With seven players returning to the lineup, the Hope College women's tennis team is looking to serve up a Michigan Intercollegiate Athletic Association title repeat and a return trip to the NCAA Division III Championships this spring.
Coach Adam Ford's Flying Dutch are counting on a 10-player roster with a mix of upperclassmen and underclassmen.
"We've returned a lot of experience. We've still got a lot of young and hungry women who are looking to get better," said Ford, who is in fourth season as women's head coach. He also is the men's tennis coach for Hope.
"I think we've got a phenomenal group of women, not only on the court but off the court," Ford said. "These girls are very driven student-athletes. It shows in their work in the classroom and also on the court. Our possibilities are endless. We look to do some serious damage in the conference and the national level."
The Flying Dutch are coming off a 20-5 campaign during the 2014-15 season in which they earned their third MIAA championship in four seasons and reached the NCAA Tournament for the fourth consecutive time.
Hope graduated just one player from the team, Carli Capestany, but she was one of the greatest players in Flying Dutch history. Capestany owns the career and single doubles records with 78 and 27 wins, respectively. She also had 58 career singles wins for 11th place.
Capestany's departure has opened opportunities for this year's players, Ford said.
"Carli paved a great path for her teammates. She was a great leader," Ford said. "When you lose a player like Carli, everybody realizes 'It's my time to step up.' We've got great ones one through 10. We have a very solid, very even field."
Three co-captains lead the Flying Dutch: senior Anna Garcia of Battle Creek, Michigan (Lakeview HS), senior Marie Holaway of Holland, Michigan (West Ottawa HS) and junior Nancy Benda of Birmingham, Michigan (Seaholm HS).
Garcia tied for third on Hope with 17 wins in 22 matches last season. She also went 17-5 in doubles. She was named recipient of the MIAA's Sue Little Award for outstanding sportsmanship.
Benda is back after earning All-MIAA honors for the second time last season. She posted 16-9 singles and 24-4 doubles records.
Holaway went 20-9 as a doubles player and 2-0 in singles matches.
"We've got three different types of personalities, but there are all influencing this team," Ford said. "They made a very nice voice for their teammates."
The Flying Dutch's roster includes two more juniors, two sophomores and three freshmen.
The juniors are Kelly Daniel of Zeeland, Michigan (Zeeland East HS) and Kate Mader of Granger, Indiana (Penn HS), while the sophomores are Natalie Rahrig of Fort Wayne, Indiana (Bishop Luers HS) and Amanda Susnak of Lowell, Michigan (Lowell HS).
Rahrig totaled 16 singles wins last season, while Susnak had 10.
Three freshmen will look to make contributions: twin sisters Erin and Taylor LaBarge of Hudsonville, Michigan (Hudsonville HS), and Catherine Wingrove of Okemos, Michigan (Okemos HS).
The Flying Dutch will play nine home regular-season matches this season, including six outdoors at Heeringa-VandePoel Stadium.
Hope begins pursuit of a 23rd MIAA championship on Wednesday, April 6 at Calvin.
