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Thursday, October 25, 2001

By Mike White and Paul Zeise, Post-Gazette Sports Writers

SCHOOL: Upper St. Clair.

WHO IS SHE? A senior who is one of the best tennis players in the state.

LAST WEEK: Jones helped Upper St. Clair beat Fox Chapel, 5-0, to win the WPIAL Class AAA team championship for the 10th time in 11 years. Jones defeated Fox Chapel's Amanda Campbell, 6-3, 6-2, in No. 1 singles.

CAREER: Jones' four years have been filled with success and medals. She was part of four WPIAL team championships and played No. 1 singles on three of them. She helped Upper St. Clair win the PIAA Class AAA championship last season. She finished second in the WPIAL Class AAA singles championships as a junior and third in the PIAA tournament. A few weeks ago, she teamed with freshman Shayna Miller to win the WPIAL Class AAA doubles championship.

NO SINGLES THIS YEAR: Upper St. Clair's Amanda El-Tobgy won the WPIAL Class AAA singles championship this season. But for the Panthers' team, El-Tobgy plays No. 2 singles.

Jones did not compete in this year's section playoffs. Thus, she could not qualify for the WPIAL tournament. Jones had a visit planned to American University the weekend of the section championships.

"That's the only weekend American told me I could come," Jones said. "They had one other time this weekend, but this is the weekend for the state team tournament. If we won the WPIAL, I didn't want to let my team down for states.

"It bothered me in a way because I finished second [in WPIAL singles last year]. I wanted to try and win it this year, but I knew I was going to play doubles if I didn't play singles. So things worked out well."

TOP RECRUIT: Jones is ranked No. 3 in the Middle States district (age 18 and under) of the United States Tennis Association. She has been recruited by numerous colleges and has narrowed her list to Samford, Colorado State and Southern Mississippi. All three have offered full scholarships. She has a 4.0 grade-point average and scored 1,320 on the SAT.

FATHER KNOWS BEST: Although Jones has taken some private lessons over the years, her personal coach is her father, Jim.

"My dad pretty much started me in tennis when I was 7 or 8," she said. "I thought it was fun to have him as coach."

-- By Mike White

SCHOOL: Mount Pleasant.

WHO IS HE? A 6-foot-1, 160-pound starter on the soccer team.

THIS SEASON: Has led the Vikings to the Class AA Section 1 title and 15-0-1 record. He finished the regular season tied for fourth in the WPIAL with 28 goals. Tuesday, he scored in the Vikings' 4-3 playoff win against McGuffey. It was only the school's second playoff win.

CAREER: A four-year starter, Wilkinson has scored 76 goals and led the team to four consecutive playoff appearances.

NO POSITION TO SMALL: Wilkinson's goal total is impressive, but it is even more amazing when you consider he is not a full-time forward. He plays every position on the field and often plays stopper, which is primarily a defensive position. But Wilkinson's skill is his versatility.

"I don't mind playing different positions because it is something I've done throughout my career," Wilkinson said. "When I was a freshman, I even played some goalie. Usually when I play offense, I've been double- and triple-teamed anyway, so it can be frustrating times."

WEIGHTY PROBLEMS: In the winter, Wilkinson is a wrestler. Last year, he decided to wrestle down in the 135-pound weight class, 25 pounds below his normal weight. He then went on to have his worst season as a varsity wrestler -- primarily because he was usually too fatigued to perform well.

"It was the most horrible time of my life," Wilkinson said. "I felt weak all the time. There were times when I'd go two whole days without eating or drinking anything, but I'd have to go to practices and prepare for matches. Some nights I couldn't sleep because I was hungry. I'll never do that again."

Wilkinson said he plans on wrestling closer to his normal weight this year.

TRAVELING TEAMS: Wilkinson plays for a Penns Forest U-18 select team and has played every year since he was 12. The team has won six consecutive state titles. He also made the Olympic Development Program 84 team and was selected as one of 30 players from the Eastern United States to play on the regional team. He has played in tournaments in Maryland, Virginia and Ohio and in the spring will travel to Florida or Texas for a national tournament.

FUTURE: Wilkinson will play college soccer. He has talked to coaches from Marist, Lafayette, St. John's, Radford, Buffalo and Akron. He wants to study physical therapy.

-- By Paul Zeise