Where are they now?: Alaina Trgovich

When Alaina Trgovich decided to take her college tennis career from Kentucky to Wisconsin, she wasn't expecting the way it would change her life.

Trgovich graduated from Munster High School in 2007 after a senior year in which she was ranked as high as 42nd in the country and was an All-American selection. Playing for Kentucky with its equally high national reputation was a natural fit.

That is, until she arrived on campus and found that the academic life wasn't what she was looking for.

Trgovich then took her talents to Wisconsin and in her first match of her first spring season in 2009, she tore her ACL.

Out nearly 10 months for rehab, Trgovich had been told her recovery would be as much of a mental process as it was physical. She said she laughed at first, until she met with the pain of having to walk again.

That's when she began working with a rehabilitation psychologist, someone who "helped even more than I can describe," Trgovich said.

"A rehab psychologist works with mentally and physically handicapped people to teach them about independent living and integrating socially," she said. "Really, you work as an advocate for them, helping them lead a successful and quality life. It's not just counseling, but it's pretty broad, covering every aspect of reintegrating into life."

As she recovered, Trgovich changed her degree choice from wanting to be a physician's assistant to rehab psychology. As she begins her final season of tennis this month with the Badgers, she's into her second semester of her graduate school program and plans to graduate in December with her degree in rehabilitation psychology.

"Originally, I wanted to work with athletes, but now I'm more interested in all different types of rehab psychology, working with athletes and non-athletes," Trgovich said.

Despite her ACL injury and 10 months trying to regain what muscle she could, Trgovich returned to the tennis team as a junior and finished the season playing the final six matches in the No. 1 singles position.

"After I red-shirted for a year and the rehab for 10 months, I can tell you, it was not a good process," Trgovich said. "My body didn't develop again as it was, the muscles had a lot of atrophy. They wouldn't clear me to play until the muscles developed, so I didn't get to play for any of those 10 months. I'll admit I'm not the same tennis player as I used to be. I definitely had a lot more success before, but I'm still playing at a pretty high level."

Trgovich had a team-best 10-3 doubles mark last season and holds an all-time 33-41 singles record with the Badgers.

"When I came to Wisconsin, I wanted to come and make an impact and help turn around the program," Trgovich said. "I really wanted to help the team, I didn't care what I did individually, but I wanted to do what I could to help make the team good. I wanted to make the NCAA tournament with a Wisconsin team. When I got injured, it was quite a disappointment that I couldn't do that."

Instead, she found another way to leave her mark on the program.

This winter, she jump-started a program to help the team adopt a family in need in the Madison area. The family of seven provided its Christmas lists to the team -- mostly consisting of socks, T-shirts and underwear, Trgovich said.

"The most exciting thing on one list was nail polish," she said.

The team easily knocked off the wish lists, plus some, Trgovich said, adding dishes, paper towel, glasses and sliverware to the family's needs for the holiday.

"A lot of my teammates and myself, we've grown up very comfortable in wealthy homes, and this was a reality check with how lucky we are," Trgovich said. "You look at what they were asking for, and seeing this family and how they live, that's another side of Madison that I think a lot of people don't realize is out there."