DENVER – The best way for Joey Tscherne to keep moving forward has been to keep looking back.
 
That's why, after his father passed away after a long battle with prostate cancer, he kept playing tennis while getting his education at Metropolitan State University of Denver. That's why the once reserved and quiet kid wears that gaudy, yet somehow perfect, headband in competition.
 
"I try to remember him every match," Tscherne said of his father. "That was his favorite headband."
 
Tscherne will complete his MSU Denver career as almost certainly the second-best player in the history of the program. His final home match, and perhaps the final match of his college career, is Sunday's 2 p.m. Senior Day matchup with Colorado College.
 
"I kind of don't want it to happen," Tscherne said. "My four years has gone so fast. We've got a bunch of freshmen, and I want those guys to know that they should enjoy every moment. Because it's going to go by quickly."
 
The MSU Denver men also play a 3 p.m. dual Saturday at Colorado State University-Pueblo. The Roadrunners women have three duals this weekend, with a 10 a.m. match Saturday in Pueblo against Tarleton State (Texas) preceding the 3 p.m. Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference matchup with CSU-Pueblo and then Sunday's meeting with Colorado College.
 
When Tscherne (pronounced cher-nee, like if the words "churn" and "knee" were run together) got to MSU Denver as a surprisingly unheralded recruit, his father, Steve, was already battling prostate cancer.
 
As Joey developed from shy introvert to vocal team leader, Steve Tscherne passed away too soon, at 61, during first semester finals week in December 2016.
 
"It was tough," Joey said. "I couldn't even take the call from my mom because I was taking a final."
 
The Tschernes are a tennis family. Steve met Barbara, Joey's mother, on a tennis court. They were among the founders of the Neighborhood Junior Tennis Program, a non-profit program with low-cost lessons for children and adults back in California.
 
"My parents didn't force me to play tennis," Tscherne said. "They would just make it as fun as possible. And that's why I probably still love the game as much as I do."
 
What was the best way to pay tribute to his father? The headband. A blue backdrop with white stars, like an American flag.
 
His father's headband.
 
That's why Joey has worn it in competition ever since. He wears it to practice on Jan. 14, too, to recognize his father's birthday.
 
"I was trying to think of what I could do to show that he's still there," Tscherne said.
 
Barbara Tscherne became a college tennis player because of her opportunity to get low-cost tennis lessons as a youth player. She and others like her joined together to start the NJTP, which Steve later directed as president and for which received the President's Volunteer Service Award.
 
Joey's immediate future is up in the air – he'd like to play some more tournaments and see where tennis leads – but if he returns home, he'd likely continue to be involved with the NJTP. He's helped with coaching and office duties already over the years.
 
Tscherne, ranked 45^th in the country in NCAA Division II, is 8-6 in singles matches this season while playing a difficult schedule. He's 67-27 in singles in his MSU Denver career.
 
And yet, despite his tennis background and a good – maybe not great – ranking as a youth player, MSU Denver was the only school to offer him scholarship money coming out of high school.
 
"I had no offers at all, from any team," Tscherne said. "I used a recruiting service, but it didn't really help me get any communication from anyone. I was kind of late getting started and I wasn't very proactive. (Former MSU Denver) Coach Daniel (Hangstefter) sent a bunch of junior tennis players in California a letter. Not an email, but a letter. And my dad thought that was really touching, and that (attending MSU Denver) was meant for me because it was personal."
 
Still, Joey wanted to stay in California.
 
"I didn't want to go here," he said, laughing. "But my parents kind of pushed me out of the house. This was really the only school that offered me any kind of scholarship, so that was good incentive to get me out of the house.
 
"But after meeting the team and seeing the facility that we have, it was really the perfect place to go."
 
Said MSU Denver coach Josh Graetz: "He's immensely talented. And when he's playing well, he can absolutely beat anybody at any time, Division I or Division II. When he's playing well, he'll win the match. But his grit on the court has really evolved, and now he's winning matches when he's not playing well."
 
Graetz has seen the development first-hand. He was Tscherne's teammate for three years before taking over as the program's head coach this season.
 
Tscherne, too, has recognized his own development.
 
"My freshman year, I said like three words," Tscherne said. "I was shy and naïve about college. Playing on a team, I didn't know what a team should look like. Once I started to realize what team chemistry is all about, the friendships I could make, I definitely became more vocal and turned into more of a leader. I don't talk a lot, but I feel like I lead by example."
 
His game has also evolved, he said.
 
"I wasn't as mentally tough and smart my freshman and sophomore years," Tscherne said. "I would try to hit the ball so hard when I didn't really have to. Even my mom noticed this year that I'm really consistent now. I get balls back more.
 
"That's after playing Josh so many times in practice, because he's the opposite of me. I'd hit the ball really hard, and he'd get it back every time. Whenever we played each other, it was very beneficial. I learned that I can't just hit the ball hard because it's not going to work. I had to find some other strategies to win."
 
Barbara Tscherne, who goes on the spring break trip with the team each year, will be on hand at the Regency Athletic Complex for Senior Day. Joey is his parents' only child.
 
"It's just me and my mom now – and our cat," he said. "It's different. You feel a little lost, because you don't have anyone to go back to.
 
"I just try to support my mom and help her out as much as I can. And I think one of the best ways to do that is to be here and doing what I'm passionate about, playing tennis."
 
A psychology major, Tscherne said he isn't sure if he uses what he's learned in class to gain an advantage against his opponents. But there's something to be said about how psychology has helped him on the court and in life.
 
"It's more about finding motivation," he said. "And maybe the mental toughness, not taking losses as badly, just moving forward. Psychology is about trying to move past your past experiences to create something positive."