My Take

t's probably not enough to call Vanessa Webb one of Duke's better athletes. Sure, winning an individual title and reaching the team semifinals four straight years were nice, but there's more to the story.

Last year, I was in Nashville when a friend and I struck up a conversation with one of Vanderbilt's women's tennis players. The name "Vanessa Webb" literally caused this girl to shudder with fear, but not because Webb was the top-ranked player in the country with an apparently menacing reputation.

"I can't believe she's a triple major."

I couldn't believe this girl actually knew about Webb's academics, but she and many others knew that there was more to Vanessa Webb's than the trademark 'ooh' on each ground stroke, and the consistent serve and volley game that destroyed so many opponents. There's also the player who was almost giddy as she and Karen Goldstein finished off longtime nemesis Stanford in the national semifinals two years ago, and the player who would roll her eyes every time I asked after beating an opponent, 6-0, 6-3, if she lost those three games to be nice.

Apparently, there was also the player who caused her peers to shudder.