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Nicole Long started playing tennis in the first grade, when her father, James, took her out to neighborhood courts.

Watching her husband and daughter made Geri Long laugh.

"The racket was nearly as tall as she was," Geri says.

Nicole kept playing tennis with her dad, and she got better. But not much bigger.

Now 15, a freshman at Frisco Liberty, she's 5-4 and maybe 105 pounds.

"Itty-bitty," is how her mother and her coach, Erica Dopson, describe her.

Still, you can't measure everyone by physical stature. Not if you really want to size them up.

Nicole didn't play tournament tennis until she was 11, but she had a good head start. Her father, who grew up a junior champion in Malaysia, was a self-taught player. He worked with his daughter on fundamentals, and he worked on her head, too.

Especially the head.

"I don't like playing stupid," Nicole says.

Nicole has a big serve for her size and a nice assortment of shots, but the mental toughness impresses her coach, who calls Nicole "ahead of her time."

"Usually when they're that young," says Dopson, in her second year at the 2-year-old Class 3A school, "they're not that mature."

How mature was Nicole going into her freshman year? New school, small enrollment, 3A competition, she figured she had a chance at state.

But life holds obstacles that challenge all of us, even a girl "ahead of her time." In February, James Long, who had a history of heart problems, was playing tennis with a friend when he collapsed. By the time Geri got to the tennis courts, the ambulance was pulling out.

He died before they got him to the hospital. He was 43.

The next day, a Friday, Nicole was back in school. The only day she missed was for her father's funeral.

Nicole's mother and younger sister, Natasha, helped. School helped. T Bar M Racquet Club helped.

But ultimately Nicole faced her loss the only way she could. She kept playing tennis. And she kept winning.

She lost one match all year. In the state semifinals, she beat a junior who'd been a two-time Class 2A state champion. In the final, she beat another junior, the defending state 3A champ.

Considering her accomplishments, Nicole's future in tennis seems limitless. But she doesn't think she'll make a living of it.

Her dad didn't. He played for fun and for his daughters. And it was enough.

"I think of him before and after matches," she says, her tone soft but steady.

"I think of him on the neighborhood courts where he and I used to play."

The last few times they played, by the way, Nicole finally beat her dad. He didn't let her win, either, as if you had to ask.

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