"Stephanie, one of our first in-state players in a while (Chattanooga), is a tenacious competitor who showed a lot of improvement in the fall and hopes to continue that in the spring."
CAREER HIGHLIGHTS:
FRESHMAN (Fall 2005): Made a successful debut at the St. Mary's Classic with fourth-place finishes in both singles and doubles...Won her first singles match as a Lady Vol, 6-1, 6-3, over Furman's Jacqueline Eckert...Took home a second-place finish at the Furman Fall Classic with two victories before falling in the final round...Finished the fall with a 3-3 singles mark and a 1-2 record in doubles.
HIGH SCHOOL:
Earned four varsity letters in tennis and one in cross country at Girls Preparatory School in Chattanooga...Won state Division II singles title in 2002, 2004 and 2005, going undefeated in 2002 and 2005 and suffered only one loss in 2004...In addition, her GPS team advanced to the Division II state tournament...Named team MVP, all-state and Chattanooga Times-Free Press Player of the Year in 2002, 2004 and 2005...Was unable to play for six months in 2002-03 with a lower back injury...Was ranked in the top five in national 16s in 2002...Beat the No. 10-ranked player in the nation in 18s in 2002...Was a 2002 Easter Bowl and 2001 Copper Bowl finalist...Won the Tennessee State Junior Championship in 2001 and 2004...Currently ranked in the Top 50 nationally in 18s...Competed in Jr. Fed Cup in 2002 and 2005...Placed second at the 16's intersectionals in 2002...Also placed second at the Nike Jr. Tour San Francisco in 2001...Was a three-time winner of the Mills Red Grave Southern Florida Challenge in 2001, 2003 and 2004... Was a state finalist in cross country in 2004...Member of National Honor Society, Beta Club, FCA, Italian Club, Model United Nations (Secretary General) and Spanish Club (president).
PERSONAL:
Enrolled in the College of Arts and Sciences...Lists her biggest thrill in sports as reaching the finals of the 2002 16s Easter Bowl at age 14 as the No. 25 seed...Her biggest non-sports honor was being named Secretary-General of the Model United Nations...Enjoys playing piano, traveling, foreign languages, cooking, reading and music...Has played the piano for five years...Her father, William Harris, competed in tennis at the U.S. Air Force Academy...Chose Tennessee because of its athletic support for women and its great facilities and resources...Aspires to play tennis professionally...Career objective beyond sports is to work in a Spanish-speaking country...Models herself after professional tennis player Justine Henin-Hardenne...Biggest sports influence is former coach Philip Johnson...Also considered Vanderbilt and Georgia Tech...Has one brother, Alex, 16...Stephanie Ann Harris, the daughter of William and Michele Harris, was born May 16, 1987, in Bitburg, Germany.
