Senior Driven

You can't measure what a kid like that brings to your program. Just because we might bring in talent doesn't mean we will replace Dane Webb.
Head Coach John Roddick

WACO, Texas – After a light hitting session on a recovery day for the Oklahoma men's tennis team, players gather under an awning to stay out of a hastening rain. Just two people remain on the court. Dane Webb hits forehand after forehand as head coach John Roddick feeds him balls.

Practice has been over for ten minutes and yet Webb continues to chase the perfect shot. Even after four years he's still the last player off the court.

Dane Webb is a senior driven.

“I just hate losing so much,” Webb said. “I feel like in tennis there are only so many things you can control, and I can control how hard I compete. I just try and help the team every time I go out. I want to get a win for everyone and help us reach our ultimate goal.”

The ultimate goal is the NCAA Championship. The Sooners came up just two points shy of that goal in 2014 and the team is hungry for more. That hunger has driven the 2015 Oklahoma squad to an ITA National Indoor Championship, a third Big 12 Championship in four years and has the team primed for a quarterfinal matchup with Georgia on Saturday at noon.

Webb celebrates the clinching point against Ohio State in 2014. The win propelled Oklahoma to its first ever No. 1 ranking.

This season's historic run has been driven by the senior captain.

“Dane has been the heart and soul of this team almost since he arrived,” Roddick said. “Even as a freshman he was a great leader.”

“He has been here for four years so he has a lot of experience,” junior Axel Alvarez said. “His energy and the way he encourages everyone to keep fighting is huge for us. He leads by example. He is always trying to get pumped even if he is a set down. He still believes that he can win the match.”

That never-say-die attitude is something that Webb has instilled in his younger teammates and it's something this year's Sooner squad has come to embody.

“In my first few years we had some holes and sometimes people would be off and on,” Webb said. “I think now everyone competes unreal every time we go out there.”

“He wants so badly to win and get the NCAA title,” Alvarez said. “I think his level of energy and effort is what I have learned the most from him. When we are down or losing a match and you see him, it reminds you how important the match is. The score doesn't matter. What matters is your attitude and how badly you want to win.”

Webb hasn't always been so competitive.

“I am pretty laid back off the court,” Webb said. “Once I get going and the blood starts pumping I get pretty fiery. When I started playing I wasn't all that competitive, but as I grew up it just started to come out.”

That competitive drive is one of the things that brought Webb to OU and to coach Roddick.

“I know he is pretty intense so we get along well on court in that regard,” Webb said. “We both get fired up, and we have a similar mentality. I could see that during recruiting and it attracted me to OU because I knew he was a really good coach.”

In Webb's four years as a Sooners he has racked up more total wins that any one in program history. Webb sits at 211 career wins with a program best 106 doubles wins and sits in second with 105 career singles wins. He has led Oklahoma to three Big 12 Championships during his career and is a two-time ITA All-American. Just last week Webb was named the winner of the central region ITA/Arthur Ashe Jr. Sportsmanship and Leadership Award.

Webb and his teamates celebrate the Sooners' 4-3 win over Baylor in the 2015 Big 12 Championship. Webb has been part of three Big 12 titles in his Sooner career.

“You can't measure what a kid like that brings to your program.” Roddick said. “He does things right every day. He has been probably the most fun person I have ever coached. Losing him will be big from a playing standpoint, but it will be an even bigger loss from an attitude and leadership standpoint. Just because we might bring in talent doesn't mean we will replace Dane Webb.”

Like every senior athlete, Webb faces the grim reality that his next match could very well be his last.

“I was pretty nervous yesterday after I finished because I didn't know if that was my last one,” Webb said. “The match was at 3-all and it was close on six. Florin (Bragusi) was up a break but you never know. While you are playing you forget all that stuff, but after I finish, and I am watching I am definitely thinking about it. It is pretty emotional.”

Webb is driven to do something that only one team each season can do… end his season, and his career, with a win.

“I just want to win the whole thing.”

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Oklahoma will face No. 8 Georgia in the quarterfinals of the NCAA Championships at noon on Saturday in Waco, Texas. Match preview here.

For more information on Oklahoma Men's Tennis, follow the team on Twitter at @OU_MTennis.