Miller time

Kristi Miller’s story is an interesting one. The Georgia Tech sophomore played only one season of high-school tennis, and that was her freshman year.

After that she played in various junior tennis tournaments, but because she remained in school instead of getting a tutor and hitting the USTA circuit, her time on the courts was much less than that of some of her friends.

Add in that Miller’s hometown is Marysville, MI, which shouldn’t be confused for a hotbed of outdoor activities, and Miller didn’t play nearly as much tennis growing up as many of today’s top players did. When she did play, it was often on an indoor court.

Not that it has stopped her from being one of those top players. Miller is the No. 1-ranked singles players in college tennis after being named All-American last year. And last weekend she was named MVP of the ACC tournament as she helped lead the Yellow Jackets to the ACC title, the second-straight season Tech has accomplished that feat.

“It was a great feeling,” Miller told ACC Nation recently. “Just to win back-to-back years … it’s an accomplishment just to win one year the ACC championship. I believe our conference, if not the toughest, is one of the toughest tennis conferences in the nation.”

The polls help back up Miller’s claim, with five ACC schools among the top 15 in the country. Georgia Tech is No. 6, followed by Miami at No. 7, Duke at No. 8, North Carolina at No. 10 and Clemson at No. 15.

When Miller was making her decision on where to attend college, Carolina and Wake Forest were among the top possibilities, but Georgia Tech won out. Miller said the coach, Bryan Shelton, was a big reason she chose Atlanta, but the weather played a role also. After years in Michigan, Miller wanted a warm place to attend college.

With the ACC title under Tech’s belt now, next up is the NCAA tournament. The regionals don’t begin until May 12. Next week is exam week for the Yellow Jackets, but they’ll also start preparing for the NCAA tournament.

Said Miller, “We’ll be starting to train again and just have our bodies a little more rejuvenated and ready just to get right back out there on the court.”

- Patrick Hite