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Location, location, location. This tireless real estate axiom is also very relevant during the college search and for many prospective students is one of the determining factors. Kristina Smith, a 5-star senior from Laguna Niguel, CA, has decided to play her college tennis at the University of California, Irvine, in large part due to its proximity to her family's home.

As she narrowed her list of potential schools, staying in California was a certainty and she was down to UC Irvine, Cal Poly San Luis Obispo, UC Davis, and Santa Clara University. UC Irvine's Head Coach, Mike Edles, was the first coach to pay Smith a visit in person and ultimately she decided to be an Anteater.

UC Irvine is less than 30 minutes from Laguna Niguel, and being so close allowed Smith to take a couple of unofficial visits to the campus and to get a sense of what it would be like to be a student at UCI.

"I loved UCI because it was far enough from home that I could get the college experience but not too far that I couldn't come home to see my family," Smith said.