Tahlia Smoke

Tahlia Smoke, a Belmar native and Manasquan Class of 2008, rewrote the school's tennis record books during a four-year career under coach Rodney Ravaioli. She compiled a 110-10 career record and capped it with a perfect 30-0 senior season, winning the 2007 NJSIAA Girls Singles State Championship — the first state singles title in Manasquan High School history. A three-time First Team All-Shore Conference selection, she earned First Team All-State honors as a senior and two Second Team All-State selections in prior years. Under her leadership, MHS won three sectional championships.

At the United States Air Force Academy, Smoke made history again — she became the program's first nationally ranked Division I player, reaching No. 102 in the country in the 2009-10 season. She earned Mountain West Conference Player of the Week honors twice and was a key contributor through her four-year collegiate career.

Smoke graduated in May 2012 and was commissioned as a Second Lieutenant at Joint Base McGuire-Dix-Lakehurst, NJ. Later that year, she was selected to represent the U.S. Air Force at an international tennis championship in England, where she went undefeated and was named the Most Valuable Female Player by representatives of all six competing nations. Her journey from the courts of Manasquan to representing the United States Air Force internationally is one of the most remarkable stories in school history.