Ansley Cargill and Kelly McCain are not typical college seniors.
They entered Duke as members of the varsity tennis team, left to join the professional circuit and have since returned to complete their degrees. Both are now volunteer assistant coaches for Duke's team.
At a time when many in the University are re-examining the role of collegiate sports, Cargill and McCain-initially members of the Classes of 2004 and 2005, respectively-said they first came to Duke because of its reputation as both a high-caliber academic institution and a perennial tennis power.
McCain said she felt prepared to make the leap to professional tennis after her sophomore year at Duke.
"College tennis allows you to get to a certain point, and it's a really good stepping point to go pro," she said.
Cargill's experience was slightly different. As an amateur tennis player in high school, she was able to play in a few professional tournaments. She was already ranked 220th in the world, and she hoped to at least maintain the ranking while at Duke.
"Tennis is very one-dimensional-that's all you do," Cargill said. "I felt going to school helped me see what I wanted to do in a better light. [Pro tennis] is a really big commitment, and I wasn't sure if I wanted to do that."
After a year at Duke, she decided to play professional tennis full-time.
Life as pros
Cargill and McCain soon discovered there is a vast difference between professional and collegiate athletics.
"You go from a team atmosphere to very individualistic," McCain said. "It's an everybody-for-themselves mentality."
McCain said she often travelled three weeks a month. Cargill similarly described playing around 32 weeks in the year, in addition to planning her schedule, balancing finances and making travel arrangements.
"It's basically like running your own business," she said.
Both players found some success on the professional tennis circuit.
Cargill competed against Venus Williams during the round of 64 at the 2003 Australian Open, but her favorite moment was her 2002 defeat of Patty Schneider, who was ranked eighth in the world at the time.
McCain played in four Grand Slam events and qualified for the French Open.
"It's really self-satisfying," McCain said of her accomplishments, noting that she remembers seeing about 20 American fans in the stands during her qualifying match.
"It's just really amazing how wherever you go there's someone there who knows you," she added. "A lot of them had followed me in college, and keep in contact with me through e-mail."
Deciding to return
McCain said she had a tough realization in the pros when she discovered that winning did not make her happy.
"I feel like sometimes out there when you're winning, it kind of covers up how you feel about things, and when you're losing, everything gets a lot worse," she said.
She decided she was tired of the "really hard lifestyle," and after two years as a professional, she returned last fall to complete her degree.
Cargill, who spent three years away from school, said she was mentally burned out and needed to reassess her goals. She had already accomplished all she had initially set out to do and said she wanted to return to a "normal life."
Back at Duke
Both players said the transition back to being full-time students was not easy.
For Cargill, who had officially withdrawn from school, it involved working with the administration and re-applying to the University.
Director of Athletics Joe Alleva said returning professional athletes value a Duke diploma, and he supports their decisions.
"It brings them back for the primary reason they selected Duke in the first place-the life-long benefits of the educational experience at Duke University," he said.
Cargill said it was hard to re-adjust to not competing regularly.
"Even though sometimes I might not love the hotel room, the airplane rides-once you have achieved a certain level of success and made friends in the professional world, it's very hard to not have that with you at all times," she said.
Cargill said registering for classes through ACES and re-orienting to a campus that had undergone dramatic physical changes was a challenge, and she doubted her decision for the first few months. For McCain, it was hard to re-establish social relationships.
But both players said that despite the difficulties, they are happy they returned to school.
"It might not be bad if you always want to play tennis, but if you want to do something else, it's very hard without an education," Cargill said.
Now that they are back at school, the two players realized that their experiences as professional athletes have proven to be assets.
Sue Wasiolek, dean of students and assistant vice president for student affairs, said it is not uncommon for students to return to school with added wisdom, experience and a greater appreciation for their education.
"Like many other things in life, you don't know how good you have it until it's gone, and I have heard many students who have left Duke for a period of time say that about their Duke experience," Wasiolek wrote in an e-mail.
What's next?
Cargill and McCain are both slated to graduate in May and plan to pursue careers outside of tennis.
McCain wants to start a graphic design company with her brother, also a former standout college tennis player.
Cargill was hired by Morgan Stanley, but she said she is still unsure as to what degree she will remain involved in tennis.
She is now one of the 15th-highest ranked American female tennis players, as she has continued to play in tournaments after her return to Duke.
"I think it'll always be in my life," Cargill said. "For some reason if I don't enjoy my job or it's not for me, I'll always have tennis to fall back on."
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