There's a lot of great parts to Tessa van Der Ploeg's tennis game.

But her head coach Dean Clower likes two aspects the best. "She's so reliable, and so competitive," he says. "She is always there for us, and you always know what you are going to get."

Tennis fans get the opportunity to watch Tessa and her Cowgirl teammates this weekend when Wyoming opens Mountain West play by hosting New Mexico tomorrow (Friday) at 2 p.m., and Air Force Saturday at high noon at the UW Tennis Complex.

Tessa is Wyoming's captain and number one player who is a lefty with power, spin and an outstanding tennis IQ.

"She practices what she preaches, on the court and off," says Clower. "She is from a little town in the Netherlands (Leeuwarden), and she has a great work ethic which comes from her family of course, but also the culture of her town. She understands work."

Tessa's Dad, Hendrik, played tennis and coached, so it was natural for her to pick up a tennis racquet.

"I was probably seven when he started working with me," Tessa says of her introduction to the sport. "Dad asked me which hand I wanted to use, and said that if I really didn't care he wanted me to play left-handed. So I became a lefty even though I did everything else with my right hand. I'm so glad he made me do that, I love being a left-hander."

She probably would have been an outstanding righty, but she is certainly unique, and something special as a lefty.

"I'm a big Tessa fan," says Clower, and I'll give you an example of why. Two weeks ago we faced a schedule of four straight matches. It was the busiest week of the year. Tessa was suffering with the flu. Not only did she not miss a match, she won three of the four days."

She is a very aggressive player. She hits the ball extremely hard and being left-handed is an advantage.

"I like to mix it up, though," she says. "I don't pound it all the time. I love to serve, that's when I love to show the power, but it's obviously important to mix things up a little bit."

According to Tessa, all high schoolers in the Netherlands have three choices regarding college because none of the universities there offer athletics. "Since there are no athletics associated with our universities, we have three options after high school. We can go to school there and concentrate fully on academics. We can concentrate fully on tennis and not go to school. Or we can go elsewhere, like the United States, and play and receive a degree."

"Several of my friends took that option, and loved it, and that's what I decided I wanted to do."

When Clower was in the Netherlands recruiting he saw van Der Ploeg while looking at another player.

"I was recruiting at a tournament in the Netherlands," he says. "While watching the player I was there to see, I started watching this 17-year-old warming up. I was impressed with her approach and how professional she was even while warming up. That was before I ever saw her hit a ball. Then I saw her hit, and I knew I needed to recruit her. As it turned out she was recruited by places like Auburn, Florida State and New Mexico. We were thrilled to get her."

According to Tessa, she never hesitated when it came to her collegiate decision. "Dean had talked to my dad, and I was certainly interested in Wyoming. When I came to visit, I really loved it. Dean was the first coach to contact us and show interest in me. That meant a lot to me. I have a great deal of respect for him."

During her freshman year, she earned her way into the sixth position. She is now in the number one position. "She has come along further than any player we've ever had," Clower says. "She was number six as a freshman, she's number one as a senior. As a coach I've never had that happen. She's talented, there's no doubt, but her work ethic is unreal."

Tessa is understandably proud of her improvement. But she downplays it. "With Dean, it really doesn't matter what number you are. He makes us all work extremely hard no matter what number you are, that's the culture he has created here. I owe him a lot. He has taught us to always strive to do better and do it without an attitude."

It was during her ninth year that Tessa thought she might have a future in tennis. It was during a tournament in the Netherlands for ages under 10 and under 12. "I was only nine and I hadn't been selected to any national teams for my age group. But there were girls older than me in this tournament who had been selected. I ended up winning both tournaments. That's when I thought I could be pretty good at this."

Tessa can't say enough about the Cowgirls' home-court advantage. "If I had my choice, I love play on a clay court on a summer afternoon, I love red dust all over the place. But playing here in our facility, in front of our fans, is something very special. We love playing here because it is a definite advantage. I think our fans alone make it intimidating for the opponents. But because of the elevation, the courts are very fast. That's a definite advantage too."

Doubles or singles, which do you like better? Tessa does not have a preference. "I love them both," she admits. "Elisa (Koonik, a fellow senior from Estonia) and I have played as doubles partners since we were freshmen. We are a pretty coordinated partners.

"I feel the same away about our team," she continues. "We have a very good team culture. We have great communication and we like being around each other. That wasn't always the case during my first couple of years here. It is now and it's a lot of fun."

While Tessa is a very good student in business management, she is leaning in the direction of coaching. "Dean and I have talked about me staying on after graduation and becoming a graduate assistant for him. I really think I'd like to consider that. I love it here, and I love the culture Dean has created. We'll see."

First things first, Tessa has matches to play, and an outstanding career to finish.