other than 29-year-old Monique Ternier of Canada.

In only her second year in the Bermuda Table Tennis Association, the petite player from Montreal, Quebec, is making her mark in a sport in which she is the lone female competitor.

She reached a high point on Saturday when she teamed with Nick Frost to win the BTTA's National Closed Championships doubles title -- and it looks like there is no stopping her.

Ternier does, indeed, carry a dynamite swing for a small person, but she does not let her diminutive size -- five-feet-three-inches and just 100 pounds -- stand in her way. She is willing and able to take on all competitors, and the men in the league have become wary.

She attributes her table tennis acumen to her father, who is a senior champion in Montreal. It was because of his love for the sport that Ternier became involved in table tennis at an early age.

"He basically taught me when I was 11 years old, that's when I started playing,'' she recalled this week.

"I played continuously for about eight years and represented Quebec in various national tournaments and then I stopped playing.'' While she has always had great affection for the sport, Ternier did not become involved in the local game right away when she arrived here three years ago.

It took coaxing from several league players that finally persuaded her to join and play, finally doing that at the midway point of last season.

Ternier was somewhat apprehensive about competing in a league which consisted of men only.

"There was some hesitation at first because I really wasn't keen since I would be the only woman,'' she said. "But since I knew a few friends who played, I decided to give it a try and everything has turned out fine. I really enjoy playing against the different guys, they are all so very nice to me,'' she said.

But she was quick to point out that while competing, men play seriously and do not take her lightly just because she is a woman.

"They try their best to beat me, it's all serious stuff,'' she noted.

So far Ternier has managed to remain competitive, often beating mediocre players and giving strong challenges to many of the better players in the league.

While she has not managed to beat many of the elite players, just forcing them to work for points during matches has so far been encouraging enough for her.

"Back home I played just against girls. Going against the guys here has been a little tougher. I have been unable to win against the top players, but at least I manage to keep things close by maybe getting a game or so from them.

One day I will be beating them,'' she said.

Ternier considers herself as an aggressive player. But she revealed that when she goes up against a player with a similar style it slows her game down because she is forced to concentrate on keeping the ball on the table as much as possible.

"I don't like playing against toppers, that's my worst type of player. And there are a few in the league who know that,'' she confided.

While Ternier and her 60-year-old father have a profound love for table tennis, Ternier says that her mother plays "just at home'' while her brother does not play at all.

Besides table tennis, her other favourite sport is tennis, but she does not get the chance to play too often, especially during winter when she is playing table tennis.

MIGHTY MONIQUE -- Monique Ternier takes charge during Saturday's table tennis doubles final which she won with team-mate Neil Frost.