It’s been a long and winding road in senior Natalie Frazier’s tennis career, and that road is not about to dead end yet.

Frazier, a native of Riverdale, has trained her whole life for this moment – to be a part of a top- five program that is poised for a national championship run.

To sit at No. 6 in the country while being the leader of a turnaround not many expected for the Georgia women’s tennis team.

To lead a team that finished 13-10 a season ago and was projected to finish fourth in its conference to SEC regular season and tournament championships.

It hasn’t always been easy, but Frazier says it’s been worth it.

“Last year I think we went through a lot more as a team,” Frazier said. “Obviously our success wasn’t as great. This year we made the changes and got on the same page.”

Frazier’s singles game has been a huge part of that success. She defeated some of the best players in the country this season, including Georgia Tech’s Kristi Miller, Tennessee’s Blakeley Griffith, Florida’s Diana Srebrovic and Vanderbilt’s Amanda Fish – all of whom are ranked in the top-30.

Despite singles success and the No. 6 national ranking, it’s the team game that is the focal point in Frazier’s mind.

“This year people are buying into the idea of being a team instead of being more concerned with themselves,” Frazier said.

“We learned more from last year than any of my four years.”

While Frazier accumulated a 16-6 dual match record in 2006 and received First Team All-SEC honors, the disappointment of a 10-loss season and an early regional round exit at the hands of Vanderbilt left a bad taste in her mouth, she said.

Frazier has traveled down a long path of ball machines and hard courts, starting at age seven when she picked up a racquet for the first time. A year later, tennis became not only an activity Frazier enjoyed, but a part of her

life that she couldn’t do without.

On her eighth birthday, Frazier’s juniors coach told her she needed to make the commitment to tennis and that he could turn her into a Division I player.

She then made up her mind to give up candy and Barbie dolls for tennis skirts and swing lessons.

“I was no longer going to Toys-R-Us,” Frazier said.

“I was going to Sports Authority.”

The pledge Frazier made led her to numerous titles throughout her juniors career, including the Southern Championships in 2000 (16s) and 2001 (18s). She then took her talent to Marist High School, helping the War Eagles win four straight state championships.

This season, she finally experienced her first SEC titles, but a national championship remains elusive.

“It’s really important that we don’t focus so much on the fact that we won the SEC,” Frazier said.

“I think it’s really important that we just move forward.”

When the team tournament concludes, Frazier will work on her national record in the singles championships that follow.

If she can move up one spot she will be able to play with the NCAA National Team, which consists of the top-5 players in the country.

If Frazier is selected, she hopes it can jump-start her professional career.

“I want to play professionally,” Frazier said.

“That’s a dream I’ve always had and I know if I don’t try then I will always regret it.”