Each journey through college athletics is different for each athlete. They encounter highs and lows, wins and losses, tough workouts and fun times, but one thing is certain about the three seniors for Utah men's tennis, they've done it all as a team.

Dan Little, David Micevski and Joe Woolley will step out on the Eccles Tennis Center courts for the final time this weekend as the Utes host California on Saturday, April 6 and then Stanford on Sunday, April 7 for Senior Day. Both matches will start at 2 p.m. MT with the Senior Day ceremony taking place Sunday between doubles and singles play.

The journey for these three seniors might be different from most. Their dream of playing collegiate tennis started thousands of miles away, in fact 4,858 for Little, who came to Utah from London, England.

"I started playing tennis when I was seven years old and I just loved the feeling of hitting the ball and how every point in tennis is different, so you never know what will happen," he said. "I always wanted to play college tennis because of how seriously the sport is taken here compared to home and how competitive college athletics is."

Little was a national champion in Great Britain in his younger years and competed in the 2014 Junior Wimbledon Championships, bringing fire power and experience with him to the states. It quickly became evident that he would transition well into college tennis, going 22-10 his freshman year in 2015-16, including making it to the championship round of the ITA Regionals.

Little had a breakout year as a sophomore, earning ITA Player to Watch honors in post-season after going 22-10 again. He defeated three ranked opponents his sophomore season, including knocking off the No. 1 overall singles player in the country in Martin Redlicki of UCLA.

"The opportunity to play in the Pac-12 is one of the biggest factors in deciding to come to Utah," Little said. "I knew it was a top tennis conference and I would get the opportunity to play the best players in the country every year."

That opportunity continued into his junior season where he earned Pac-12 All-Conference honorable mention after finishing the year 25-9, leading Utah to its first NCAA Tournament appearance in 21 years.

Enter his senior year and he has 21 singles wins which has pushed him to 90 career victories as a Ute. Through beating five ranked opponents this year and being ranked in the top-60 nationally, Little still appreciates being a part of the team above all else.

"Being around my teammates and developing bonds with them is one of my favorite experiences here at Utah," he said. "I have made some great friends that will last past college. Winning big matches with them is a great feeling that will be hard to replicate after I leave."

Like Little, Micevski had to cross oceans to get to Salt Lake City, coming to Utah from Skopje, Macedonia. For the seven-time Macedonian National Junior Champion, the decision was easy.

"The recruiting process started when I made the transition from U16 to U18 ITF junior tennis tournaments," he said. "What made me want to come to the United State were the top-notch education and sports programs, along with the opportunities to compete against high-quality competition on a regular basis. I was impressed with the campus, facilities and amazing coaching staff that helped me establish that Utah was the right place for me to continue my career."

Despite struggling through some injuries during his career, Micevski has become a mainstay for the Utes near the top of the line-up, putting together 73 singles wins throughout his time at the U.

After missing the fall portion of his freshman season, Micevski got on a roll, ending the year as one of the top-five players in the ITA Mountain Region. He earned all-Pac-12 honorable mention after coming away with key wins over top-125 players.

As a sophomore, he went 21-13 before having another breakout season as a junior. In 2017-18, Micevski recorded a 23-11 record, was named the ITA Mountain Region Player to Watch and claimed huge wins in singles over teams ranked in the top-70 nationally on the way to Utah's NCAA Tournament berth.

With his big junior year, Micevski proved what it meant to be a student-athlete, also earning second-team Pac-12 All-Academic and ITA Scholar-Athlete honors. While academics has been highly important to Micevski, he has also spent time just enjoying his time as a Ute.

"It has been more than three years since I started playing collegiate tennis here at Utah and looking back, the decision to come here was the best decision I have made," he said. "I have enjoyed every single moment of my journey and I am looking forward to finishing my Utah career with a blast."

Playing on the No. 2 court this season, Micevski has been incredibly consistent, sitting with 12 singles wins, including two ranked wins over the No. 98 singles player out of UCLA and the No. 51 singles athletes out of USC. Looking back at his career, Micevski still appreciates why he loves the sport so much.

"I first started playing tennis when I was seven," he said. "Some of my favorite things about the sport are the level of competitiveness I have to bring to each and every single match, the personality building skills that I achieved while playing tennis, and the fact that it has brought me together with a lot of great tennis players and coaches."

For Woolley, his dream of playing college athletics started when he was 14 and became a reality when the Utah coaching staff came to visit him in his hometown of Boston, England. The high caliber of competition was something that drew him to the idea of playing in the Pac-12, but it was a goal that sealed the deal for him.

"The coaches were the biggest selling point to come here, however, the goals were set high and I wanted to help them complete them," Woolley said.

Woolley came to Utah already knowing how to be a winner. He ranked as high as No. 1 in Great Britain in U16 and U18 age divisions and won the British Aegon Masters Series all in the same year. At the age of 16, he reached the finals of the Sheffield British Tour and qualified for four main draw Futures events.

With his experience overseas, Woolley was ready to help the coaching staff achieve the bar that was set so high on their visit with him. Although he didn't compete his freshman season, Woolley got to work as a sophomore, winning 15 singles matches.

Fast forward to his junior season, and like Little and Micevski, he was key in helping the Utes to the NCAA Tournament. He got the job done on the court with 18 singles wins, but also earned ITA Scholar-Athlete and Pac-12 All-Academic second-team.

Even though it is just Woolley on the court against his opponent each match, he credits his success as a student-athlete and a tennis player to the team and family atmosphere he has gotten to be a part of here at Utah.

"I believe the biggest traits you have to possess in order to be a successful student-athlete is hard work and determination," Woolley said. "You also need to have the ability to be a team player because ultimately you win or lose as a team."

This season, Woolley has been playing on the No. 6 court in singles and No. 3 court on doubles. He has six singles wins this season, including winning the last three against Washington, No. 31 Oregon and San Francisco.

"I have loved playing with a team I can now call lifelong friends," Woolley said. "Utah tennis has meant a lot for me. I will never forget my experience here and it will always have a special place in my heart. Competing for such a good university will always be something I am proud of. Utah has given me the opportunity to grow as a person."  

With the two matches this weekend, Utah will have four more competitions before heading to Ojai, Calif. for the Pac-12 Championships April, 24-27.

Four more competitions to put an exclamation point on four years of 200+ hard fought wins in singles, heartbreaking losses as a team and some incredible memories on and off the court.

Woolley plans to start graduate school in England in August with Little and Micevski also looking into graduate school along with continuing their careers.  

All three came to Salt Lake City from different cities, different cultures and from countries outside of the United States, but their one common theme is something that will stick with them for life.

"Utah tennis is like a family," Micevski said. "It made me feel loved, appreciated, respected and cared for. Because of Utah tennis, I can safely say that I grew and improved as both a player and a person in an uncountable amount of aspects."

"My favorite part of playing tennis for Utah is being a part of a great group of people who consistently try to get better, help each other, hold each other accountable, reach our goals together, and most importantly, go to war together every single match and leave our hearts and souls on the court."