That Jennifer Larson, a freshman tennis student-athlete at Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University, competes with a prosthesis on her left hand might be one of the first things opponents notice about her. But once they face her powerful backhand and serve, they also can't help but notice she has big-time game.

As a result of a condition called congenital amputation, Larson was born without a left hand and has been wearing a prosthetic hand/forearm that extends to about her elbow since she was 3 months old. She has had new ones made as she has grown.

Larson has been playing tennis since the age of 10, when the family lived in Orlando. Initially, she and her sister, who also played, weren't really into it.

"Then we moved to Buffalo and we joined this junior tennis program and kept playing tournaments and getting better. It sort of gradually evolved," she said.

Larson grew up learning and mastering the same tasks and skills as other kids did, such as tying her shoes, dressing herself and driving. Likewise, playing tennis with the prosthesis was never really a problem, as evidenced by her rise through the junior tennis ranks. At one time, Larson was ranked No. 1 in the East at under-12, No. 1 in the nation at under-14 and No. 23 nationally at under-16.

"If somebody thinks they have something holding them back, then it's going to hold them back. I never thought that not having a left hand held me back. I can still do it. It never occurred to me that I couldn't," she said.

A lifetime of wearing the prosthesis has made Larson virtually immune to any attention it might attract, and she insists that beyond her one-handed backhand and her serve, there's not much difference between her game and that of any opponent she faces.

"When I first play them, probably my serve and my backhand surprises them. Once I play people, there's not really that much difference," she said. "Some people play with one-handed backhands. Not a lot of girls have one-handed backhands. That's the first thing they notice."

Playing so many matches where nearly every one of her shots was a backhand has made it a solid part of her play.

As for her serve, Larson props the ball on top of her prosthetic, tosses it straight up in the air and lets it rip. Ironically, the artificial limb may actually give her a slight advantage.

"It's easier than with people who have a real hand because hands and wrists move," she said.

There are aspects of the freshman's game that she's still developing, such as her serve and setting up and executing shots.

Larson counts her serve, which has been clocked at 99 miles per hour, as one of the strongest parts of her game, along with her ability to offer her competitors a variety of shots to parry.

"I'll mix it up," she said. "I'm not one to just stand back and hit it to the same spot every time."

Larson has definitely kept the competition moving this season. She and doubles partner Felice Lam turned in a 13-3 record and closed out the fall ranked seventh regionally. Larson also compiled a respectable 12-7 singles mark.

"Going into college tennis, I was just going to have fun, play my best and try to win, and I think I did that for the most part," she said. "There's always matches where I should have won and didn't, but for the most part it was a good year."

A continuous desire to win, have fun and play for her team keep Larson motivated -- along with a couple of pieces of her favorite advice.

"My dad used to tell me not to ever, ever give up. That was hard because I wanted to give up sometimes," she said. "Also, play to have fun. If you're not having fun, it's not worth it because you'll be miserable. The two concepts go hand in hand."

And Larson knows hand in hand better than anyone.