Sister Andrea

I am in shock: People magazine is reporting that former tennis wunderkind Andrea Jaeger has recently become a nun. Growing up, Jaeger was one of my favorite players. I used to love her rubber bands with marbles on them around her pigtails and the way she'd use all those moonballs and drop shots to run Martina Navratilova around the court. When she retired from tennis in 1987 and opened her Silver Lining Ranch for terminally ill children in Colorado with her "best pal" Heidi Bookout, I was impressed that she'd turned her troubled youth into a fulfilling adult life -- and I assumed she'd tackled her completely obvious "lifestyle" issues. I guess I was wrong or even if she had then, it seems she's decided to tackle them the old-fashioned way now (not that there's anything wrong with that). (People) I guess this quote from a May 14, 2004, Dallas Morning News article pretty much said it all: "At times, I feel God nudging me to preach," Jaeger said and laughed. "It will be interesting in 10 years to see where I am. I have a feeling I'm not going to be content just sitting in the pews." UPDATE: My brother Bill sent me this cute quote (this Jimmy Arias bit has "Tom Cruise is a cutie patootie" written all over it!:

Dominican nun Andrea Jaeger speaking with SI.com on her biggest tennis
moments: "There are two. One was winning the French Open mixed doubles
championship with Jimmy Arias because I had such a crush on him. I
knew I had to win this tournament for him because then maybe he would
like me (laughs) and I'd get to spend more time with him. We were so
young. It was if we were going to a movie together. And beating Billie
Jean King on center court at Wimbledon in 1983. That was special
because she retired after that. She was a pioneer. I didn't know it
was her last match. I beat her 6-1. 6-1."