The start of this season marked women's tennis coach Mark Guilbeau's and assistant coach Troy Porco's second year of coaching at Virginia. Combined with five freshmen, six sophomores and two lone upperclassmen, this makes for a very young team.
"Every year is different from the year before because you add players and unfortunately you lose players," Guilbeau said. "We are going to have a lineup that will pretty much be dominated at the top by first-year kids. That's a little different from last year and also very exciting at the same time."
The freshmen include Austin Hansen, Britney Larson, Kristen McVitty, Jessica Preeg and Jennifer Stevens. In last weekend's invitational, McVitty, Preeg and Stevens all showed strong performances and promise.
Lara Alexander, Lauren Downing, Cathy Nimitz, Amanda Rales and Hampton Williams come into this season with a year of experience under their belts and plenty of time to improve over the next three seasons at Virginia.
Rales led the Cavaliers in singles wins last fall and promises to continue to contribute much to the team. This season she has already recorded wins for Virginia, pairing with junior Lindsey Pereira for a doubles match win on Sunday.
Additionally, Alexander and senior Caroline Hammond paired up to achieve a doubles win, stretching both players' records to 3-0. The team is expected to depend on Alexander more heavily in the upcoming season as she continues to show improvement.
Virginia also welcomes sophomore transfer Maggie Yahner. Yahner hails from Vanderbilt University, where she played in the number three spot as a freshman. She marked good performances despite playing in the tough Southeastern Conference.
Pereira, one of two upperclassmen, is expected to fill a leadership role for the young team. In high school, Pereira ranked as high as 29th on a national level, and the skills she garnered then have served her well in her college career. Pereira recorded a perfect 3-0 weekend in the Virginia Invitational on Sunday.
Much leadership responsibility falls on the shoulders of Hammond, the most experienced in Virginia tennis among the players and coaches. Hammond first joined the team as a walk-on during her freshman year and has not looked back since.
Though the team will be traveling with only eight of its 12 members, each teammate holds a large responsibility and is strongly relied upon by coaches and fellow players.
"We've learned that the seasons are long enough and tough enough," Guilbeau said. "Our conference is so demanding with such good teams that you really need every player."
Judging by the intensity of the upcoming schedule, this has never been more true. Opponents the teams will face this season rank among some of the top teams in the nation. Each player must perform well this season in order for the team to excel.
"We look forward to good things to come," McVitty said.
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