A Tennis Champ on Wheels

WHEN THIS ATHLETE rushes the net, she burns rubber. With only two years' experience, Alie Mann '95 won the B Division doubles of the U.S. Open Wheelchair Tennis Championship.

Wheelchair tennis uses a regular court with only a few rule variations, notably that the ball can bounce twice. Making the shot and getting back to center court are essential for wheelchair players. "Able-bodied people go for power and long rallies and see who screws up first," says Mann. "We go for more angle shots because they are harder to return." In her sleek tennis chair Mann loves to move up court, but "we get killed on lobs if we don't put away shots up at the net," she says.

After the U.S. Open in October, she plans to take off winter term to play the Australian Open. Junior or senior summer she will travel the European circuit. But Mann is modest about her success. When the DAM approached her for an interview, a bystanding friend's eyes lit up: "I didn't know you were a tennis champion!"

Alie Mann '95 makes a lunge for an angle shot.