In each of the last two years, the Cape Girardeau Central High girls tennis team has been led by a foreign-exchange student from Europe.

Which begs the question: how much money does Cape Central have in its athletic recruiting budget anyway?

"Believe me," Central coach Annette Slattery said, "if I had any kinds of connections, I'd have (a European player) every year."

The Europeans have fared very well against American high school competition.

Eliane Hess, a native of St. Gallen, Switzerland, is the latest tennis player to arrive in Southeast Missouri by way of the European pipeline. She follows Lisa Ahstrom (Sweden) and Lena Steinberg, who played for Central and Jackson, respectively, last year.

Ahstrom advanced to the state tournament last year in doubles. Steinberg qualified in singles.

Hess is the best yet.

On Oct. 8, Hess won the district singles title at Sikeston without dropping a game. Next, she will play in the Class 4A State Tournament Friday and Saturday at Cooper Tennis Complex in Springfield.

Hess, who has lost only one match all season -- 6-3, 6-1 against St. Joseph Academy's Kiki Statsny -- will play in a 16-player single-elimination bracket.

Statsny, Ladue's Annie Goodrich and Oakville's Amanda Black are among the players in the state bracket. Hess beat Goodrich earlier in the season and shut out Black in the district final.

Central's doubles team of Lara Golike and Liz Russell also qualified for state, beating Rockwood Summit's Christy Eason and Amy Hill 6-1, 6-1 in their district final.

The draw for the tournament, which is not seeded, has not yet been announced.

"It depends a lot on the draw," said Hess, who is calm in the days before her first and only state tourney. "I usually don't get nervous until right before the match. I just think, whatever happens, happens."

Hess, 18, grew up playing tennis in Switzerland, and most recently played for club teams since Switzerland does not offer sports in its schools.

Since she was 11, she has been training with Swiss tennis instructor Pascal Gentinetta, who helped her develop her main weapon.

"My backhand is my strength," Hess said of her accurate two-handed stroke. "The shot down the line."

Consistency is her trademark. Hess is capable of beating her opponents from the net, but is perhaps at her most comfortable and dangerous dictating from the baseline.

"In her match against Goodrich (one of the elite prep players in St. Louis), Eliane hit some nice topspin lobs over Annie's head and in the third set, she passed her," Slattery said. "Annie tried everything, but Eliane had answers for everything.

"A lot of people say, `your girl doesn't have any weapons.' But I tell them she doesn't have any weaknesses either."

Although Hess does not go into the state tournament as the favorite, and acknowledges that a victory over Kiki Statsny (if necessary) would be an improbability, she has a legitimate shot at becoming Central's first state medalist since Kelly Russell finished third in 1993.

Most importantly, however, tennis has helped Hess meet people and establish an identity in her short time in America.

"I always wanted to (visit) America," said Hess, who will have to make up her missed Swiss school year when she returns. "It's very different. It's hard to say what the best thing is. I'm just glad to have a chance to experience it."

* Golike, a senior, makes her third trip to the state championships. She teams with Russell, younger sister of former Central state medalist Kelly Russell, a junior who is making her first state appearance.

"Their games really do complement each other," Slattery said.

"We have a psychic energy between us," Russell joked.

Golike and Russell did not lose a set and dropped only eight games in four matches while winning the district doubles title.