By Lilly Ma & Malai Escamilla
Throughout the past half-century, sports at Duke University have gained widespread traction and fame nationwide. As home to the famous Blue Devils and having a total endowment of just under $13 billion, it’s no wonder that sports at Duke has millions of fans.
In this article, we will be discussing the early Asian-American and Latinx pioneers in Duke Athletics. In doing so, we worked closely in both the University Archives and the Duke Athletics website in searching for not only the firsts of these categories but also influential athletes who helped to shape sports at Duke as a whole. As such, it is important to acknowledge that our findings are based on only a few weeks of research, and there may be some discrepancies. Given that the university has transitioned from paper to online newspapers and resources, along with the shortage of complete information previous to the 1980s, we did our best to work carefully past information gaps in ensuring the most accurate information. We look forward to presenting our findings on early prominent Asian-American and Latinx student-athletes at Duke University, and hope you enjoy.
The first Asian-American athlete at Duke we would like to discuss is Denise Ann Yamada. Yamada was a four-year scholarship player from Santa Barbara, CA. From the years of 1983 to 1987, she was a starter on the team most commonly as an outside hitter but also a middle blocker.
Yamada began her volleyball career as a freshman in Dos Pueblos High School. She also had an eager passion for track & field, and, upon starting her Duke athletic career, set the high jump record in 1983. In addition, in 1985, Axelson placed 2nd in the ACC in the high jump and topped two school records with a 5′ -8′′ high jump and a 15′ -11′′ long jump (not currently ranked). While Yamada had a passion and skill for both track and field and volleyball, she ultimately chose to focus on volleyball, because of the sense of community that being on a team sport provided her.
In Duke’s schoolwide newspaper, The Chronicle, head Volleyball coach Jon Wilson described Yamada, “She’s one of the most versatile players in the country, and the way she’s playing right now, she would start for any team in the country —she just does so many things so well’” (The Chronicle1986).
Yamada set three volleyball records: a match-record of 31 kills against Purdue in 1986 (currently ranked 5th in the Duke record books), a season-record of 67 service aces in 1984 (currently ranked 3rd), and a career-record 140 service aces from 1983-86 (currently 4th). In preparation for the ACC tournament before the team’s first match against UVA during her senior year, Yamada states “It’s weird to have the whole season come down to just one weekend. We just need to pull together and play steadily.”
Yamada graduated from Duke University in 1987 with a B.S. in Biology and Psychology. In addition, she was also given the Presidential Leadership Award along with the Duke University Senior Leadership Award along with 69 other student-athletes. Following her matriculation, Yamada earned a Master’s of Engineering degree in Biomedical Engineering from the University of Virginia in 1992.
Today, Yamada now resides in Nevada with her husband and daughter, and is a teacher at a high school.
Next, is Chi Shan Wai. A contemporary of Yamada’s, we first encountered Wai during our investigation into the extent of Yamada’s influence on the Duke Women’s Volleyball Team. She was a player on the team from 1982 to 1986 (just one year above Yamada) and was similarly a California native. Below is a scorecard with stats of both players highlighted:
Chi Wai was a four-year letter-winner and achieved the ACC Honor Roll numerous times. While we were unable to find much more information or coverage about Wai, we are grateful for both of these Asian-American volleyball players who were among the first Asian-American student-athlete pioneers in the Duke Athletics program. Without them, we may not have achieved as great athletic achievements as a university with the levels of diversity and inclusion we have now.
Almost two decades later, came yet another major pioneer in Asian-American sports at Duke —Viranda “Oui” Nirapathpongporn. While Nirapathpongporn may not have been one of the first Asian-American athletes, she nevertheless was an influential golf player that quickly rose to fame during her era. Originally from Bangkok, Thailand, Nirapathpongporn was a student at Duke from 2000 to 2004 and achieved numerous accomplishments during her time here. To name a few, Nirapathpongporn was the 2002 NCAA National Champion, finished her career with 27 top-10 finishes (which is tied for the Duke record), is the only Duke player to earn first-team NGCA All-America accolades in her each of her four years, and was a four-time all ACC selection player. She entered her first season on the team ranked 16th in the nation, just following her teammate Anne Hardin** as 15th. In one quote regarding playing in a tournament during the summer, Nirapathpongporn states, “‘You have to be 110 percent every day, every shot’” (The Chronicle 2001).
Following her matriculation from Duke with a B.A. in psychology, she went on to play professional golf in 2004 for years. She was voted the 2004 Nancy Lopez Award as the world’s top female amateur and was an LPGA Tour rookie in 2006. Years later in 2011, Nirapathpongporn made the decision to retire in February 2011 and returned home to Thailand after her fifteen-year stay in the U.S.
With regards to Latinx student-athletes, we found few records confirming any Latinx student-athletes before the 1990s. This does not necessarily mean that there were no Latinx athletes at Duke previous to the ‘90s, but instead that we did not have the methods to confirm Latinx heritage given the information available to us. As such, all the pioneers we are highlighting are from the 1990s and early 2000s.
The first Latinx athlete at Duke we would like to discuss is Luanne Spadea. Spadea spent several years competing in professional tournaments before beginning her freshman year at Duke in 1994, at 21 years old. Being of Colombian-Italian descent, Spadea was, as far as we can tell, the first Latina player in the Duke Women’s Tennis Team–though this cannot be confirmed, as many of the Women’s Tennis records before the 1995 season are incomplete.
Spadea was born in Boston, MA, but raised in Boca Raton, FL, where she had early exposure to tennis. Along with her two siblings, Diana and Vince Spadea, she was trained from a young age, and, at age 8, had already qualified for national tournaments in the 12-and-unders category. During her post-high school tennis tour, she maintained an amateur status despite competing very successfully in professional tournaments (ranked for singles in the top 200 players worldwide, and #98 worldwide in doubles) so that she would later be able to qualify for collegiate tennis, as she was determined to get her degree, stating, “I’m interested in everything. I’m interested not just in tennis, but in anything that’s conducive to learning something new.”
Her career at Duke was marked by success. She set several records, including 13 Consecutive ACC Singles wins, a record in Undefeated in ACC Singles Play of 6-0 in 1996, and 7-0 in 1997. She was also given the All-American honors in 1997, and was named an All-Time Letterwinner in 1996 and 1997. When discussing her solo career versus her college career, Spadea stated, “The tour is a lonely place. It’s real cutthroat out there. In college things are a lot easier. At the same time, adjusting to a team with seven other girls is different.”
Currently, Luanne Spadea resides in Florida with her husband and children, who are junior golfers.
Shortly after Luanne Spadea came her younger sister, Diana Spadea. Diana Spadea spent her freshman and sophomore year at UCLA, transferring to Duke for her junior year in 1996 to be closer to her family as well as spend time with her sister, who had just started there. Unlike her sister, Diana did not have a professional career before college, but being the youngest in a family that had already produced two tennis prodigies, was raised around the sport. At the start of her career, she expressed some hesitancy about the expectations placed upon her, stating, “Most people think that it's easier if your family is in tennis, but they expect me to be performing at a level that’s pretty high. Not only my performance, but they expect my desire and effort to be very high.”
Despite these worries, Diana proved to be very successful, and much like her sister, broke records and received honors during her two-year career in the Duke Women’s Tennis team. In 1997, she set a 7-0 record for being Undefeated in ACC Singles Play, was on the ACC Honor Roll in 1996 and 1997, was named an All-Time Letterwinner in 1996 and 1997, and was given the All-American honors in 1996.
After graduation, Diana Spadea pursued a law degree at Northwestern University, and now runs a private law practice.
The next Latinx pioneer we want to highlight is Andres Pedroso. Pedroso was a Cuban-American player in the Duke Men’s Tennis Team, and according to a 2001 article in The Chronicle, “distinguished himself almost as much with his social activism as he did on the tennis court.” Pedroso was from Coral Gables, Florida, and after graduating from Ransom Everglades High School, joined the Men’s Tennis Team in his freshman year in 1997.
Pedroso was an extremely successful tennis player, and like the other student-athlete pioneers, set many records and achieved many honors during his four-year career at Duke. He was ranked 39th in the ITA Singles National Rankings in 2000, and 39th again in 2001. He also received both the All-American Honor and the All-ACC Honor in 2000 and 2001, was an ACC Flight Champion in the doubles category in 2000, received an Academic Honor in 1999, 2000, and 2001, and was a Letterwinner from 1998-2001. As of the 2021-2022 season, he maintains a hold on many all-time records, including #8 in Most Singles Matches Played from Duke Men’s Tennis (152 matches), #8 in the 100-Win Club (108), #7 in Highest ACC Singles Winning Pct. (.850, or 17-3), #6 in Highest ACC Doubles Winning Pct. (.84s, or 16-3), #9 in Most Doubles Matches Played (45), #8 in Most Doubles Matches Won (33), #1 in Highest ACC Singles Winning Pct. Team (as part of a team with Ted Reuger, with 1.000 or 5-0 wins), spots #2 and #3 for the Most Singles Matches Played in a single season (49 in the 2000-01 season, 48 in the 1999-2000 season), #4 for the Most Singles Matches Won in a single season (36 in the 2000-01 season), and #9 in the Most Doubles Matches Played in a single season (44 in the 2000-01 season).
As a fun fact, Pedroso played the first game held at the Sheffield Indoor Tennis Center, during the grand opening of the center in 2000, winning in a doubles match with an 8-4 victory.
After graduation, Pedroso played professionally for four years, reaching career-high rankings of No. 271 in singles and No. 255 in doubles. He is currently the Director of Tennis and Head Men’s Tennis Coach at the University of Virginia.
The last Latinx athlete we would like to highlight is Jordan Cila. Cila was a star player on the Duke Men’s Soccer Team from 2000-2004, coming off of a strong high school career at Jericho High School in his hometown of Jericho, New York, where he was a Parade All-American and even played for theUnited States in the FIFA Under-17 World Championship in 1999.
Cila came from a strong family heritage of soccer. His father, Renato Cila, was a Brazilian professional soccer defensive midfielder, and Cila first started to play the game at four years old. In his freshman year, Cila scored 13 goals, tying him for #2 on Duke’s All-Time Freshman Scoring List, he was an All-ACC selection in 2000 and 2001, and he was ranked #5 on the All-Time ACC Assists List, with 35 assists. He became the team captain in his junior year, saying, “Each player has to decide his role on the team. I want to be a leader out there, and I want to make sure we win.”
Upon graduation, Cila went on to play Major League Soccer, on teams such as the Colorado Rapids, Real Salt Lake, and the New York Red Bulls. He retired from professional soccer in 2006, at 24 years old. He is currently the head of Fixed Income Sales for Americas and EMEA for Citadel Securities.
In conclusion, while the history of the Duke Blue Devils athletic teams extends back into the 1920s, the history of visible Asian-American and Latinx Blue Devils seems to be far more recent, beginning largely in the 1980s and 1990s. These trailblazers have left a major impact on the university, breaking records, receiving honors, and changing the game in inspiring ways. We hope that in highlighting these pioneers, we can help to expand upon the history and impact of the Asian-American and Latinx community at Duke University.
Special thanks to Professor Orin Starn and Professor Jennifer Nash for an amazing semester. Without their support and willingness to support our project, this research would not have been possible. Also thanks to the TA’s of the course, Amanda Bennett and Joe Hiller, for their support, as well as Amy McDonald in the Duke University Archives for helping us navigate these historical files.