Kristi Miller's left wrist didn't have any tape on it. It didn't even have a tan line from where the tape used to be.

That might have been the most important sight Friday afternoon as Miller and Georgia Tech opened defense of their NCAA women's tennis championship with a 4-0 victory over Alcorn State.

Miller's wrist is healthy. There's no remaining evidence of the torn cartilage that made last year's trip through the NCAA tournament a painful one for the winningest singles player in school history.

A year ago, she couldn't hit a topspin backhand from the first round through her semifinal match. All she could do was slice the ball, or run around it and hit a forehand.

Somehow, she still won two of her matches at No. 1 singles and lost only once, with the other three unfinished because her teammates already had clinched the victories.

This year, she doesn't have to play hurt. She said she felt fine while helping the Jackets win the doubles point, then taking a 6-1, 3-1 lead in a singles match that did not finish because Tech clinched the team victory. The Jackets, who face visiting Tennessee in a second-round match today, are seeded third nationally.

"There's quite a few teams this year that can win it, but we're definitely one of them," Miller said.

She's a major reason, and not just because she's a six-time All-American, the No. 10 singles player in the country and — with Kirsten Flower — No. 17 in doubles.

Teammates say they draw strength from her example. They might joke about her swagger or laugh at her off-court goofiness, but they respect the way she acts and the way she plays. The career singles record of 149-38 doesn't reflect her total impact on the team.

"You can just feel her presence," said fellow senior Whitney McCray. "She always has a smile on her face. She's always ready to get it.

"She's a great leader, one of the greatest leaders I've ever met in my life."

Miller is no longer the team's highest-ranked player. Sophomore Amanda McDowell is three spots higher, at No. 7. But Tech coach Bryan Shelton has been playing Miller at No. 1 singles and says he will do that throughout the tournament, because of the way she's playing and because of her experience and leadership.

"She sets the right tone from the warm-up to the match and all the way through," Shelton said. "We don't have to have her win every match for us to be successful, but it certainly helps for her to lead the team the right way."

Miller showed that in last year's tournament, especially in the championship match against UCLA. Tech dropped the doubles point, and Shelton was trying to figure out what to say to lift his team heading into the singles.

He never had to say anything.

We can do this, Miller told her teammates. We're going to do this. This championship is ours. Let's all go out there and erase that doubles point and win our own matches.

Miller recalls it as "a few strong words." Shelton remembers it as something more.

"She just took over," he said. "It's exactly what we needed at the time. It's one thing to hear it from the coach. It's another thing to hear it from one of your leaders on the team."

Miller won her match in straight sets over No. 15-ranked Riza Zalameda, and three of Miller's teammates won, too, and Tech earned its first NCAA title in any sport.