Guided by her ultimate coach

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.

* * *

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."

* * *

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."