Every sports team needs a comic to lighten up the atmosphere.
Senior Courtney Nagle relishes her role as the “team clown.”
One of her most memorable pranks was on her teammate and roommate Davina Mendiburu. Nagle decided an early morning wake-up call to her fellow senior would be extremely funny. Around 3:30 a.m., the deafening sounds of bells from an alarm clock blared through Mendiburu’s room and woke her up in disgust.
Nagle soon after realized her roommate had an early 8 a.m. test less than five hours later. Naturally, Mendiburu was angry and irritated with her “friend,” but Nagle is proud of her feat as it cemented her title as the “team clown.”
“That’s what you get from being a prankster sometimes,” Nagle said. “You get good results.”
Her career at Oregon has been nothing like a joke.
Nagle, a Denver native, walked onto the Oregon women’s tennis team back in 2000 and had an immediate impact on the program. She compiled a team-high 18 wins in her first year and since then holds a 54-42 singles record over her four-year career. Her early success as a Duck later earned her a scholarship.
Tennis, however, was not the only sport she embraced growing up. Basketball, softball and track interested her but tennis soon became the sport she loved playing as a child.
Nagle first picked up a tennis racket at age six and started to play seriously at the age of nine. She recalls writing in her journal back in second grade that she enjoyed playing tennis every day and looked forward to it each day thereafter.
“I loved it from the beginning,” Nagle said, “and I loved the other sports, but tennis is something (I embraced).”
Nagle starred at Monte Vista High School in Danville, Calif., where she won two straight league championships. Though she was not heavily recruited out of high school, Nagle decided to bring her talents to Oregon for a chance to play in the Pacific-10 Conference and also receive a good education.
“I wanted to play Pac-10 tennis,” said Nagle, an exercise and movement science major.
Nagle got her chance to play in the Pac-10 and contributed to one of Oregon’s biggest wins in the history of the program against national powerhouse Arizona last year. Her match decided the tiebreaker and the outcome of the dual contest, and Nagle eventually came back to win and help Oregon to its first road win in Tucson.
The list of accomplishments continues to grow for Nagle as each doubles and singles win inches her up the Oregon women’s tennis records. She already is in the top 10 in career singles victories and career doubles victories. Nagle is also fifth in most Division I season victories, third in doubles season victories and second in career Division I victories at Oregon.
Nagle said she has seen herself grow, not only as a player, but as a person. Being around eight women all year long for the past four years has helped develop her into who she is right now.
“I’ve come a long way,” Nagle said. “I am a lot more mature of a player. I’ve learned a lot more about my game and my style of play. I’ve also become a lot more outgoing.”
Oregon head coach Nils Schyllander said her maturity helped her earn her status as captain this year on a team on the rise.
“She is definitely the leader,” Schyllander said. “A lot of her teammates look up to her and she has had a positive effect on a lot of the other players. Her shoes will be very hard to fill. She is a great athlete and she is the glue that is keeping this team together.”
Away from the tennis courts, Nagle enjoys bowling and prides herself on scoring 140 in one game, which included a turkey. However, she has trouble finding any bowling partners.
“I like to go bowling but nobody ever wants to go bowling (with me),” Nagle said.
The Oregon senior also enjoys watching comedians and comedies on television.
“Chris Rock is really funny and most of those guys on Comedy Central,” she said.
Nevertheless, Nagle leaves behind her comedic drive when she steps out onto the tennis court, where it is all business.