with his passion on the court. In the classroom, he said his goal it to outwork everyone and get the most out of his abilities. That motivation translates into his athletic career.
The Bobcat newcomer served as MSU's No. 1 singles player in the nine MSU duals during the spring before the cancellation of the remainder of the 2020 season. Among a group of four Bobcats that had tallied a team-high five singles victories, Sitar sees the program developing into one that can compete at a top level in the Big Sky.
"I think it's super exciting," Sitar said of MSU's team outlook. "I think we are building something special here. Our goals are high, like every program here, we're competing for Big Sky Championships. I think if we are practicing like we are now, we're on a good path to achieve our goals which are high."
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