Coming into the season with their fifth head coach in as many years, there might be reason to believe that the Douglas girls' tennis team would be headed for a transition year.
But with a strong returning core (three regional qualifiers and eight varsity starters), that just won't be the case.
"It's a great team," first-year coach Roger Rusmisel said. "They get along well, they help each other out and they have a lot of fun."
Douglas will bring in one of its top singles' lineups in a number of years with senior Samantha Barns, who went 14-18 as a junior while sitting in the No. 1 spot for the Tigers last year, sophomore Cesarina Ceglia (a regional qualifier who went 19-9 with doubles partner Kristy Jilk last year) and standout freshman Amelia Ritger.
"Samantha was No. 1 for the majority of the year last year, but Amelia is a very strong player and has a lot of tournament experience," Rusmisel said. "Cesarina will be right in there.
"We should be very strong in singles play this year."
In doubles, Douglas returns its No. 1 doubles team, Lauren Seymour and Sarah Barnhill, which went 15-10 last season. Seymour ended up getting injured before regionals, otherwise she would been Douglas' fourth returning regional player.
"This is their fourth year together and they certainly look like our No. 1 doubles team," Rusmisel said. "I would expect them to have a chance to do something at regionals this year."
Seniors Madison VanderByl and Jackie Sunderland are coming off a 4-3 season and will battle for the No. 2 spot with returning senior Jenna Dykes and Caitlyn Boddy, who played her sophomore season but took last year off.
"It's a pretty experienced team," Rusmisel said. "I think it is a reasonable goal to return to regionals as a team."
Outside of his returning core, Rusmisel will have a talented stable of 20 newcomers to choose from.
"There are a lot of girls out and we're keeping all of them," he said. "We were averaging about 12 to 14 girls for each offseason workout, so we have a lot of players who really want to be out here."
Among his top newcomers in doubles will be sophomore Linsey Glass and junior Marissa Delgadillo.
"They are both very athletic and I expect them to mature a lot as players this year," Rusmisel said.
Another team with high expectations will be senior Mariana Aguilar, who played soccer the last few seasons, and senior Alicia Dreyer.
"They both bring a lot of athleticism and speed to the court," Rusmisel said. "They are very competitive and are eager to learn the game."
Outside of that, Rusmisel said anybody on the roster has the chance to step up and make an impact this season.
"We've spent a lot of time on fundamentals, so the ones who pick those up will start seeing some playing time," he said. "We've been doing a preseason seeding tournament in singles and double to see where we are.
"Girls will be able to challenge their way up as the season progresses."
Douglas opens its season Tuesday at home against Wooster.
