NORFOLK 

Norview’s Justin Smith has always been a fast study. 

According to his mother, Smith was so advanced as a fourth-grader that his teacher put him in charge of the class if she had to leave the room. 

''When he was in sixth grade, one of his teachers told me he was disrupting the class,’’ Nancy Smith said. ''Come to find out, he was finishing his tests so quickly he didn’t know what to do with the extra time.’’ 

So it shouldn’t have been a surprise that, two years after taking up tennis at Ruffner Middle School, Smith was the Norfolk’s middle school singles champion. 

Or that, four years later, he’s prepared to graduate from Norview High as the school’s best player in nearly 25 years. 

After completing an undefeated regular season, Smith blasted his way to the Eastern District tournament singles final before dropping a 6-4, 7-5 decision to Maury’s Kyle Moore. 

That a Commodore won the title hardly qualifies as news — a Maury player has won all but one district singles title since 1990. But in simply reaching the final, Smith became the first Pilot in the final two since Mike Mustgrave won his second straight crown, in 1986.   ''I think I had a good season,’’ said Smith, who stands 6-foot-4 and weighs 160 pounds. '’But I was still really upset when I lost.’’ 

No wonder. Smith used his attacking style and superior net play to build a 4-3 lead in the first set and a 5-4 edge in the second, only to see his advantages slip away both times. 

''He played well on the big points,’’ Smith said. ''And that’s where I needed to do better.’’ 

Still, by reaching the final, Smith qualified for the Eastern Region singles tournament May 19-20 in Newport News. Smith and freshman teammate Trung Trinh, district runners-up in doubles, also will compete in the region event. And the whole Pilots team, second to Maury in the regular season, will play in next week’s region team tournament. 

The power in area tennis is typically concentrated in the Beach and Southeastern districts, so little will be expected for Norview when Hampton Roads’ best convene for region play. After all, Smith has never even played in the tournament before. 

Still, don’t be shocked if he pulls a surprise or two. 

Remember, he’s a fast study.   More about Justin:

Class: Senior 

Sport: Tennis. Smith also played basketball for Norview as a sophomore and junior. 

College choice: Virginia State 

Plays like: '’I try to mimic Novak Djokovic.’’ 

Nickname: Bruce 

Ambition: '’I want to be a history teacher and a lawyer, then a judge.’’

Paul White, 757-418-1447 or paul.white@pilotonline.com [1]