Guided by her ultimate coach
Netter Keri Phebus endured a stormy freshman year by gaining spirituality
By Chris Isidro
NEWPORT BEACH -- The rolling hills overlooking the Pacific Ocean are the only bumps one can find in this Orange County town. The Harbor View housing tract, where UCLA junior netter Keri Phebus grew up, is a testament to uniformity with green grass and gray homes dotting the land as far as the eye can see.
But despite its exterior appearance, the Phebus residence stands out. Once the big wooden door to the single-story house opens, a room filled with duck and bunny statuettes and hand-woven dolls comes to life. Rocky, a black labrador, growls as he defends his master's turf.
After negotiating past Rocky, a wall overlooking the kitchen reveals a collection of awards and mementos more extensive than many high school trophy cases. Trophies, medals and pictures tell the story of a promising young athlete and a cherished daughter.
There's a picture of a 17-year-old Phebus walking onto the court with Stefan Edberg at the local country club for an exhibition match. To its left rests a national team portrait with Phebus and a bubbly faced Jennifer Capriati. An NCAA runner-up plaque stands a few feet above eye level, a tangible reminder of the her title run in Georgia last year.
Two snapshots guard the center of the wall. In one, there is a smiling 12-year-old Phebus sharing her United States Tennis Association title with long-time coach Myron McNamara. And in the heart of the collection, a portrait of the Phebus family, together on a cove at sunset, sits at eye level in the center of the wall.
Tennis was always a family event. Richard Phebus would take older daughter Kristi to the courts and Keri, at age 6, tagged along. Though the father spent most of his time working with Kristi, Keri just enjoyed having a racket in hand.
"All of my attention was showered on the older one," Richard Phebus recalled. "Keri always asked, 'Can I come along?' and I'd let her come with us. We didn't know how good she really was."
The revelation came at one of Kristi's tournaments. At her sister's events, Keri would go to the tournament booth and ask if she could play. The first time her request was fulfilled, Phebus took home first place in the novice division.
"This is me after I won my first tournament when I was 8," Phebus said while looking at the old snapshot. "I don't know where the trophy is, it was thrown out long ago."
Not to worry; it would not be her last award. Under the tutelage of McNamara, a teaching pro with the Newport Beach Tennis Club at the time, Phebus climbed the rankings until she hit the top with her win at junior nationals. A world of promise suddenly opened its gates.
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Phebus and her mother Donna looked long and hard for a parking spot at Mariners Church only five minutes from home. Finally, a car drove off and Phebus squeezed in her Ford Bronco. Late for church, a large congregation stood and mouthed lyrics as the choir wailed away.
When the sermon began, Phebus opened her well-worn Bible. Ink and Hi-Lite marks were visible throughout the pages, symptomatic of someone who leads two Bible study groups at UCLA. Quickly, she turned to Exodus 33:18 where Moses asks God to "Show me your glory ..."
The wins continued to pile up as Phebus reeled in No. 1 rankings in the 14-and-unders and later the 16-and-unders. By the end of her junior career, she saw five continents and raked in numerous national titles.
"People spend all their lives trying to get just one gold ball," Richard Phebus said referring to the USTA championship trophy. "Keri has nine of them. Nobody has nine gold balls!"
Agents swarmed in with the lure of fame and fortune in the pro circuit when Phebus was 15. Though the temptation to make the leap gnawed at the young star, the Southern California girl was not ready to give up the life that she knew.
"I don't think I was mature enough to handle the tour," Phebus said. "I always traveled to tournaments with my mom or dad and I wasn't ready to be out there on my own."
The pros stopped beckoning but the pressure of being on top for so long began to wear on Phebus. In 18-and-unders, losing came more often and new feelings about tennis seeped into her heart.
"For a while there, tennis just wasn't fun for me anymore," Phebus said. "I hated losing and I vented my emotions by crying after the match."
Phebus peaked at No. 2 in the 18-and-under division, a ranking which would typically draw raves for any other player. Instead, second-best was synonymous with "burnout" for Phebus.
"Keri accomplished just as much in juniors as players who turn pro at 15 or 16," UCLA head coach Bill Zaima said. "But a lot of people thought she was through after her second year of 18-and-unders."
Phebus picked UCLA her parents and seven other relatives were also Bruins to "jump start" her career. Thrust into the top spot in the lineup, the freshman completed a 25-11 season, and finished the season 11th in the country.
A solid performance in the regular season, however, masked the troubles Phebus encountered in her first year as a Bruin. The strain of playing intercollegiate sports, pledging a sorority and keeping up with studies seemed to break Phebus all at once.
She was caught turning in another student's paper during spring quarter. Then at the NCAA tournament, a viral infection forced Phebus out of action, just when the team needed her the most.
"The thing that bothered Keri the most was that she thought she let her teammates down," Donna Phebus said.
For someone who breezed through the game of life so easily, freshman year left Phebus deflated and defeated. A once-proud champion now faced a quarter of ineligibility from the tennis team for academic dishonesty and questions of her toughness.
Phebus spent a week at Athletes in Action summer camp at the urging of Bruin hoopster Rodney Zimmerman. It was there she found new direction. It was there she found someone to turn to when things went wayward. It was there she charged up the side of a hill on the final day and saw the glory of God.
"We raised her in a Christian environment but she never made God a top priority in her life," Donna Phebus said. "She didn't even read the Bible before that summer."
After sitting out the fall schedule, Phebus got her sophomore campaign off to a good start with a semifinal appearance at the Pac-10 Championships. She tore through the dual matches with a 20-3 record at No. 1 and 2. Then at the NCAA tournament, Phebus became the second unseeded player to reach the singles finals.
This year, Phebus took two titles, the first of her career, and went undefeated in dual matches to go 47-4 in her junior campaign and is one of the favorites to win the NCAA singles title next week.
"I'm out on the courts to glorify God," Phebus said. "God is my ultimate head coach and whatever happens is in his scheme."
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Phebus awoke from a satisfying afternoon nap on a bed that barely engulfs her 6-foot-1-inch frame. The bedroom walls were covered with snapshots of Keri and friends. No plaques here, just a smiling Phebus and company having fun.
Off the courts, Phebus leads two Bible studies and maintains close ties with her friends despite a tight schedule.
"She manages to find time for her friends and her faith," her friend Wendy Cox said while displaying an album Phebus compiled. "Keri just gives a lot of herself to everybody."
Phebus has no visions of grandeur and glory after college. After a stint in pro tennis, she just wants to come back and share her experiences with the children.
"I love kids and I just want to have the same impact on them that Myron has had in my life," Phebus said.
And if the effect she's had on her own coach is any indication, Phebus will make a big difference in her own pupil's lives.
"Keri is a very endearing young lady," McNamara said. "I've been very blessed to have her in my life."