While in Chattanooga over the weekend, Kelsey Coots and Alison Storie each got a nice tour of her soon-to-be home. Each also had another reason to go home happy.
Both participated in the Rotary Invitational tournament, with Huntsville (Ala.) High School's Coots winning the No. 1 singles title in the A Division and Science Hill's Storie winning doing likewise in the B Division, in addition to teaming with teammate Hope Forbrush for the No. 1 doubles title.
Next season, both will be playing for the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga.
Coots is the No. 1 player in Alabama's 18-under division. She earned a four-star rating and is No. 28 among Southern collegiate prospects according to TennisRecruiting.net. She was the 2011 Alabama 6A state singles champion and helped Huntsville finish third in the high school state tournament.
She also won the 2011 Alabama state qualifying doubles title in 18-under and is a five-time member of the Alabama USTA Southern Cup Junior Team.
"I just love Chattanooga, and Coach [Jeff] Clark is awesome," she said. "I've always loved the city, I like the smaller campus and it's pretty close to home."
Coots said Alabama and Auburn showed interest but not until she had already signed with UTC.
"Kelsey had a great summer tennis season, especially in sectional and national events," Clark said in a recent release. "She is a fighter on the court and will be a great addition to our program."
Storie is a three-star recruit and No. 70 in the Southeast. She helped the Lady Hilltoppers from Johnson City advance to the Class AAA state semifinals, where they lost to eventual state champion Ravenwood. Individually, she fell to White Station senior and fellow future Lady Moc Kayla Jones.
"I love Chattanooga," Storie said. "I love the school and everything about it.
"The program is getting better every year, and now I'm getting an opportunity to come here and be a part of it."