They are only sophomores, little more than halfway through their second season of college tennis.
But already, Wendy Fix and Karen O'Sullivan have made quite an impact on the Duke women's tennis program. And in just over a month--after two years of collegiate competition--the Blue Devil tandem will become the "elder stateswomen" for the perennial-powerhouse program.
When senior co-captains Monica Mraz and Wendy Lyons graduate in May, after completing their own storied careers, Fix and O'Sullivan are expected to assume the leadership role on a team that currently has no juniors.
The ninth-ranked Blue Devils (14-4, 4-0 in the Atlantic Coast Conference) will take on rival North Carolina (8-9, 1-3 ACC) today at 2 p.m., at Duke Tennis Stadium.
Fix and O'Sullivan have been fixtures in the Duke lineup ever since they arrived in Durham in the fall of 1993. They have played anywhere from numbers three to five in the singles lineup, and they have also established themselves as successful doubles players.
Last year, they helped the Blue Devils to a quarterfinal finish in the NCAA tournament. Fix picked up 14 singles wins and was 10-1 at No. 3 doubles with partner Kim Schiff--who transferred to Vanderbilt following last season. And O'Sullivan was 5-2 at the No. 3 singles spot and captured a total of 15 singles victories in dual matches.
This year, the wins have again followed--both for the team and the individuals. This bodes well for both the present and future versions of the women's tennis team.
"I always tell them that they're the future of Duke tennis, because we don't have any juniors right now," first-year head coach Jody Hyden said of the sophomore tandem. "I think that both of them are improving a lot. They compete hard, and day-in and day-out, the matches that they play are always competitive. I think that's their greatest asset--their competitiveness.
"You back them into a corner, and they'll fight their way out. That's how you want your players to be."
Fix and O'Sullivan, who hail from Kenilworth, Ill, and South Boston, Mass., respectively, were both highly-touted junior players. They were each also recruited by 1993 national champion Texas, but the Blue Devils and then-head coach Geoff Macdonald ultimately secured their services.
Unlike many kids who hail from warmer climates, while in high school neither player was able to practice for hours and hours every day of the week. Because of that, Macdonald believed they still held untapped potential even after impressive junior careers.
"I had similar feelings about both of them," Macdonald said Monday. "If they came into a good program and were pushed, they were going to thrive."
That's certainly been the case, although this season, they haven't done it under Macdonald's tutelage. Hyden, who was an assistant for Macdonald at Duke in 1990-91, took the Blue Devil post last August when Macdonald went to Vanderbilt.
According to Fix, the transition has been just fine.
"I've had no problems adjusting to Jody," Fix said. "He's made great additions to my game. It usually takes time to get adjusted to a coach personality-wise, but we all adjusted to him very fast."
On the court, there are slight differences in their styles. The athletic Fix has been more of a counter-punching, baseline player, while O'Sullivan is the more explosive performer--Hyden said she "hits the ball as hard as anybody in college."
"We're trying to get [Fix] to come forward more, to come to the net more, to take some smart risks," Hyden said. "Physically, she's got all the talent and all the tools.
"The biggest thing that Karen's been doing this year is to continue to work on hurting people with her playing style, but at the same time, continue to work on not hurting herself. She's done a good job with that."
Off the court, the sophomores may distinguish themselves even further--which is something Macdonald had in mind during their recruitment.
"You can make a mistake and recruit eight identical people to a team," Macdonald said. "What makes a team is a bunch of different personalities coming together to do something."
Hyden agreed, saying, "Both of them are very different, and they're both very unique people. They're not like anyone else you'll meet. That's what makes people fun to work with."
Fix is an outspoken, fiery competitor. She likes to have fun and is often referred to as a "free spirit"--off the court, at least.
On the court, though, she is anything but easygoing. She will talk to herself quite a bit and will let everyone know when she's not happy.
"I get very intense at times," Fix said. "Definitely, off the court I'm free-spirited. I wouldn't want to say I'm that way on the court."
Macdonald said that he took an immediate liking to O'Sullivan when he met her during the recruiting process.
"I really liked the way she played," he said. "On top of that, she's just a great person, just very solid and fun to be around."
Macdonald's original character analysis seems to have proven accurate.
"Karen looks out to make sure that everything's right, and she takes care of details," Hyden said. "She's very organized. We always say that, in a really great way, she's kind of a `mother' of the team. She's a very caring person. "
Following this season, Fix and O'Sullivan will become the leaders of the Duke tennis program--along with teammate Luanne Spadea. Spadea, who may miss the rest of the season with a thyroid gland problem, will also have two years of eligibility remaining after this year.
Although Fix and O'Sullivan are concentrating on the present--namely, today's match with UNC and the team's matches through the rest of this season--the future invariably creeps into their thoughts.
And for two relatively new collegiate competitors, that future--when the torch of leadership and seniority will be passed on--is not too far away.
"It's a weird situation not having juniors on the team," O'Sullivan said. "But I think Wendy [Fix] and I, being the oldest, are capable of being leaders on the team in the years to come.
"I think we're pretty much prepared for it."
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