She is described by her coaches as one of the most unassuming athletes they have ever worked with.

JEFF GRANIT staff East Brunswick High School's Stef Balasa returns a serve during a match against South Plainfield's Kristie Crilley in the GMC Tournament in Edison Sept. 30. Balasa won her fourth straight firstsingles title by beating North Brunswick's Gabriela Kaldan in the finals, 6-0, 6-2. But be certain of this: If you are on the opposite side of the net in a tennis match with East Brunswick High School's Stef Balasa, you better be prepared to face a competitor as fierce as a roaring lion.

Balasa, a senior member of the East Brunswick High School tennis team, is on the brink of once again playing for the New Jersey girls high school singles championship. Balasa, the second seed, will see action in the quarterfinal round, Saturday morning. If she wins, she moves on to the semifinals in the afternoon. The finals are set for Sunday morning.

This is Balasa's fourth and final chance at winning the title, having reached the finals a year ago.

"Ever since I first competed in the state singles tournament as a freshman, it's been my main goal to win the championship," she said Monday. "I've come close the last couple of years, and I believe there's an advantage to having been there before. There's a certain kind of pressure that goes with playing in this single match elimination format. You really have to put it all on the line."

Balasa came very close to achieving her goal last season. As the second seed, she advanced to the finals only to lose to Becton's Amy Simidian, 2-1. The year before, she made it to the semifinals before losing to eventual champion Rachel Cantor of Millburn.

Standing in her way this time as the top seed is a freshman, Lexi Borr of Westfield. If the matches go according to the seedings, Balasa and Borr will face off on Sunday morning for the state championship.

"It definitely feels different competing in the states this year," said Balasa, who has captured the GMC singles title each of the four years she has competed. "In the past, I tended to become nervous about going up against players I knew were good. I actually had trouble serving and volleying. Not this year. I guess all that experience has helped me."

"She's never been one to toot her own horn," said Karyn Grant, her coach during her freshman and sophomore years. "She would always look at an opponent and think how good she was. I told her, 'Stef, you're good too.' It looks like she finally believes how accomplished a tennis player she is."

Balasa owns a career singles mark of 103-12, with only two losses coming this year, one against Borr, which she hopes to avenge. Among her other achievements, she has been a member of four GMC team titlists, and was the first singles player for East Brunswick's first and only state team championship, won last year.

"She's humble almost to a fault," said current East Brunswick coach Brian McInerney. "Stef's been a team player all the way, and I don't think she actually understands her position in our school's rich tennis history."

Perhaps the only former Bear tennis player to approach Balasa is her sister, Alina, who graduated in 2003 and went on to play tennis and graduate from Rutgers University. Alina, who Grant coached, is now going to graduate school in Chicago to become an optometrist at a school.

"I think Stef has benefited from being the younger sibling in the family," Grant said. "Her father and mother have always been supportive of their daughters, giving

them the best in coaching and enabling

them to play at the local tennis facilities [Brunswick Woods]. As successful as Alina was [she was a state quarterfinalist her senior year], Stef has already exceeded her sister's best accomplishment. And Alina couldn't be happier for her younger sister."

While Balasa's parents are of Romanian heritage, Stef was born in New Brunswick a few years after the Balasas decided to start new lives in the U.S. She and her sisters picked up a tennis racket for the first time when they turned 5, and each progressed on a course that enabled them to achieve their success.

As a student, Stef owns a 3.75 grade-point average and has already decided to follow her sister's path of education and has accepted a full scholarship to Rutgers.

"I received interest from other schools like Maryland and Wisconsin," Balasa said, "but Rutgers was where I felt most comfortable. It didn't have anything to do with the fact it was close to home."

Balasa's focus now, however, is the state singles tournament and her quest for the elusive title begins Saturday morning.

"I'm as prepared as I can be and I'll give it my best shot" is how Balasa looks at her chances. "I feel I'm up to the challenge of playing anybody I go against."

For once, it appears the opponent should be thinking, "Am I good enough?"