The ladies

Verena Phipps

While we waited for our coffee, Verena picked up a cheap game they're selling that is apparently left over from Valentine's Day, called "Who will your lover be?" Verena worked hard at it, avoiding the less desirable characteristics and finally ending up with "world traveler," "wanderer," and "politically correct." I left it to chance and got "idiot savant," "high school dropout," and "clinically insane." Go figure.

I asked Verena about lacrosse. A four-year starting defender and one of two seniors on the team, Verena enjoys her leadership role, especially in serving as a role model for the freshmen, who, she said, "have so much depth and talent, with stick skills I never had."

Then we move on to meatier material. "Boyfriend?" I ask. She grew noticeably reticent. "Not right now, but I have been kind of a serial monogamist since freshman year." "How many have you had?" "Three." "All athletes?" "Well, yes. But that's more because the circle of athletes is so tight—not all of my friends are athletes by any means." "What do you do for fun?" "We've got the 48-hour rule in season, so I usually go out on Saturdays. I like to get together with friends on a smaller level before heading over to Toad's."

I asked her what the wildest thing she's done is, and, after considering whether or not to reveal it, she mentioned something about a "naked chicken fighting episode in Myrtle Beach last year." She refused to elaborate. Verena sees next year as an adventure, hoping to travel in Europe or ski for a season in Colorado. What if a few world-travelling, politically correct guys hit on her while she's there? "I have a lot of guy friends, so it doesn't consciously register that people are hitting on me. I'm really comfortable around guys—I'd say I'm quite an oblivious person."
—Ben Reiter

Clara Gillespie

We agreed to do the interview at Atti-cus. I got there first, and sat at the counter. A minute later, the door swung open. Baby blue sweater, jeans, purple scarf coyly wrapped around her neck, brown hair framing a quietly gorgeous face.

I sat down across from my subject, lacrosse attacker Clara Gillespie, TC '01, who has seemingly cornered the market on girl-next-door-cutesy sex appeal. As I stared, I realized that she was waiting for me to ask a question. So I said, drawing on years of experience as a sports journalist, "Um."

Luckily for me and my suddenly sweaty palms, Clara was as sweet and engaging as she was attractive. "I mean, I'm flattered, but I don't get that a lot," she said modestly of being named one of Yale's most beautiful athletes. Despite her looks, she claimed she doesn't hear too many pick-up lines. "I don't think guys approach me any more than the normal girl," she said. Besides, they wouldn't have much of a chance—in a devastating revelation for single guys everywhere, Clara admitted she has a boyfriend. They started dating when he was a senior and she was an innocent frosh. "It was scandalous," she said, laughing.

Though Clara said she and her man are serious, long-distance relationships are never a sure bet. Indeed, she hasn't seen him much recently. "Last year, I visited him all the time [in New York], and I didn't have a lot of close friends here," she said. "We decided that had to change." So what kind of guy would she look for if she were single? "I like a guy who's confident, sexy, and doesn't take himself too seriously," she said, as I took notes.

This season, the Virginia native is second on the team in points, so she can definitely score—and she looks good doing it. Of her fellow beaut, teammate Verena Phipps, DC '00 (see left), Clara said, "I think she's beautiful. Everyone does. We were in Florida on our team trip, and guys would stare at her all the time." My guess is that the guys weren't exactly ignoring Clara, either.
—Joey Ax

The Herald's hottie A-List Ladies

• Carissa Abbott, SM '02—Volleyball
• Brigid Boland, MC '03—Field Hockey
• Ali Cobbett, BR '03—Soccer and Lacrosse
• Anne Graf, ES '03—Lacrosse
• Katherine Myers, PC '01—Lacrosse
• Meghan O'Brien, BR '02—Track
• Kate Riddile, TC '02—Crew
• Meg Simpson, SY '02—Basketball
• Jocelyn Smith, JE '02—Track
• Gina Wilkinson, SM '03—Squash
• Jen Wideberg, CC '01—Soccer

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