LOUDONVILLE - Denisa Hluchova's double identity is no longer a secret. The Siena College women's tennis player has been a volunteer firefighter with the Shaker Road Loudonville Fire Department for more than three years.

Whereas most college seniors prepare to leave school soon and jump into the real world of a full-time job, Hluchova has been living a well-rounded life during her stay at Siena.

She also works part time 20 hours a week at the school's library, and on the Hunter Mountain Ski Patrol on weekends during the winters.

"I am the type that cannot sit down for long," Hluchova, the soon-to-be 22-year-old, said. "I have to keep moving."

The date of Sept. 11, 2001 following the terrorists' attacks forever turned the lives of scores United States citizens and that also of the 5-foot-8 Slovakian, who had left her family at age 16 to pursue tennis and an American college education.

She moved in with her aunt in New York City in 2000 where she attended Saint Francis Preparatory School in nearby Fresh Meadows.

She was in the New York City area on that fateful day.

"It was so tragic what happened to all those firefighters and the emergency rescue people when the (Twin Towers) collapsed," Hluchova said. "I felt I had to do something. I knew I could do it."

Hluchova inquired about joining a New York City fire department where she expressed interest in training to become a volunteer firefighter.

Being a woman, she was in a minority field, but because of her integrity and physical ability, she spent a year as a volunteer firefighter before enrolling in classes at Siena.

"Iit was too hectic in New York City and I wanted to come to an area that was a nice place to live and go to school," Hluchova said. "Siena was the choice for me."

Tennis was Hluchova's first love at the early age of 6, but her enthusiasm and the "goal of helping people" landed Hluchova with the Shaker Road Loudonville Fire Department in 2002.

Hluchova has been there ever since. She is on call about three nights a week at the fire station, and some nights, she sleeps at the station.

"She holds her own," said Jerry Paris, 42, a former fire chief with the station who's now a deputy fire coordinator for the Town of Colonie. The 24-year firefighter veteran said Hluchova is an unique individual.

"Denisa has proved she's worthy of the job," Paris said. "She stays with our family and she's very quiet. She's a super-goal-oriented person who loves challenges. She is in a man's world, but she has all the respect of all the male firefighters at the station. She's like having another daughter around."

Hluchova's tennis play hasn't suffered with all her activities.

She entered this season winning 33 of 39 singles matches and this year's Saints, with a loaded roster, are favored to win the Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference title. Playing No. 1 singles, Hluchova was Siena's team MVP last fall and was a finalist in the MAAC Championships.

"She works out daily and can handle the physical demands of firefighting," Paris said.

In the early going of her stint at Shaker Road Loudonville, Hluchova went out on mostly mundane calls - false alarms and brush fires. Ironically, the location of one call was at Siena.

If Hluchova had any doubters, they disappeared on the afternoon of Sunday, May 8 - Mother's Day.

That's when the crew responded to a legitimate fire at Kentucky Fried Chicken on Kunker Road, just off Route 9 in Latham.

"It was a structure fire," Hluchova recalled. "It was back in the kitchen."

Carrying about 40 to 45 pounds of firefighting equipment, Hluchova was involved in the roof ventilation portion of the fire, creating open pockets to let smoke escape into the atmosphere.

"I know there's risk involved because the building could have collapsed," Hluchova said. "It was really my first adventure with a fire. It was satisfying to be actively involved."

Hluchova said about a dozen firefighters battled the blaze, which was under control within 20 minutes. All occupants of the building escaped and there were no serious injuries.

A marketing management major, Hluchova was also the focus in March of a Fox Sports Network special On Campus - a national monthly show that profiles college athletes. She hopes to be a tennis instructor after college.

"You hope that nobody ever gets hurt in a fire, but unfortunately it happens," Hluchova said. "My teammates on the tennis team think I'm crazy and that I should do something else with my spare time.

"But I just want to help people," she added.