MURFREESBORO, Tenn. — Science Hill High School’s Chris Smith, the 2009 Class AAA state singles champion, recently decided to take his tennis skills to the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga.

For the 6-foot-3 Smith, the hardest part will be letting go of basketball. He was a starting forward in that sport for the Johnson City school, which advanced to the Class AAA state tournament in March.

“It’s going to be hard,” he said after defeating Brentwood’s Drake Hernandez 6-1, 6-0 on Thursday. “I think I might be sneaking a practice in from time to time.”

There is still a lot of untapped potential in the hard-hitting future Moc, who throughout high school didn’t pick up a tennis racket until after basketball season.

“I’m really excited about going in there and seeing what I can do to turn the program around,” he said. “I know they didn’t have the best year, but hopefully I can help them out.”

Smith was a five-time state qualifier in tennis, and the Hilltoppers won their third consecutive team championship earlier this week, but getting his first individual title Friday was like knocking a monkey off his back.

“I’ve played good all week, and this was just a great way to end,” Smith said. “If you can’t get focused for a state final, you shouldn’t be out there.

“We’ve been winning team titles and people have been asking me when I was going to get an individual. To me, winning a team title is hard to explain. It’s the best feeling to share, but to top it off with an individual title is great.”