ROANOKE TIMES
Copyright (c) 1996, Roanoke Times
DATE: Thursday, October 17, 1996 TAG: 9610170089
SECTION: NEIGHBORS PAGE: N-12 EDITION: METRO
COLUMN: high school sports
SOURCE: BOB TEITLEBAUM STAFF WRITER
To say the least, tennis at William Fleming has been something of an adventure.
At a school known mostly for strong girls' and boys' basketball and track teams, tennis has not fared well over the years. William Fleming coach David Spangler is better known for running Roanoke Valley District tennis tournaments than turning out champions.
``When I see someone in a physical education class hit the ball back over the net, I talk them into coming out,'' he said. ``I have to teach tennis. I don't have many students who play tennis.''
So imagine the surprise for Spangler and the rest of the RVD this fall when Flavia Nogueira showed up on the Colonels' team and started beating everyone 10-4 or worse in pro sets.
``She beat the girl [Pria Acharya] at Pulaski County 10-3 and she had been unbeaten for two years in a row,'' said Spangler. ``She dropped her racket, like she couldn't believe it.''
Spangler probably couldn't believe his good fortune when Nogueira arrived at Fleming as an exchange student. She comes from Sao Paulo, Brazil, and is fairly fluent in English. Her native language is Portuguese.
Nogueira isn't just a threat in the RVD. Spangler believes she has a chance to do well in the Group AAA tennis tournament if she reaches that event. On Tuesday, she took a step toward doing just that by beating Archarya for the RVD title.
To appreciate the magnitude this if Nogueira makes the state, consider that Cave Spring's Alisha Todd did it two years ago as a sophomore Northwest Region runnerup.
Before Todd, Margaret Skelly of Patrick Henry in 1979 was the last RVD girls' champion to make the state. So if Nogueira wins the region, she'll be the first RVD player to do so since Skelly did it 17 years ago.
Nogueira got the idea of coming for a year's schooling in the states because her older sister, Claudia, was an exchange student last year in Plattsburgh, N.Y. Nogueira takes English, algebra, chemistry, American history, physical education and keyboarding at Fleming.
``I'm going back to finish high school [in Brazil] next year,'' Nogueira said. ``I may come back here [to the States] for college.''
Nogueira is ranked ninth in her tennis age group (15-16) in Brazil. She also will play soccer at Fleming this spring, but she'll have to find a spot on the boys' team. There is no Colonels girls' squad.
According to Spangler, Nogueira is fazed by nothing in tennis. ``She's relaxed,'' he said. ``She doesn't get rattled. She shows no emotion.''
``I do smile,'' Nogueira interrupted.
``She has the strongest desire to win,'' Spangler added.
She's also had a lack of competition. Her match scores suggest she hasn't been challenged so far.
``I think I played better tennis when I came here than I do now,'' said Nogueira.
``I believe she has a chance if she gets to the state and if we get some serious time in tennis,'' said Spangler.
Spangler has had some very good players, including James Easthom Jr. in the 1970s.
``He was the best boys' player I ever had,'' said Spangler. ``And Flavio is the best girls' player I've had. I think she's better than [William Byrd's] Antoinette Veloso. She plays a stronger and smarter game, and moves the ball around.''
Veloso was forced to play on the boys' team at Byrd in 1991. She did very well, though she lost three straight years in the Region III boys' championslhip match.
Nogueira started playing tennis when she was 8 years old, and began serious competition four years later. ``My mom and father played tennis, but just for fun,'' said Nogueira.
``I liked tennis and I liked to practice. The better I got, the more I wanted to play. I practice a couple of hours each day and do a lot of running.''
Nogueira is staying with the S.M. Sisler family, whose daughter, Annbeth, also goes to Fleming. Noguiera hasn't been to a Fleming football game, but she and the Sisler family have been visiting many places in the state, among them Kings Dominion and Lexington.
Nogueira admits to having had a little fear of coming to the United States because she didn't know anyone and wasn't very familiar with the family she'd eventually live with while attending Fleming.
``You're afraid, but you're also excited. I was a little homesick, but it's better,'' she said.
In Brazil, Nogueira didn't play sports for a school. She played for a club and herself.
Nogueira also plays doubles with Kristi Wooden. Unfortunately, the team hasn't enjoyed the same kind of success as Nogueira has in singles.
``This is my second year on the team,'' said Wooden. ``It's a joy to play with her and it makes me want to play better. I've learned a lot.
``They know I don't play as well as she does, and they can probably hit the ball to me. I understand it. If I was Flavia and someone else was my partner, they'd do the same thing. I've played four years of tennis, and this is giving me new goals.''
Spangler didn't push for any recognition until Nogueira had beaten everyone in the RVD. Now he makes announcements on the public address system at school when Nogueira wins and she hears congratulations from fellow students.
The one question that remains is can she put RVD tennis back on the state map by herself? That's the next test.
LENGTH: Long : 106 lines ILLUSTRATION: PHOTO: CINDY PINKSTON/Staff. Flavia Nogueira of Brazil hasby CNBtaken the William Fleming tennis program by storm. "I practice a
couple of hours each day and do a lot of running,'' she says of her
home routine.