It started out like any other story of a young tennis player: one or both of his parents play tennis, so the child has to go to practice with the parent. Naturally the child gets bored and starts hitting some balls around.
That's the basic story of how senior Philippe Moggio got interested in tennis. Except it didn't happen in a country club in Florida or New Jersey.
Moggio was born in Bogota, Colombia, and lived there until he was 12 years old. His parents moved to Fort Lauderdale, Fla. for a year when he was 12.
"My dad wanted to experience a different culture and he wanted us to learn English," Moggio said of his family's move. "We were just going to stay for a year, and then it just transferred from year to year. Then they decided it was good for my tennis to stay in Florida."
After playing junior tennis in Florida, Moggio looked at schools where he could receive a good education and also play competitive tennis.
"I wanted a good academic school first of all, and then tennis was my priority," Moggio said. "I was looking around at different places. I spoke to [head coach Jay Lapidus] and it worked out that he was interested. And then I loved the place, plus it had great tennis."
When Moggio came to Duke in the fall of 1991, Lapidus had just completed his first year as head coach of the Blue Devils, leading them to only their second Atlantic Coast Conference title in school history. Prior to that year, the Blue Devils had been unranked and virtually unheard of on the college tennis scene.
However, under Lapidus' coaching, Duke has now become a perennial top-10 team. With the help of a host of talented players, the Blue Devils have reached the NCAA quarterfinals for the past two years. Moggio has seen the rise of Duke tennis over the years that he has been here, and he credits Lapidus with that improvement.
"His recruiting efforts and his commitment are unbelievable," Moggio said. "He's the reason why [senior Chris Pressley] and I came here. He's willing to work with you. The stats prove that ever since he's been here the program's improved."
Moggio has not always occupied a secure spot in Duke's starting lineup as he has now achieved at the No. 5 singles position. During his freshman year, he didn't play and had to work at his game to earn a spot in the lineup.
"When I first came, I wasn't playing, I wasn't starting," Moggio said. "Sophomore year I was going through some changes in my game. It would have been easy just to quit and to give up, just to go the other way. But that's not a part of me--I like to stick with things. When it came down to it, I wanted to be a part of the team so badly."
Moggio worked on his game and earned a spot in the starting lineup his junior year, and he serves as co-captain with Pressley this season.
"I think [Moggio's] learned how to use his strengths really well," Lapidus said. "He's got probably the quickest hands of anybody I've ever coached. He's built his game around his strengths. He's a great athlete--he's incredibly fit."
As co-captain Moggio is not a loud, outspoken leader. He leads by example and work ethic, always staying on the court extra time in practice or working hard on his conditioning.
"He has a quiet sort of leadership," Lapidus said. "It's definitely been great for us. He just keeps working and working. He's just a great success story. He's the ultimate team guy."
Pressley, who is a two-time All-American, is Moggio's fellow co-captain, and the two are good friends off the court. Moggio has never felt crowded by Pressley's billing as a top-ranked player.
"I always knew that [Chris] would play ahead of me," Moggio said. "I've admired him and I've used him as an example. He's actually helped me a lot. It's really rewarding to play with him. I've never sensed that I was in his shadows."
One of the strengths of Duke this year is the fact that the team did not lose any players from last year's ACC champion squad. The Blue Devils also added two freshmen, who only improve the depth for which this team is famous.
"It's easy to go out and feel confident because we know what every one of our players has to offer," Moggio said. "Team tennis is not that team oriented because everybody is playing out there individually, but it's so nice to feel like you're close to the people out there. I think that makes a big difference between a top-five team and a top-10 team."
An unusual success story for Moggio this year has been his doubles play with sophomore Adam Gusky. Prior to the National Clay Courts this fall, the tandem had never played doubles together. When another doubles team dropped out of the tournament just before it started, Lapidus entered the pair at the last minute.
Gusky and Moggio advanced all the way through to the semifinals of that grand slam tournament, and have since achieved a No. 21 national ranking.
"What happens in doubles is the chemistry between the two players is very important," Moggio said. "The important thing about Adam and me, what we noticed in [the Clay Courts], is that we were having fun out there. We enjoyed playing with each other, and that's carried over into the spring."
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