ROANOKE TIMES
Copyright (c) 1996, Roanoke Times
DATE: Thursday, April 25, 1996 TAG: 9604250018
SECTION: CURRENT PAGE: NRV-3 EDITION: NEW RIVER VALLEY
DATELINE: BLACKSBURG
TYPE: HIGH SCHOOL SPORTS
SOURCE: ANGIE WATTS STAFF WRITER
The slogan on the back of her practice shirt read, "If you can't win don't play." Blacksburg High School freshman Yasamina Hilu doesn't have to worry about that often. The 14-year-old is the No. 1 seed on the Indians' girls tennis team, and has jumped to a 4-1 record in the early going this year.
"I heard last year as an eighth-grader that she was really good," Blacksburg coach Jennifer Buckley said. "She's really lighthearted but knows when to play serious tennis. I think she pushes the rest of the team because she's so young."
But Hilu isn't the only youngster pushing the rest of the field. The Indian's No. 2 seed, Sara Prupas, is a freshman as well.
Hilu and Prupas have both been playing tennis since the age of 7, and say they can credit their families for piquing their interest in the sport. Prupas said all sports, including tennis, run in her family, and Hilu said watching her mom and dad play tennis recreationally inspired her to try it too.
But the recreation soon turned into competition for Hilu, who has been competing in the Mid Atlantic Tennis Association, a part of the United States Tennis Association, since the age of 12. She currently ranks 31st in Virginia in the 16-and-under division and 41st in the Mid Atlantic 14-and-under division.
If she's not at practice or in an on-court battle of her own, Hilu said she enjoys watching professional tennis, especially if the one playing is Monica Seles.
"Monica Seles is my favorite because she plays like me," Hilu said. "I mean, I'm not as good as her, of course, but we have the same two-handed style on both sides."
But Hilu and Seles have more in common than just the way they hold their racket. If you weren't looking at the court, just listening, you might also mistake the two. Seles is famous for her grunting each time she hits the ball, and Hilu, while not famous, is known for her grunting as well.
"I've always grunted like that," she said with a laugh. "I get teased about it all the time."
Prupas may not grunt like Hilu, but Buckley said she brings the same level of excitement and lightheartedness to the court as her counterpart. But there is a serious side to Prupas as well, who has set a serious goal for promoting tennis in Blacksburg High.
"My goal is to let people know about tennis," Prupas said. "There's some people in our school who don't even know we have a tennis team. I just want to let people know tennis is a really cool sport and they should encourage us to play."
As for Hilu's goal this year? It's already been achieved. Hilu set her sights on downing top-seeded Jill Archer from Salem. Archer won the first meeting between the two this season, but Hilu got her revenge - and the win - days ago.
Aside from holding the top two singles spots, the duo has also teamed up in doubles action. Doubles play is new to both Hilu and Prupas, but their first-time efforts have propelled them to a 2-2 starting record.
"They are brand new playing doubles, but they work really well together," Buckley said. "They talk to each other on the court and know how to change their game. If I tell them to do something in a match they can just adjust to it and really pull it off.
"They are just really good girls to coach and I'm really excited about the next couple of years. The potential here is great."
LENGTH: Medium: 72 lines ILLUSTRATION: PHOTO: ALAN KIM/Staff. 1. Freshmen Yasamina Hilu (left) 2. andby CNBSara Prupas (above) are the No. 1 and No. 2 seeds, respectively, for
the Blacksburg High School girls tennis team. color.