Bogdanovich perseveres to win SEMO Conference title

Last year, if you told Notre Dame’s Michael Bogdanovich he would be the singles SEMO Conference champion, I’m not sure he would have believed you.

And that’s not because of a lack of talent, but because of the injuries he was battling through.

His injury situation forced him to miss the majority of last season, but this year, he’s been healthy and able to compete.

Everything he’s worked towards came to fruition last Friday, April 12, when Bogdanovich defeated Jackson’s Jeramy Essner in the championship of the SEMO Conference Tournament.

“I was cramping really bad,” Bogdanovich said. “I didn’t play my best but I still won so that’s always nice.”

Despite laboring through the late stages of the match, Bogdanovich managed to win the 10-point tiebreaker in the final set to emerge victorious.

“I was just focusing on each ball,” Bogdanovich said. “I just had to focus on everything one step at a time.”

Bogdanovich entered the tournament as the 12th-seeded singles player, and his day began against Jackson’s Trent Schorey.

Bogdanovich won 6-0 and 6-1, to make quick work of the first round and advance to the second round, generating confidence in the process.

He then battled Dexter’s Rhyder Williams where he won 6-3 and 7-5 to advance to the semifinals to take on Tavian Towns from Poplar Bluff.

After defeating Towns, Bogdanovich’s final test was against Essner.

The match between the two went into a tiebreaker, and after a long day, Bogdanovich was just thinking one thing during the match.

“I just wanted it to be over,” Bogdanovich laughed.

Following the SEMO Conference championship, Bulldogs coach Pershard Owens had high praise for Bogdanovich.

“The most important thing about him is his story of perseverance,” Owens said. “He played last year but couldn’t finish the season and this year he came back and now he’s a SEMO Conference champion.”

Notre Dame assistant coach Eli Peters said Bogdanovich’s success isn’t a surprise considering all the time he spends practicing.

“He’s just one of those people that puts all the work in,” Bulldogs assistant coach Eli Peters said. “He plays tournaments and trains all the time. It just shows that hard work pays off because that’s what he’s been doing his whole life.”