April 2, 2004

Written By John Dell Of The Winston-Salem Journal:

There's only one person in Janet Wheeler's life who is allowed to call her "Mom." That's her daughter, 5-year-old Erin.

Wheeler, a 37-year-old freshman tennis player at Winston-Salem State, can laugh about what she calls "reliving her youth." But neither her teammates nor Coach Leon Kay are laughing, because Wheeler hasn't let her age get in the way of playing a competitive sport.

Maybe it's because she looks as if she's 22 and is in better shape than a lot of other players half her age, but she doesn't look or feel out of place playing against teen-agers. Most opponents don't even realize Wheeler's age.

"Really, I haven't heard anything about that," said Wheeler, a flight attendant who took a sabbatical to go back to school full time. "They find out after the match after Coach Kay mentions something to their coach."

Wheeler, whose husband, Oliver, is a former football player at Livingstone, is also a flight attendant. They have lived in Winston-Salem for 10 years. Erin is the family's scorekeeper.

"Every time I come home she asks, 'Mommy, did you win?'" Wheeler said. "And she's been to a couple of home matches, and it's nice to have her there." Wheeler, who has a 3.8 grade- point average in sports management, isn't playing tennis to make a point.

She simply wanted an extracurricular activity that wouldn't interfere with her busy life. "I had missed the deadline to try out, and Coach Kay approached me and asked if I wanted to play. I said, 'I've thought about it,'" said Wheeler, who picked up tennis several years ago as a form of exercise. "And the next thing I know, I'm filling out forms in his office and was on the team."

So far Wheeler, who hadn't played a competitive sport until this spring, has played very well. As the Rams head into today's home match against N.C. Central, Wheeler is 7-3 in singles playing mostly at No. 5. In doubles, she and partner Ashley Hopper are 8-3. Hopper, a freshman, wasn't born when Wheeler graduated from high school near Pittsburgh in 1984.

"I haven't thought about that," Wheeler said. "That's kind of funny." Wheeler, on target to graduate next May, had been going to school part time for several years but wanted to get her degree faster, so she took a leave of absence from US Airways. But her days are still filled with plenty of activities.

She will even start to substitute teach three days a week in the Winston-Salem/Forsyth County system, which will make her even more pressed for time.

"Everybody asks me where I find the time for all of this, and I really don't know," Wheeler said. "Maybe if I don't think about that, it won't catch up with me." Kay said that Wheeler has been great for the team because she is a dedicated, walking example of how to accomplish goals.

"They look upon her as somebody who is mature, but she's a student, and she offers them advice," Kay said. "And it's not just about tennis. It's about things that happen in life, and I think that's something the other ladies really listen to."

Wheeler doesn't think of herself as an Ann Landers type, doling out advice. She'd rather just enjoy the camaraderie of the team and help when she can.

"I just like to tell everybody that I've used persistence and dedication in my life, and that's what has gotten me this far," Wheeler said.

She will likely play tennis again next spring unless internships get in the way.

She did have a rude awakening in the Rams' first match.

"One thing that I really had to get used to was the crowd of people actually watching us play," Wheeler said. "I had never had anybody watch me. That took some getting used to." Once she got over the stage fright, Wheeler said, the experience of playing college tennis has been great.

"The whole collegiate experience is something that I just love," she said. "I guess I am reliving my youth."

* John Dell can be reached at 727-4081 or at jdell@wsjournal.com

Special thanks to John Dell of the Winston-Salem Journal