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When Mia King made a last minute trip from her home in Cornelius, North Carolina, to the University of Georgia campus in Athens last spring, she had no idea what to expect. King's friend and UGA freshman, Lauren Herring, had begged her to come watch the team's dual match against fellow SEC school, Florida. As it turns out, King (and her father) fell in love with the place.

"My dad - I've never seen him just drop everything and say, 'You're an idiot if you don't sign here!'" King said with a laugh.

Having already taken unofficial visits to Stanford and UCLA, the 17-year-old decided she wanted to stay a little closer to home. But the Blue Chip recruit wasn't always on the college track.

As an eager junior player, King spent time at both Macci and Evert Tennis Academies before being picked up by the USTA National Training Center in Boca Raton, Fla. Before she knew it, she had reached a national ranking of No. 5 in the 16's, which led to a shift toward ITF tournament play and international travel. Her goal from the beginning was to develop her aggressive game style in hopes of one day turning pro.

"It wasn't until my junior year when coaches started to talk to me that I really started to think about college," she said.

And that trip to Athens on a cold spring day sealed the deal.