Since she was 7 years old, Emily Hangstefer of Signal Mountain dreamed of attending and playing tennis at the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga.

Last week, that dream took the next step. Hangstefer, who is home-schooled, signed scholarship papers Friday to play for the Lady Mocs in the 2008-09 school year.

In USTA junior play, Hangstefer is currently ranked seventh in Tennessee. She has played for teams in USTA junior zonal competition, but UTC will be her first school-team experience.

“I’m excited to play for a college and be on a team for once,” Hangstefer said. “Two of my siblings played there when I was 7, and that’s kind of when I decided I wanted to go there. I’m excited to play different colleges and different people.”

Hangstefer also looked into programs at Covenant College, Lee University and Lipscomb University, where her brother Daniel plays, but UTC always remained her top choice.

Hangstefer is the youngest of six siblings, each of whom has been home-schooled. Most of them have played Division I tennis in college. Older siblings Katie, John and Michael have played tennis for UTC. Katie Hangstefer is currently an assistant coach at Wofford.

Their cousin David Henry, who plays tennis at McCallie, recently signed a scholarship to play for the University of Memphis in the fall.

Hangstefer regularly plays in USTA tournaments in the Southeast and is coached by her older siblings. She has worked with McCallie tennis coach Eric Voges since she started playing tennis.

“It’s a great opportunity for Emily to play for (UTC coach) Jeff Clark,” Voges said. “He’ll help her game a lot. Emily has a good game for college because she can hit the ball hard, play the whole court and has good hands. It’ll help her a lot in college, playing against better players on a daily basis. I think Emily’s best tennis is ahead of her.”