DURHAM, N.C.- The Duke women's tennis team is ranked third nationally and is undefeated (6-0) in conference play this season.  Recently, GoDuke.com sat down with senior Monica Gorny to learn more about the Pietermaritzburg, South Africa native.  

GoDuke.com: What do you have DVR’d?
Monica Gorny: Right now I have nothing, but usually The Big Bang Theory.

GoDuke.com: What embarrassing music do you have on your iPod?
MG: I have [some] Venga Boys.

GoDuke.com: What is your favorite movie?
MG: That’s really hard, but I’m going to say The Lion King.

GoDuke.com: Do you have any superstitions/pre-game rituals? If so, what are they?
MG: I have a specific playlist that I listen to before matches, and I always have to eat an energy bar before I go on the court.

GoDuke.com: What’s on your bucket list?
MG: I really want to go to Antarctica and I want to work in South Africa doing human rights work. I want to see a lemur in its real habitat in Madagascar.

GoDuke.com: What’s the biggest obstacle you’ve had to overcome?
MG: When I was 15, I had a torn ACL. I had the operation and getting back was difficult. Also, probably being an international student at Duke. In my first year it was kind of hard to [become] accustomed to everything.

GoDuke.com: What is your favorite home cooked meal?
MG: I love my mother’s spaghetti.

GoDuke.com: What is your favorite class at Duke?
MG: Definitely my human rights class.

GoDuke.com: What has been your toughest class at Duke?
MG: Chemistry-31.

GoDuke.com: Where do you like to study on campus?
MG: Von der Heyden Café and Perkins/Bostock Library

GoDuke.com: Where do you see yourself in 10 years?
MG: I see myself as a human rights lawyer working for the U.N. (United Nations) in Geneva.

GoDuke.com: Who has had the most impact on your life and why?
MG: Definitely my mom and dad just because I look up to them a lot and I think they are good role models to follow. I’d like to be like them one day.

GoDuke.com: Describe head coach Jamie Ashworth in one word.
MG: Unpredictable.

GoDuke.com: Can you cook? If so what are you good at?
MG:  I can’t cook but I can make scrambled eggs.

GoDuke.com: Who would you trade places with for a day?
MG: I would trade places with an astronaut because I want to go to space, but no particular person.

GoDuke.com: What is your worst habit?
MG: Saying ‘literally’ too often.

GoDuke.com: What was your first Car?
MG: A bug; A [Volkswagen] beetle. It was yellow.

GoDuke.com: Fill in the blank -- I wish I knew how to ________.
MG: Sing

GoDuke.com: Who would play you in a movie?
MG: Someone who makes a fool out of themselves – I don’t know who. I’ll just say Sandra Bullock because I love her.

GoDuke.com: What is your favorite restaurant in Durham?
MG: I really like Nosh.

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