Senior from Czech Republic a surprise as IU's No. 1 player

Jakub Praibis is surrounded by his teammates and their opponents shouting, yelling, cursing and arguing on green surfaces that stretch the length of the floor -- he doesn't sense it. He sees only his opponent, senses only the ball as it is slowly thrown up in the air and smacked down at what seems to be a 90-degree angle by his larger, taller competitor. In defiance, Praibis counters the player's power with grace, slicing a return to the corner that dies under the outstretched hand of his defeated foe. \nChalk up one point. \nThe little victory of the moment is just another addition to Praibis' stellar early season record, in which the IU senior has accumulated a 5-1 singles record at the No. 1 position for the Hoosiers, including wins against three ranked opponents. In his junior campaign, he led IU with a record of 16-7 and earned All-Big Ten honors and a spot in the Main Draw of the NCAA Tournament. \nFour years ago no one would have predicted Praibis -- the slightly diminutive, smiling kid from the Czech Republic -- would be a dominat at the top spot.\n"Jakub wasn't highly recruited, simply because he is not from the U.S., and no one can cover all that ground," said IU coach Ken Hydinger. "We had some boys from (the Czech Republic) on the team and they said he was pretty good. He has really come a long way for us."\nPraibis, who is from a town of about 30,000 people called Litomerice, has been playing tennis since he was barely old enough to understand the game.\n"I once saw my father and brother hitting a tennis ball," Praibis said. "I just liked how it looked. I took it up and my family supported my playing when I was young."\nPraibis, who says that close friends would most likely describe him as "creative," plays with a style that extends that creativity on the court. Preferring to play longer points from the baseline, Praibis can wear down his opponents with shots all over the court. He can also step up and play power tennis, if necessary, as evidenced by his comeback win over No. 68 Andreas Siljestrom of then-No. 54 Middle Tennessee State. Siljestrom powerfully launched serves at Praibis for three sets, using every inch of his 6-foot 10-inch frame. \nDespite his success on the court, Praibis is interested in much more than tennis. He has been named to the Academic All Big-Ten team twice. He has a great appreciation of art, and he dabbles a bit himself. He tends to appreciate the smaller things in life. Take his favorite things about the United States, for example.\n"A bagel with cream cheese," he said. "I also like the way the campus looks, with the trees and squirrels."\nHydinger said that Jakub is one of a kind. \n"Jakub is an extremely honest person. He is very self motivated, and always tries to do what is right," he said. "Jakub is different from most tennis players in that he has a lot of interests in every facet of his life. He is going to live a very rich life because of that." \n-- Contact Staff Writer Eamonn Brennan at .