One year ago, Eric McKean was uncertain about whether or not he’d ever be able to return to the tennis court. Following a nagging injury and a slew of misdiagnoses, the senior was forced to take off much of the 2005-2006 season. Instead of competing with an 18-4 team that found its way to the quarterfinals of the NCAA Championship, the Pacific Palisades, Calif., native instead focused his efforts on recovering from his injury and supporting his team from the sidelines.

McKean finally picked up a racket again at the end of last summer and has quickly made up for lost time. The senior has lost none of his positive attitude and determination during his time away; McKean has already seen notable individual results since his return and was even elected this year’s team captain.

“[The break] actually made me enjoy tennis even more, because I really didn’t know just how much I loved it,” McKean said. “But once it was taken away, I realized, ‘This is a huge part of my life that means a lot to me,’ and I really saw how much I dedicate myself to tennis.”

Although the aches in his hand that could sideline him began the summer prior to his junior year, it wasn’t until after the Northwest Regional in October 2005 that McKean was unable to bear the pain and told head coach John Whitlinger that he could not play. McKean was diagnosed with severe tendonitis and spent the next two months rehabilitating his injury.

Ready to jump into the dual match season at the start of 2006, McKean felt the exact same pain the first time he hit the ball, despite his rehab efforts in the previous months. An MRI told McKean that he had three stress fractures in his hand and would have to take cortisone shots and another six weeks off. These efforts proved futile, and after taking yet more time off, McKean opted for surgery.

Three holes were drilled into McKean’s hand and he was told there was a 50-50 chance that he would never be able to play tennis again. The senior went through rehab and waited until late August before he picked up a racket again, after nearly 10 months off.

“I got to focus on some other things in my life besides tennis, and that was nice,” McKean said. “But tennis has always been my passion so it was like my dream was being taken away. I’ve always wanted to play Stanford Tennis, and in this critical year, my junior year, I was ready to jump in and make something happen and it just didn’t happen.

“[Coach Whitlinger] and a lot of my teammates helped me out throughout that whole time,” McKean continued. “They stayed pretty positive with me even though they knew I might not ever play tennis again.”

Whitlinger agreed that the time away was difficult for McKean.

“I could tell it was not an easy situation for him just to be on the sideline, knowing there was no chance of playing, or even practicing for that matter,” Whitlinger said. “And that’s not easy because he’s such a competitor.”

Luckily for the Cardinal, McKean is back in action this year and has already had notable success in this year’s individual tournaments. After dropping a tight three-setter in the second round of the Bronco Classic in early October, McKean won three matches and advanced to the fourth round of the ITA Northwest Regional, eventually falling to California’s Kallim Stewart, 7-6 (6), 4-6, 6-4.

“Eric hadn’t played in a year so I didn’t know what to expect,” Whitlinger said. “It definitely showed me a lot of what he is capable of doing. Even though he lost that match [to Stewart], he played well, and he played some other good matches in that tournament too.

“[Eric’s] capable of beating a lot of players,” Whitlinger continued. “I think he’s starting to believe that too. The Regional tournament showed me he’s back in it again. When you take off a year, things can change, but he showed no tentativeness and he went after it.”

Another important win for McKean this year came against the University of Hawaii. After dropping the first set of his singles match, 5-7, the senior captain bounced back to win the second and third sets, 6-3, 7-5, respectively, helping his team to the 4-3 victory over the Warriors.

McKean has played several three-set matches this year and has won about as many as he has lost. Whitlinger commented that it is never a lack of effort that costs McKean the match.

“The thing about Eric is you know you’re going to get a great effort,” Whitlinger said. “You know he’s going to fight until the last point no matter what happens. Sometimes in three-set matches, he might start getting a little tighter, but we just have to keep him loose and going for his shots. All it will take is to win a few [three-set matches] and he’ll get more confidence.”

Though the other players have displayed confidence in McKean’s capabilities as a teammate and as a leader, electing him this year’s captain, the senior feels that he still must prove himself worthy of the position.

“Coming into Stanford Tennis, I was just excited to work as hard as I could and help out the team,” the senior said. “I never thought I’d get this opportunity to be in this role, but I think it’s definitely a position where I still have to earn the title of captain and help the team gel.

“The season hasn’t started so we haven’t faced any obstacles,” he continued. “But we will and that’s the time when we’ll see if I’m a qualified captain. I’m really excited about it and it’s an incredible honor. The whole team works so hard day in and day out, and we go out there to compete and to win. When I look back on all that during a match, it gives me motivation to stay focused and stay in it.”

Whitlinger said that McKean is always willing to do what it takes for the good of the team and never puts himself first.

“To me, that says a lot about somebody in his position,” Whitlinger said. “He really cares about everybody, and I’m really excited that he’s captain of the team.”

McKean will be tested as a player and as captain this Saturday when the No. 9 Cardinal kick off the season at 1 p.m. against No. 25 Boise State at the Taube Tennis Center.

“I’m so excited,” McKean said. “Last year was fun, being able to watch the team do so well. But at the same time, it was bittersweet because I wanted to be out there competing and grinding it out. It’s been a long time, but now I get another chance.”